…I think that the best thing anyone can do is to just try and stay curious and stay open to meeting new people, talking and hearing other people’s stories. I think even my worst enemy, if I sat down with them for an hour and they told me their life story, I might not change my mind, but I’d at least develop a little more understanding.
It seems like everything is careening out of control in the world right now. There’s so much keyboard warrior behavior where you’re just yelling at someone over the internet that you don’t even know anything about. I hope we can find a way to all try and listen to each other more and get to know each other more, whatever that means. I hope people stay open-minded, or just stay… I would like to encourage people to listen more to the people around you and try to listen to their stories — you’ll learn something…
I had the pleasure to talk with Troy Cartwright. Troy, a singer-songwriter and podcast host from Dallas, Texas, has emerged as a significant figure in the Nashville music scene. His journey in music, which began with a passion for songwriting and performing in his early years, led him to become an influential artist and a voice for songwriters within the industry.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Dallas, Cartwright’s early exposure to music through his family and church choir laid the foundation for his musical aspirations. A pivotal moment came when he received a guitar for Christmas at the age of 12, despite initially hoping for a scooter. This gift, though initially met with disappointment, eventually became the instrument of his expression and creativity. His passion for music deepened during his teenage years, a period marked by the exploration of emotions and experiences through songwriting.
Cartwright’s decision to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston further honed his skills and understanding of music. After college, he returned to Texas, leveraging the support of his family and the affordability of living at home to pursue his musical career. His commitment to songwriting and performing led to opportunities in local bars, setting the stage for his eventual move to Nashville.
The move to Nashville marked a turning point in Cartwright’s career. Inspired by the city’s vibrant songwriting community, he found his footing among like-minded artists and industry professionals. His early experiences in Nashville, including a significant co-writing session with Clint Daniels, solidified his decision to pursue music in the city known for its rich musical heritage.
Cartwright’s independent music career took off in 2023, achieving remarkable success with over a million streams weekly. His ability to release music on his own terms has not only showcased his talent but also demonstrated the viability of independent artists in the digital age. His songwriting credits include collaborations with notable artists such as Nickelback, Ryan Hurd, and Josh Abbott Band, with promising projects on the horizon.
In addition to his musical endeavors, Cartwright ventured into podcasting with “Ten Year Town,” a platform that delves into the experiences and insights of Nashville songwriters and music industry executives. The podcast, which has featured prominent figures such as Hardy, Jimi Bell and Marc Beeson, offers a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of songwriting in Music City. Through these conversations, Cartwright aims to inspire and guide emerging songwriters, sharing diverse pathways to success in the industry.
Cartwright’s music, characterized by its heartfelt lyrics and emotive delivery, continues to resonate with audiences. His single “Over You By Now” exemplifies his ability to translate complex emotions into relatable narratives. As he prepares for the release of his debut album, his contributions to the Nashville music scene and his dedication to elevating the craft of songwriting remain evident.
Through his journey from a young music enthusiast in Dallas to a respected artist and advocate in Nashville, Troy Cartwright embodies the spirit of resilience, creativity, and community that defines the city’s musical culture. As he looks to the future, his work — both on stage and through his podcast — continues to inspire and influence the next generation of songwriters and musicians.
Yitzi: It’s a delight and an honor to meet you. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share with us a story of your childhood and how you grew up?
I grew up in Dallas, Texas, a pretty normal childhood, my Dad was an accountant. My mom mostly stayed at home and helped raise us, nothing too exciting. But when I think back to my fondest memories, the stuff that kind of stuck with me, I just always had this love for music. We drove around a lot, so when I was really young, it was just whatever my dad was playing in the car. I always sang in the church choir and eventually fell in love with music at a young age. I’ve never really cared about doing anything else.
Yitzi: So how did that evolve? Now you’re a superstar. What’s the story?
Well, I got a guitar when I was 12 years old for Christmas. My dad pulled it out of the trunk and I thought I was getting a scooter, so I was pretty disappointed at the time. I didn’t take to it much until I took some lessons. But the turning point for me, starting my musical journey, was going through those teenage years and having all these emotions and feelings I wanted to get out. One day, I wrote a song, and I didn’t realize it was hard or anything. It was like breathing to me so I started writing. Then I convinced somebody at the church I grew up at to let me record it, something very basic through the soundboard. Ever since then, I’ve been in love with the game. I started booking my own shows when I was 14, emailing bars, and begging my mom to drive me out there to let me play and I guess it never really stopped.
