Song Sessions

Imagine harnessing the power of a song to tell your corporate or team story at your next meeting or event!

"Song Sessions" will help you do just that in 60 minutes. Facilitated by multiple Billboard #1's and Grammy award winning singer/songwriters, Monty Powell and Anna Wilson, your group will be lead on an amazing creative journey, learning the art of a focused idea generation, the important skills of group collaboration and the specific creative un-blocking techniques used by world class songwriters. Together, as a group, you will write an original song in one hour that tells your story. Fun and interactive, the collaborative songwriting process mirrors the problem solving challenges confronted daily in the corporate world. As a team you will unlock your creativity while learning in a process that is as entertaining as it is educational!

MONTY POWELL

Looking for Monty Powell? You don't have to look far, he is usually hanging around somewhere at the top of the radio charts. He is also easily found on any one of the 60 million plus records floating around containing one of his songs. As a music business veteran for 30 years, Monty Powell has successfully honed his songwriting craft and found his niche as a songwriter who often collaborates with such artists as Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Brooks & Dunn, Chris Cagle, James Otto, JoDee Messina, Chuck Wicks, Diamond Rio and many more.

Over his thirty year career as a professional songwriter, Powell has written for every major music publisher in the music business. He has received many top honors and career highlights over the years including a 2013 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture for his co-written song with Keith Urban "For You" in the movie Act of Valor, as well as a 2013 Critics Choice Award nomination for the same. In addition, in 2006 he was nominated for a Country Music Association Award for "Song of The Year" with Keith Urban's, Tonight I Wanna Cry, was named SESAC's Country Songwriter of the Year in 2009, and received the prestigious CMA Triple Play Award in 2010 for penning three #1 songs in the same year.

Apart from songwriting, Powell is also an accomplished music producer. He is currently co-producing with his wife and jazz recording artist/songwriter, Anna Wilson, a project that will highlight various country and pop artists as they re-imagine the songs of one of the finest singer/songwriters of our time the great Billy Joel. It is called "A Nashville State of Mind" and will feature Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Lady Antebellum, Willie Nelson and Tim McGraw to name a few. Powell also co-produced Diamond Rio's first three albums, two of which are now platinum and one is gold, as well as Keith Urban's critically acclaimed band The Ranch for Capitol Records. In 1994, he won a CMA "Album of the Year" award for his production work on Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles. In addition, Powell produced Working Man's Blues" by "Jed Zepplin (Steve Wariner, Lee Roy Parnell and Diamond Rio) on the highly acclaimed Mamma's Hungry Eyes: A Tribute to Merle Haggard. Powell currently co-produces critically acclaimed albums alongside his wife, jazz singer-songwriter Anna Wilson.

Over his rich 30 year career in the music business, Powell also has held roles in artist management,. His management clients have included Muzik Mafia member, James Otto (Warner Brothers), Trent Tomlinson (Lyric Street) and Chuck Wicks (RCA), all who steadily rose to country music stardom under his watch.

In the midst of all the various hats Monty wears these days, he also finds time to donate his talent to many charitable causes like St. Jude, T.J Martell, and Habitat For Humanity, but the cause closest to his heart is the Alzheimer's Association. Powell's father died from an early on-set of Alzheimer's, so Monty decided to use music as his weapon to fight this terrible disease. He took action by creating an initiative called Better Start Livin' that was inspired by his mega hit "Days Go By", penned with superstar Keith Urban. Together for the first time in concert, Powell was joined by Urban, Anna Wilson and rising star, Matt Jenkins at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, GA, where they raised over $250,000 in a single evening to fund Alzheimer's research.

Monty currently splits his time between Nashville, Utah and Florida For leisure, he can often be found chasing fish with a fly rod on the gulf coast of Florida or skiing down a black diamond run on the slopes in Utah.

ANNA WILSON

Anna Wilson is a critically acclaimed jazz recording artist and songwriter whose timeless, sophisticated sound is juxtaposed by her stunningly contemporary voice and message. Jazz Times says, "She's got a voice like creme de cacao and an inner metronome that swings wildly from age to age."
Wilson has recorded five studio albums to date. Her most recent offering, Jazzbird/Songbird debuted in the Top 10 on the iTunes Jazz Chart appearing on their Jazz Bestsellers List, received a New & Noteworthy nod, and topped USA Today's playlist, among other accolades. After becoming the queen of the vocal jazz duet with her critically acclaimed Countrypolitan Duets album, where she was joined by Grammy award winning and legendary artists, Anna reveals on this most recent collection her versatility as one of the modern era's most prolific jazz singer-songwriters.
She has shared concert billings with many top acts such as Josh Groban, Boz Scaggs, Al Jarreau, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Keith Urban, and The Mississippi Mass Choir to name a few. In addition, she performs regularly at jazz festivals and exclusive wine events like the Napa Valley and Naples Wine Auctions, the Grand Ole Opry, as well as intimate acoustic performances at Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe and similar venues around the country.
However, after a twenty year (20) recording career, this diverse songbird has more to sing about than just jazz. She is currently co-producing another special project alongside producer/songwriter/husband, Monty Powell, that will highlight various Nashville based artists as they re-imagine the songs of one of the finest singer-songwriters of our time, the great Billy Joel. It is called "A Nashville State of Mind", and will feature Lyle Lovett, Emmylou Harris, Lady Antebellum, David Nail and The Eli Young Band to name a few. In addition to her diverse recording career, Wilson is also an award winning ASCAP songwriter whose compositions appear on over seven (7) million RIAA certified albums. Her songs appear on several movie soundtracks including the most recent Nicholas Sparks movie, "The Best of Me". Over the years, she has penned songs for Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lee Ann Womack, Chris Cagle, Chuck Wicks and others, while continuing to write for up and coming young artists in pop, country and jazz and on the American Idol circuit.
Community outreach is important to Anna and she constantly tries to find ways to marry music with corporate brands and charities. Her most cherished partnership to date is the one she has with Habitat for Humanity International. Her Habitat-inspired single, "A House, A Home," became the international theme song for the charity and was featured in many of their national and international public service announcements and marketing efforts to illustrate Habitat's community and life-building work. Wilson has also made several appearances at national Habitat events. One of her most treasured Habitat experiences was getting to perform "A House, A Home" at the opening ceremonies of the 25th anniversary celebration of The Jimmy and Roslyn Carter Work Project in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Born and raised in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, a graduate of Villa Maria Academy HS and Loyola University in Maryland, and a 20 year resident of Nashville, TN, Anna Wilson carries on Music City's rich songwriting tradition while creating and recording innovative album projects that have appeal to wide audiences.