Nashville Artist Heads to Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival [Audio]

He's written songs for Kelsea Ballerini, Dylan Scott, and even the late great Toby Keith. Meet Lance Carpenter at the Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival.

READ MORE: Tickets On Sale for 2024 Sandy Lee Watkins Song Fest in Henderson 

Music fans will be able to get their fill of tunes and perhaps even learn a thing or two at an upcoming event in the tri-state area. The Sandy Lee Watkins Songwriters Festival is happening from Thursday, July 24, 2024, through the following Saturday, July 27th. The event will feature four nights of intimate, acoustic live performances by songwriters from all over the region in downtown Henderson. Performances will take place at two locations, including Rookies Sports Bar & Grill, where one Nashville recording artist will hit the stage for two nights of entertainment.

About Lance Carpenter

According to Lance Carpenter's website, he grew up on a small farm in Ozark, Arkansas. He told me on WKDQ's The Ride Home that he got his first guitar when he was in high school, which he took with him to college. It was there that Carpenter learned a few chords and wrote his first song. That said, his life would take him other places before music would become more than just a hobby.

"I got a job working in disaster response and recovery, and I either worked at the state or federal level for several years and ended up working for FEMA," he said, adding his first music gig came in 2007 when he was asked to play a local show in Maine. However, his time on stage didn't go as planned.

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"I was horrible. I dropped my pick three times during my first performance," he said. Fortunately, that wasn't the end of Carpenter's musical journey. He added that the incident gave him the "fire" to pursue his passion, which is just what he did in the coming years.

"I discovered an organization in Nashville, made a trip here (Nashville) in 2008 for a songwriting workshop, and I got my first introduction to real songwriting and what that meant. That fire grew, and the passion grew. Eventually, I moved here (Nashville), and this became my full-time gig."

Lance Carpenter Live

Carpenter will be performing live on stage at Rookies Sports Bar & Grill on Thursday, July 24, at 7 p.m. (CT) and Saturday, July 27, at 8:15 p.m. (CT). Additionally, the artist is a longtime songwriting coach who will be bringing some of his expertise to the festival. Carpenter will co-host a songwriters workshop Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. (CT), which will be held at The Gatsby Room near Hometown Roots in Henderson.

"God has blessed me more times than I deserve and given me some success, and I try to use that to turn around and help the next generation of songwriters and artists," Carpenter told me during our chat.

Tickets and more information about the festival can be found here. You can listen to my full conversation with the singer-songwriter below.