The Songwriter of the Year Steps Into the Circle

Blake Pendergrass, who was recently named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, has now played the Grand Ole Opry for the first time. In this city, the people who write the songs are usually known first by their peers and only later by the audience, so a writer taking the Opry stage has a particular weight. Within a short span, Pendergrass has received the songwriting community's top honor and stood on country music's most storied stage, and Nashville noticed both. We offer our congratulations on a debut worth marking.

With reporting from MusicRow.