Q: Can you introduce yourself and tell us your role with the event? Chris Carlton: I’m Chris Carlton — affectionately known as the “head bitch in charge” of the green room and the songwriters. My job is making sure the songwriters have everything they need. Garry works so hard on the festival all year, my job is to make things go smoothly during the actual event so he can just relax and enjoy it. They all have my number, and I just try to make sure they’re where they’re supposed to be and that the show stays on time.
Q: How long have you been involved with the festival? Chris Carlton: This is my fourth year.
Q: What made you want to get involved? Chris Carlton: I’m just a fanatic about songwriters. Everybody in my family is involved with songwriting somehow. I used to be an entertainment attorney, and now I practice mostly family law, but I still do things like songwriter festivals.
Q: You’re based in Nashville — what brings you back here every year? Chris Carlton: Yeah, I come from Nashville every year. I just enjoy the writers and making sure they’re happy and have everything they need.
Q: What has working behind the scenes taught you about songwriters as people? Chris Carlton: I’ve been around this business my whole life. My daughter’s father is a super famous songwriter, my late husband was a music publisher in Nashville, and my son runs SMACK Music for one of the biggest songwriters in Nashville. I care a lot more about the songwriters than I do the artists. I’ve always been fascinated by the creative process. Being an attorney, I’m very left-brained, so watching how someone creates something from nothing is fascinating to me.
Q: Why do you think workshops for aspiring songwriters are important? Chris Carlton: A lot of people don’t even understand that songwriting is an actual job — or how it works. They don’t know how music publishers work or how songs get to artists. Most people think the artists are writing their own songs. Very few people understand how songwriters make their money. You really need to be in Nashville or making those connections to be successful. And you’ve got to have thick skin.
Q: Is there a school or formal path for learning songwriting? Chris Carlton: Not really for songwriting itself. There’s Belmont School of Music and MTSU in Nashville where you can get degrees in music business, and I’m sure there are others, but songwriting itself is kind of its own thing. It’s full of heart.
Q: What’s the most fun part of doing this for you? Chris Carlton: Just getting to see everybody. It’s funny because we all live in the same town, but sometimes we don’t see each other until we travel somewhere like this for festivals. We always say, “Let’s do lunch,” and before you know it, it’s the next year.
Q: The festival is emphasizing America’s 250th celebration this year. Why is that meaningful? Chris Carlton: I graduated high school in 1976, so I remember how big the Bicentennial was. This ought to be just as big. At home, though, we don’t hear much about it. But I remember how special that celebration was.
Q: Do you have a favorite songwriter here this year? Chris Carlton: No, I can’t say. I’ve got to keep my secrets.
Q: How did you first get connected to the festival? Chris Carlton: Lee Thomas Miller connected me with Garry Lubi. My husband gave Lee his first publishing deal ever. I used to work the Key West Songwriters Festival, and Lee told me I’d really like Palm Coast because Garry had been building it from the beginning. One year I was coming back from Aruba and had a few days in between before heading home to Nashville, so I got a hotel room and called Garry and said, “Hey, I’m here waiting for the festival. I know a lot of people from Nashville — do you need help?” About two hours later, I had my pass. And I’ve been with him every year since.
Q: From your perspective, how has this year’s festival been going? Chris Carlton: The energy out there is amazing. It’s very different than normal. Everybody’s so great. And let me just say — DeStefano is unbelievable. His voice is incredible.
