THE COLD WEST – A Nashville Collective of Songwriters • Musicians • Producers
The Cold West is a Nashville-rooted collective of songwriters, musicians and producers — seasoned players, accomplished writers and weathered music veterans who have spent years inside the business, but never lost sight of why they started making music in the first place: the song, the player and the connection.
The voice behind the project is Nashville songwriter James Michael, who has spent years working within different circles of the music community and building relationships with artists, songwriters and musicians across different corners of American music.
Over the years, Michael has had the opportunity to write with and for talented artists and songwriters including Craig Campbell, Nine Days, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Jeffrey Steele and Brian White, among others.
But The Cold West isn’t simply another Band project.
The project grew from years of conversations among friends, writers and musicians who wanted to create something centered on the things that matter most: great songs, great players and honest American storytelling.
For years the discussion was how to bring different song catalogs, creative relationships and musical experiences together under one roof.
Enter The Cold West.
A COLLECTIVE OF CREATIVES
The Cold West is a collective built to showcase the work of its creative community under one cohesive umbrella.
Different writers may contribute. Different musicians may step into the lineup. Producers and collaborators may change from project to project.
The collective is the constant.
The goal isn’t to force every artist or writer into the same sound. It’s to give great creative work a place to live while allowing the people behind it to remain part of something larger than any one individual project.
And the collective is designed to keep growing.
The best collaborators haven’t necessarily met each other yet.
THE LIVE EXPERIENCE
At its most intimate, The Cold West can present an acoustic show inspired by the tradition of a Nashville writers round — songs, stories and musicianship in a listening environment where the audience can hear the words and experience the people behind them.
Those acoustic performances can also become a rotating showcase of the collective, with different writers and musicians joining in from time to time.
One performance may feature Kent Cooper, a Huntsville native and songwriter who has worked with WOMP Music Group in Nashville and shared writing rooms with artists and writers including Dillon Carmichael and Brian Callahan.
Another performance may bring a different member of the collective into the room.
The songs change. The musicians change. The Cold West remains.
And when the room calls for something bigger, the collective can expand into a full live band capable of taking on fairs, festivals and larger concert stages.
The Cold West isn’t learning how to play a stage. We’re deciding how big the stage needs to be.
FROM NASHVILLE’S BIG BACKYARD TO THE AMERICANA MUSIC TRIANGLE
The Cold West is routing through Nashville’s Big Backyard and the communities that make up the broader Americana Music Triangle, connecting Nashville’s songwriting culture with historic theaters, arts communities, listening rooms and regional concert series throughout the Southeast.
From the back roads of the Southeast to the Western Plains and the Arizona skies, The Cold West brings together the writers, musicians and stories that make up this growing creative community.
For audiences, The Cold West offers a connection to the songwriting tradition that made Nashville famous while reaching beyond Music City into the communities and landscapes that continue to shape American music.
For presenters, arts councils, historic theaters, performing arts centers, listening rooms and festivals, The Cold West offers a flexible live experience that can move naturally from an intimate acoustic performance to a full-band concert.