On Muletown in the Round, legendary singer-songwriters share the stories behind some of Country Music’s greatest hits. Each episode is filmed LIVE and features musical performances from songsmiths in an intimate “in the round” style that mimics a traditional jam session. The series is produced by Grammy Award-winning artist, Rory Feek, who created Muletown in the Round to bring the unique storytelling format—originally birthed at the famed Bluebird Cafe—to viewers at home where they can see one-of-a-kind performances and hear the unique stories that created musical history.
A new season of Muletown in the Round starts on Sunday, December 17th with legendary songwriter and host, Wynn Varble. Season 2 features Varble alongside veteran singer-songwriters who share the stories behind some of Country Music’s greatest hits. Songwriters in this season include Brice Long, Mark Nesler, Shane Minor, Moe Pitney, Clint Daniels, Ronnie Bowman, Don Sampson, and Jim “Moose” Brown (see songwriter bios below).
The ongoing series is produced by Grammy Award-winning artist, Rory Feek, who created Muletown in the Round to bring an intimate storytelling format “in the round” style which mimics a traditional jam session. Viewers at home can experience one-of-a-kind performances and hear the unique stories that created musical history. The show is filmed LIVE at his concert venue, Homestead Hall, which is located on his historic farm just south of Nashville in Columbia, Tennessee (which is affectionately known as “Muletown”).
Host Wynn Varble grew up in Georgia, but arrived in Nashville and had his first radio hit with “Fit to Be Tied” recorded by Sammy Kershaw. His #1 song “Have You Forgotten?” with Darryl Worley was released in 2003 and was nominated for SONG OF THE YEAR by the CMA. In 2008, “Waitin’ on a Woman,” which Wynn co-wrote with Don Sampson was nominated by the CMA for SONG OF THE YEAR. The #1 hit, A Little More Country Than That, (co-written with Rory Feek and Don Poythress) was recorded by Easton Corbin and nominated by the ACM for SONG OF THE YEAR. Varble’s songs have also been recorded by Gary Allan, Garth Brooks, Cody Johnson, Sammy Kershaw, Montgomery Gentry, and Lee Ann Womack.
Season One of the series was hosted by Grammy award-winning artist Paul Overstreet and taped LIVE at Marcy Jo’s Muletown in 2020 in downtown Columbia, Tennessee.* Songwriters featured in the first season included Paul Overstreet, Wynn Varble, Jim Rushing, Even Stevens, Jim Collins, Chris Wallin, Kevin Denney, Lee Thomas Miller, Wendell Mobley, Danny Green, Austin Cunningham, and Rory Feek.
*Note: Marcy Jo’s Muletown is now closed, but the original restaurant location, Marcy Jo’s Mealhouse, is still open for business
Tickets for TV tapings at Homestead Hall can be purchased at HomesteadHall.com.
This exciting music & entertainment program returns to RFD-TV for Season Two on Sunday, December 17, 2023!
Listen to the Muletown in the Round Spotify Playlist HERE:
Songwriters Featured:
Wynn Varble
Over a long and prolific career, Wynn Varble has penned multiple No.1 hits including Darryl Worley’s 9/11-themed ballad “Have You Forgotten?”and other #1 hit songs such as “A Little More Country Than That” (Easton Corbin), “She Ain’t in It” (Jon Pardi), and “Waitin’ on a Woman” (Brad Paisley). Gary Allan, Garth Brooks, Cody Johnson, Sammy Kershaw, Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler, and Lee Ann Womack have also recorded Varble’s songs. Learn more at wynnvarble.com.
Mark Nesler
Songwriter, Mark Nesler, writes honest, heartfelt country songs in the spirit of all the country music greats, with a definite focus on today’s contemporary sound. Nesler has written #1 hit songs for Tim McGraw (the #1 single “Just to See You Smile”), two #1 singles for George Strait (“Go On” and “Living And Living Well”), and “I Miss My Friend” for Darryl Worley. Other hit singles include: “You Look Good In My Shirt” (Keith Urban), “For You I Will” (Aaron Tippin), “Heaven In My Woman’s Eyes” (Tracy Byrd), “Just Let Me Be In Love” (Tracy Byrd), “Why, Why, Why” (Billy Currington), American Idol finalist Bucky Covington’s debut single, “A Different World.” In 2010, Nesler’s music broke new ground when one of his songs was selected as the title track for the movie, Country Strong. He also wrote Billy Currington’s #1 hit, “Let Me Down Easy” and Josh Turner’s hit, “Time Is Love,” Billboard’s most played country single of 2012. Mark continues to write every day and is one of Nashville’s most successful and respected songwriters and artists. Learn more about Mark at SNGmusic.net/mark-nesler.
Brice Long
As a songwriter, Brice Long has had more than 100 of his songs cut with artists such as Garth Brooks, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Hank Williams Jr, Randy Houser, Josh Turner, Reba McEntire, Gary Allan, Cody Johnson, Chris Young, Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, Casey James, Easton Corbin, Randy Travis, John Michael Montgomery, Porter Wagoner, and many more. Brice’s songwriting hits include the #1 singles “Heartache On The Dance Floor” by Jon Pardi and “Nothing On But The Radio” by Gary Allan. Randy Houser’s “Like a Cowboy” garnered Brice a CMA nomination for Song of the Year. Other recent chart-toppers are Randy Houser’s debut single, “Anything Goes,” “Today” from Gary Allan, Casey James’ “Let’s Don’t Call It A Night,” and Jon Pardi’s, “What I Can’t Put Down.” Learn more at bricelongmusic.com.