Yitzi: It’s so impressive. So you probably have a lot of incredible stories from your work. Could you share with the readers one or two of the most memorable stories from your career?
I think the things that I remember the most fondly are the times when people in positions of power took a chance on me. Those things have always stuck with me. Every big opportunity I’ve ever had in my career is because somebody took a chance on me. I remember the first big show I played, it was outside of Austin, Texas, and I was opening up for William Clark Green and the Randy Rogers Band. There were probably like 5,000 to 7,000 people. It was a big show. I remember that was the first time I stepped on stage, and I couldn’t see anything but a sea of people. I was pretty scared, but also, I thought, “Man, this is the greatest thing ever. I want to feel this for all time.” I’m just really grateful. There was a guy named Dave Lytle who called me up like a week before. I’m sure somebody got sick or canceled, and that’s why I got the call. But I always remember those times really fondly, just when somebody took a chance on me. That’s how we all grow. Somebody takes a chance on us.
Yitzi: That’s beautiful. I love those stories. It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake you made when you were first starting and the lesson you learned from that?
Oh, my gosh, I’ve made so many mistakes. I think I’ve learned a lot over the years on how to conduct myself around this business, and I learned the hard way. One thing that comes to mind is the first time I got on an artist bus, just learning the hard way, like, “Oh, this is someone’s home. I need to be respectful of that. They’re not here to party with me. They’re here because they’re trying to rest up before their show.” So, yeah, just stuff like that being a young, dumb kid and drinking too much or whatever, and going, “Alright, Troy, we need to knock that stuff off.”
Yitzi: So can you tell us a story of when and why you decided to move to Nashville and how that changed your career?
Oh, my gosh, it changed my life moving to Nashville. When I went to music college in Boston at Berklee College of Music, I moved back to Texas after college to start. I just knew that I could afford to be broke if I moved back home. That’s why I moved home, because I knew I wasn’t going to be making any money. I wanted to play music. I remember blindly starting this journey of being a professional musician and a country music artist. I stayed in Dallas for, I think, four years after college, just playing bars and convincing people to take a chance on me. I was writing songs, writing by myself every day at 11 am. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I was writing because I knew I needed to get better.
Then somebody was telling me, “Oh, you should check out Nashville.” I’d never done it. I had visited a couple of times when my friends were in college and stuff, but I’d never gone to Nashville trying to write songs. I remember my very first trip up here as a musician,there was this publisher named Jake Gear, and he took a chance on me. He set me up on my first co-write, which was with this guy named Clint Daniels. Clint Daniels has written “Broken Heartsville” for Joe Nichols. He’s written songs for Eric Church, a bunch of absolutely amazing songs. I remember we wrote that day, and after, Clint took me to this place called Red Door, which is just a local songwriter haunt where all the songwriters hang out. He introduced me to a bunch of people. I was like, “Wait, all these people write songs?” He’s like, “Yeah, this is everyone’s job.” I was like, “Alright, I got to move to Nashville.” I felt like I had landed on the island of misfit toys and found my people. I immediately felt this is where I had to be. I packed up all my stuff not long after that and moved to Nashville. That’s kind of how I got into this mess.
Yitzi: Amazing. So you have so much impressive work. Can you share with the readers exciting projects you’re working on? Tell us about new singles you’ve released. Tell us about your podcast. Tell us about what you’re working on now.
Yeah, well, I’ve got a bunch of new music that’s coming out. We just put a song out called “Over You By Now.” That’s been doing really well for me. I have really just been focusing on putting out as much music as I can, trying to feed my fans. I’ve really seen my audience explode over the last two years. It’s really 10x’d in size. So I feel like I’m just constantly trying to catch my breath, giving them more and more. I remember what it was like when I had basically no audience to perform for. Now that I have people tuning into what I’m saying, I try never to take it for granted and always keep feeding them, which is kind of how I got into making this podcast as well, “Ten Year Town.”
