The CAA’s Prison Art Program

Shortly after Caitlin Cannon took third place honors at this year’s Telluride Bluegrass festival, Saving Country Music published these prophetic words, “She’s not a songwriter for the winners. She’s a songwriter for the broken, the downtrodden, the losers, the motherf—. She sings about real sh— that most other songwriters don’t have the guts to broach. A crack pool player and a hilarious person on stage that could have a second career as a comedian, Caitlin Cannon is one of those country artists that slides so criminally under the radar, it angers the blood…” 

While Cannon has done her share of winning (Songwriter Serenade 1st Place 2023) her ambitions do seem to reflect the above review. Inspired by the 33 year-to-date incarceration of her brother, she created a songwriting program in partnership with the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (30A) that holds a residency for her at Walton Correctional Institute where she teaches inmates to write songs.

David Borné is a beloved Nashville based independent singer/songwriter/artist who has been singing for his supper for over 20 years.  After honing his skills in bar bands from Louisiana to Tennessee, Borné burst on the songwriting scene in Nashville with the release of his 2016 debut, Break My Heart, which debuted at #4 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and featured collaborations with then up and coming Americana stars Sierra Ferrell, Leah Blevins and Ruston Kelly.  Borné has since shared the stage with the likes of Ferrell, Blevins, Kelly, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Delbert McClinton, Stephen Wilson Jr., Lainey Wilson, Big Al Anderson, Lucie Silvas, Ashley Ray, Kelly Clarkson, Brothers Osborne, and Sean McConnell.  He has also had his songs recorded by William Clark Green, Charlie Mars, Paul McDonald, Bre Kennedy, Sara Jean Kelley, Fancy Hagood, and many others.  Borné's artistry and songwriting is fully realized on his 2023 full length debut, GENESIS. Declared “A Masterpiece” by Revival Roadshow, produced by Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas), and engineered by GRAMMY winner Gena Johnson (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton), an incomparable ethereal grit runs through the 13 track GENESIS as we follow Borné on his path of personal healing:  death, rebirth, and beginning again.

In 2024, Wyatt Espalin will release his first full-length album. 15 original songs have been recorded thanks to a tremendous turn-out for this Songwriter/Singer/Fiddler’s Kickstarter campaign. After the daunting task of whittling them into a 10-song, fully-produced album recorded in the mountains of North Georgia, the hard-traveling troubadour has decided to knock out an unplugged version of the same album. Wyatt has shared the stage with many of his songwriting heroes and has taken notes from the best performing singer/songwriters. This is his sixth appearance at 30A Songwriting Festival and his energy, dynamic vocals, story-telling and fiery fiddle only enhances his song-sharing.

Jessica Sharman is a #1, gold-disc selling songwriter, topliner and producer. She works across multiple genres including Pop, Americana, Country, Indie and EDM. Born and raised in London, she now lives in Nashville.

Writer / Topliner

Jessica turns the everyday into poetry and her melodies are the ones you just can't forget. She writes songs that help artists cut through the noise and connect with their audience, to make them think, feel and dance.

Producer

Working with artists on both major and indie labels, Jessica is the go-to producer for lofi percussion and intimate, layered harmonies that place the vocal front and center.

Artist

Peachkit, Jessica's sync artist project, is The Queen of Thinking Pop combining lyrical storytelling with unforgettable hooks.