Shane Minor
If the best songs come from life’s own experiences, Shane Minor has a lot to pull from. Shane’s first single went top 10 on the country Billboard charts which led to him working as Shania Twain’s opening act on the 1 1/2-year stadium tour. His songwriting credits include “Beautiful Mess” (Diamond Rio), “She Thinks She Needs Me” (Andy Griggs), “Fall” (Clay Walker and Kimberly Locke From American Idol), “International Harvester” (Craig Morgan), “Live A Little Love A Lot,” (Kenny Chesney), “Chillin’ It” (Cole Swindell), “Close Your Eyes for This” (Parmalee), “Playing the Part” (Jamey Johnson), “His Kind of Money” (Eric Church), “Yup” (Easton Corbin).
Mo Pitney
Morgan Daniel ‘Mo’ Pitney enjoyed his first success as a singer and songwriter who enthusiastically embraced a classic country sound. Pitney grew up in a musical family in Illinois and by the age of six, was learning to play the drums. When he was 12, Pitney asked his dad to teach him guitar while recovering from a broken arm. After earning a standing ovation during his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, he was signed to Curb Records in Nashville in May 2014, at the age of just 21. His first studio album was “Behind This Guitar “(2016) which cracked Billboard’s Top Ten Country Albums Chart the first week of its release and featured the hit singles “Boy & Girl Thing,” “Country,” and the fan favorite, “Clean Up On Aisle Five.” Pitney’s 2020 album, “Ain’t Lookin’ Back, included the single, “Ain’t Bad For A Good Ol’ Boy” which was featured on the Netflix original series “The Ranch.” In 2023, Pitney released a bluegrass cut from the 2020 album called, “Old Home Place,” which featured a gaggle of heavy hitters from the bluegrass world including. J.D. Crowe (banjo), Aubrey Haynie (fiddle), Ricky Skaggs (mandolin), Barry Bales (bass), and Marty Stuart (guitar). Skaggs and Jon Randall also sang harmony. Learn more at mopitney.com.
Clint Daniels
Grammy-nominated songwriter, Clint Daniels, was born and raised in the Florida panhandle. Daniels has co-written songs for other country artists, including the following Billboard No. 1 Hits: “Some Of It” by Eric Church in 2019, “Brokenheartsville” (Joe Nichols), “She Ain’t In It” (Jon Pardi), “Bright Side Girl” (Eric Church), “I Can’t Love You Back” (Easton Corbin), “Roll With Me” (Montgomery Gentry), “God Must Be Busy” (Brooks & Dunn), “Ready For The End of the World” -(George Strait), “Where Do I Go From You” (Clay Walker), “Cold Beer With Your Name On It” (Josh Thompson).
Ronnie Bowman
North Carolina-born Ronnie Bowman has been performing music. Starting in a family band playing churches in North Carolina and Virginia, he eventually joined the acclaimed Bluegrass band The Lost & Found. He first came to the public’s attention as the vocalist and bass player in the Lonesome River Band recording of “Carrying the Tradition,” an album that was named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Album of the Year in 1991. A household name in the bluegrass community, Bowman has been awarded IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year three times, twice earned the IBMA Song of the Year award (“Three Rusty Nails”, and “Cold Virginia Night”), and was awarded the Gospel Performance of the Year award for “Three Rusty Nails.” As a songwriter, Ronnie has earned a great deal of respect not only among Bluegrass professionals but also in Country Music. Both Brooks & Dunn, and Kenny Chesney have brought Ronnie Bowman originals to #1, and Lee Ann Womack also included a song by Ronnie on the multi-platinum-selling album “I Hope You Dance.” Learn more at ronniebowman.com.
Don Sampson
At 22 years old, Don Sampson moved to Nashville from San Antonio, TX, and signed his first publishing deal in 1985. His songwriting credits include the #1 singles Brad Paisley’s “Waitin’ On A Woman,” Gary Allan’s “Tough Little Boys,” Alan Jackson’s “Midnight in Montgomery,” and Bryan White’s “Rebecca Lynn.” Don has won numerous ASCAP awards, seven NSAI awards (including “Song Of The Year” for “Waitin’ On A Woman,” and the TNN Music City News Songwriters Award. In addition, other artists have recorded Don’s songs including Chris Stapleton, Darius Rucker, Garth Brooks, Mo Pitney, Josh Thompson, Jimmy Wayne, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner, Tim McGraw, Charlie Daniels, John Conlee, Joe Nichols, and Charlie Pride just to name a few.
Jim “Moose” Brown
Jim “Moose” Brown is a studio musician/record producer/songwriter in Nashville. He is a member of Bob Seger’s “Silver Bullet Band,” a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and Grammy-nominated record producer, and an in-demand session player. Moose was nominated for Keyboard Player of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2005, 2006, and 2011. Moose won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song for co-writing “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” with Don Rollins and performed by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett. Brown co-wrote the Top 10 hit for Darryl Worley “If Something Should Happen,” as well as James Otto’s single “For You.” He’s had songs recorded by Martina McBride, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Buffett, James Otto, James Wesley, Josh Turner, Terri Clark, Julie Roberts, Darryl Worley, Jamey Johnson, and others. Moose also co-produced Darryl Worley’s Top 10 hit “Sounds Like Life to Me,” and co-produced the critically acclaimed album by Jamey Johnson, “That Lonesome Song,” which featured the Top 10 single “In Color.” He also produced Jamey’s newest certified Gold double album “The Guitar Song.” Moose was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame in 2010.