Similar to just trying to, I was like, “Man, I really want to make something that highlights my songwriting community.” “Ten Year Town” is a podcast where I get to chat with songwriters, hear their stories, and it gives them a platform. It helps aspiring songwriters who are thinking about moving to Nashville or just getting started on their journey, hopefully find out where to go.
Yitzi: That’s amazing. So just back to this, your single, “Over You By Now,” is there a story behind that? Is there a particular real-life story?
Yeah, man, with my songs, I’m always trying to take complex emotions and put them into simple ideas that people can just hear and get it. I think that’s the beautiful thing about music — it hits you in your heart. It’s not like seeing a beautiful painting, you know, you get it right away. The best songs, you get right away. I wrote this song from the standpoint of thinking about relationships I’ve been in the past. For me, it’s even more than just love gone wrong. It’s like life gone wrong, these things that stick with you and sit on your soul, and you go, “Why am I still not over this?” I wrote the song from that perspective, trying to give a voice to that feeling.
Yitzi: It’s amazing. Do you think that your songwriting process now is similar to when you started, or do you think it’s become more sophisticated, more creative?
That’s a great question. Over the last seven years I’ve lived in Nashville, I feel like I’ve picked up so many new tools. I’ve certainly grown and become very capable of writing more sophisticated types of songs. Ironically, a lot of what I’m trying to do now is simplify what I’m writing. By that, you’re almost trying to forget some of the stuff you learned and go back to how it was when you started, because that was the most pure. When you were just writing to try to figure your life out, you know? So I’m always trying to remember why I started and to get back to that. Yes, more sophisticated, but by being more sophisticated, I try to actually focus on the simplicity.
Yitzi: It’s profound that, as you grow, you may have different tools where you need discipline not to put too many gimmicks in and you want to keep it pure. I was taught that. I was trained as a graphic designer. I was taught that you may have a zillion tools, but the real good designers are the ones who keep it simple and have the discipline to know not to use too much.
Yeah, it’s great. You’re right. It’s discipline. You know, it’s like, if you’re writing an article, just because you know a thousand different adjectives doesn’t mean you should use them all, right?
Yitzi: It’s a great analogy. It’s perfect. I can totally relate. When I was in high school, I would try to use the most advanced words that I possibly could. And then I realized that people just didn’t understand it, you know? I had an uncle who was a great, great writer. He said he takes pride in the fact that his writing can be understood by an elementary school person, but not be goofy to a college professor. I admire the idea of what you’re saying, not to be too complicated.
Yitzi: Do you find it tricky balancing songwriting and podcasting?
Yeah, that’s a great question. One of the things I love about getting to do the podcast is getting to hear people’s stories. I actually think it helps me a ton as a songwriter and just in life. I’ve always been a very curious person. When I meet someone for the first time, I’m always trying to get to the heart of their story because I think it helps me know them. To be known is one of the most beautiful things in the world. That’s why I’m always trying to tell people my story and why I write songs, because I’m trying to be known. So to get to sit down with people I admire in the podcast setting and get to hear their story is really beautiful. It inspires me. I remember the first time I was listening back to one of our early episodes. I went on a walk around my neighborhood and came back inside. I told my wife, “This sets my soul on fire. I just loved getting to talk to people about their story.” So it totally goes together for me.
Yitzi: Fascinating point that your interviews make you a better songwriter. That’s brilliant. I feel the same way with my own work.
Yitzi: One more question about your podcast. The term “10-year town,” what’s that referring to? It feels like it’s an inside joke that I’m missing.
Oh, so they say that Nashville is a “10-year town.” It’s kind of a joke because when you move to Nashville, you go, “I’ll do it in two. It’s a 10-year town, but I’m different. I’m going to do it in two or three.” I think it’s sort of just a nod to the craftsmanship aspect of songwriting and being in this business. It really does, it might not take you 10 years, but the point is that it takes time, and the journey takes time. That’s kind of one of the tenets of the podcast that we always go back to — it’s about the journey. It’s not about the hit song as much as the path to get there is really where all the good stuff is.
Yitzi: So if Nashville is a ‘10-year town’, is Los Angeles, is that a ‘20-year town’ or are they different?
