When Jon Nite took the stage at the 2023 SESAC Awards at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (November 5) to accept the award for Songwriter of the Year, he had an important message for young writers: keep writing. The hit songwriter—who’s also behind such hits as “Strip it Down” and “What She Wants Tonight” by Luke Bryan, “We Were Us” by Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert, and “Beachin’” by Jake Owen—was honored with a video tribute featuring some of his all-star collaborators Urban, Dierks Bentley, Tyler Hubbard, and Gabby Barrett.
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His family also appeared in the celebratory video, including daughter Ashley Nite, who followed his footsteps into the music industry as head of A&R at Eastside Avenue Publishing, who praised him as, “My favorite songwriter, my mentor, the man who taught me everything about life.”
“You’re just such a great songwriter and such a humble, great guy,” affirmed Bentley of the man who helped write his hits “Living” and “Tip it On Back.” “I respect you so much,” raved Barrett of Nite, who helped her write her massive debut No. 1 single, “I Hope,” along with recent single “Pick Me Up.” “I thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for so many other people. Thank you for being an inspiration to myself and so many other songwriters in Nashville,” said Hubbard, who co-wrote his most recent hit “Dancin’ in the Country” with Nite, Urban, and Ross Copperman.
[RELATED: Songwriter Insider: Sitting Down With Jon Nite]
When accepting the award, Nite opened with a story about how his wife taught him how to two-step when they met as 16-year-olds, a memory that inspired “Dancin’ in the Country.” “It sounds like we made it up, but that’s really what happened,” he shared of when they were parked on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in Texas, those little details shaping the song that Hubbard took to the top of the country charts.
“I don’t deserve this,” Nite said with humility. “All of my co-writers are amazing, all these artists up here, it’s unbelievable.” He recalled how he moved to Nashville in 1998 with only $500 in his pocket and wrote at least a thousand songs before he got his first cut. But it was writing those thousand songs that taught him that the key to the best songwriting is telling the truth.
“Now I’m here,” he reflected. “Just keep writing the songs that are a part of your life because that’s what I’ve been doing and those are the only ones that ever work.” He then advised aspiring songwriters to “be true to yourself” and keep “writing truth” while maintaining faith that it is possible to have success as a songwriter.
“It just feels like it’s never gonna happen because it takes forever,” he acknowledged. “Everybody loves music and it’s an amazing opportunity just to be able to get up and do this every day. We get to do this crazy thing we would do for free and SESAC’s up here paying us money to do the thing we love the most in the world,” he cheered. “It’s unbelievable.”
“Thank God” by Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn was named Song of the Year. Fellow honoree Megan Moroney opened the show with a stripped-down performance of her breakout hit “Tennessee Orange,” while Jamey Johnson‘s distinct voice filled the room on a stunning cover of the gospel standard “I’ll Fly Away” in honor of its writer, Albert E. Brumley, who received the SESAC Heritage Award. Rising star Dillon Carmichael also got to shine with a performance of his sentimental hit “Son of A.“
See the full list of 2023 SESAC Awards Honorees:
“THANK GOD”
Written by: Josh Hoge, Christian Stalnecker
Published by: Blunts and Bonfires Music, Feels Like Friday, Sony Music Publishing, Chorus 2 Music, RMM 416 Publishing
Recorded by: Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown
“DANCIN’ IN THE COUNTRY”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Cuts Like A Nite Music, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Tyler Hubbard
“TENNESEE ORANGE”
Written by: Megan Moroney
Published by: Georgiamo, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Megan Moroney
“YOUR HEART OR MINE”
Written by: Justin Ebach
Published by: Phat Racoon, Universal Tunes
Recorded by: Jon Pardi
“YOU DIDN’T”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Brett Young
“PICK ME UP”
Written by: Jon Nite
Published by: Cuts Like A Nite Music, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Gabby Barrett
“GIRL IN MINE”
Written by: Casey Brown
Published by: Track & Feels, Warner Chappell Music, Tape Room Tunes
Recorded by: Parmalee
“WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE”
Written by: Chris LaCorte
Published by: Card Tables Music, Hang Your Hat Hits, Concord Tunes
Recorded by: Sam Hunt
“BURY ME IN GEORGIA”
Written by: Josh Hoge
Published by: Blunts and Bonfires Music, Chorus 2 Music, Sony Music Nashville
Recorded by: Kane Brown
“OUT IN THE MIDDLE”
Written by: Ben Simonetti, Zac Brown
Published by: Simonetti Music Publishing, Day For The Dead Publishing
Recorded by: Zac Brown Band
“Y’ALL LIFE”
Written by: Josh Jenkins, Pete Good
Published by: Follow Me Where I Go, SMACKWORKS Music
Recorded by: Walker Hayes
“SON OF A”
Written by: Dillon Carmichael
Published by: Riser House Tunes, Sony Music Publishing
Recorded by: Dillon Carmichael
“PARTY MODE”
Written by: Jared Keim
Published by: Twelve6 Sequoia, Warner Chappell Music
Recorded by: Dustin Lynch
“CHANGE OF HEART”
Written by: Margo Price, Jeremy Ivey
Published by: Peach Pit, Fisheye, RMM 416 Publishing, Good Songs We Love
Recorded by: Margo Price
“THAT KIND OF LIFE (THAT KIND OF DAY)”
Written by: Jim Lauderdale
Published by: Wudang Mountain Songs, Critter City Music
Recorded by: Jim Lauderdale
“TALL AND MIGHTY”
Written by: Kelsey Waldon
Published by: MyKaintuck Publishing, Do Write Music
Recorded by: Kelsey Waldon
“DON’T LET THE DARKNESS”
Written by: Ed Jurdi
Published by: Three Pisces Music
Recorded by: The Band of Heathens
“ALL I REALLY WANNA DO”
Written by: Henry Brill
Published by: Kobalt Group Publishing
Recorded by: Devon Gilfillian
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for SESAC