I don’t know. I don’t know why they’ve always said that’s been a thing since I moved to Nashville, that it’s a ‘10-year town’. I’ve never had a lot of experience with the music business in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, or elsewhere. But I know I’ve talked to people that have lived and worked in LA. Something about the Nashville community is just unique.
Yitzi: To me, it sounds optimistic that it’ll take 10 years, but you’ll make it eventually in Nashville. Whereas, you know, New York or LA, it’s almost like a crapshoot. You know, there’s a lot of luck. It’s not only talent, it’s luck, who you know, who you meet, the right time, right place. Nashville’s like, it’s supportive enough and relatively small enough that you’ll make it if you keep putting in your reps.
Yeah, I think, again, I can’t speak to LA or New York or whatever, but I know that’s one of the most beautiful things about Nashville — there is just this sense of community. I think the road of the artist, the road of any kind of entrepreneurial profession like this, you know, writing songs and writing like you do are probably similar in a lot of ways where ultimately, you kind of have to be responsible to yourself to make it happen. But I know that in Nashville, you can at least be around a lot of other people that are on a similar journey to yours. There’s somebody you can call when your day doesn’t go your way. I think that’s a beautiful thing.
Yitzi: Okay, let’s get to our centerpiece question. So this is our signature question, like our five things question. So you’re a very successful songwriter, you’re blessed with a lot of success. Looking back to when you started, can you share five things you need to be a successful songwriter?
- Yeah, the number one thing is, I think you just gotta show up every day, every day that you can. If you just put the time in, time is the single most controllable variable to having success. If you put in the time, I don’t know any successful songwriters who don’t put in the time.
- I’d say the second thing is just staying curious, staying open. Don’t feel like you know everything because you don’t. It’s one of those situations where the more I learn, the less I know.
- I think the third thing is, as much as you can, try to be yourself. It’s actually very hard to be yourself. As you grow, as your career progresses, you get a lot more voices in your ear. And you have to develop, make sure that you’re always listening to your own self first, prioritizing your voice.
- And I guess the fourth thing is sort of on that same wavelength. It’s like, be different. That ties into being yourself. But don’t be afraid to be different. Being different is what will actually help you create your own lane. Because differentiation is survival. People want, you know, if they want a song like the kind of work that I do, I want them to be able to only come to me if they need that kind of song.
- And the fifth thing, let’s see, I would say just be kind. That’s good advice for life. There’s no reason to stick up for yourself always. But I just always try to be empathetic and understand that everybody’s going through something. We never know what that is. So it never hurts you to just be kind.
Yitzi: Troy, because of the great work that you’re doing and that you’ve done and the platform that you’ve built, you’re a person of enormous influence, and people take your words very seriously. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
That’s such a big question.
Well, I believe in line with what we’ve been talking about, I think that the best thing anyone can do is to just try and stay curious and stay open to meeting new people, talking and hearing other people’s stories. I think even my worst enemy, if I sat down with them for an hour and they told me their life story, I might not change my mind, but I’d at least develop a little more understanding.
It seems like everything is careening out of control in the world right now. There’s so much keyboard warrior behavior where you’re just yelling at someone over the internet that you don’t even know anything about. I hope we can find a way to all try and listen to each other more and get to know each other more, whatever that means. I hope people stay open-minded, or just stay… I would like to encourage people to listen more to the people around you and try to listen to their stories — you’ll learn something.
Yitzi: So beautiful. How can our readers continue to follow your work online? How can they purchase your music? How can they watch your shows? How can they support you in any possible way?
Yeah, so you can just go to troycartwright.com, you’ll find links to my music, to my merch, and to my podcast. And yeah, the best thing anybody could do is just find my music and give it a listen. I hope you find something in there that resonates with you.
Yitzi: Troy, it’s been such a delight to meet you. You seem like such a kind, humble, and authentic person. Oh, thank you. I really feel lucky to have met you.
Oh, well, I feel the same way. And thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
Yitzi: It’s really been a pleasure. I look forward to sharing this with our readers.
Troy Cartwright: Five Things You Need to Create A Highly Successful Career As A Singer-Songwriter was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.