MEDIA ADVISORY: The Road to Nashville – Liverpool International Song Contest 2022
What: Press Conference for The Road to Nashville – Liverpool International Song Contest 2022
Who: Two music city power houses, Liverpool and Nashville, are coming together to raise awareness for mental health.
- Nashville In-Person Presenters and Speakers
- John Cooper (Mayor of Nashville)
- Dr. Shamender Talwar (TUFF Co-Founder)
- Jeff Syracuse (Metro Council Member)
- Deana Ivey (Nashville CVC President)
- Liverpool Live Stream Presenters and Speakers
- Launch Presenter: Claire Simmo (BBC)
- Guests / Speakers:
- Joanne Anderson (Mayor of Liverpool)
- Kevin McManus (Head of UNESCO Cities of Music)
- James Holt (2021 Contest Winner)
- Daniel Xander (TUFF Head of Music)
When: Monday, May 9th
Time: 10:30 AM CT
Venue: Musicians Hall of Fame
Address: 401 Gay St, Nashville, TN 37219
Action: RSVP to Mark Logsdon of PLA Media at (615) 327-0100 or mark.logsdon@plamedia.com
Why? A global historic project is being launched, bringing Nashville and Liverpool together to support musicians and songwriters battling the stigma of mental health while promoting diversity and understanding. Live-streamed simultaneously in both Nashville USA at 10:30 CST and Liverpool U.K. at 16:30 GMT on May 9, 2022, a press conference will announce a joint initiative by both mayors from the biggest music cities in the world to combat mental health while also championing the search for the best songwriters from around the globe.
The Road to Nashville – Liverpool International Song Contest 2022 is a seven month project, which highlights original material of global songwriters and musicians with a unique infrastructure to support them with mental health services, while submitting their songs throughout the process of the song contest.
With May marking Mental Health Awareness Month, the timing was perfect to ignite this initiative especially given the tragic news that recently struck the Nashville and Country Music Community. The project kicks off May 9 with a live stream launch between Liverpool, hosted at the British Music Experience, and Nashville, anchored at the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum.
As a display of the unity between the cities, the Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson will be passing to Nashville Mayor John Cooper a priceless artifact in the British Invasion era of music history to truly reveal how the cities will “Come Together.”
Last year, the project took place in Liverpool U.K, acquiring over 20,000 submissions from 28 countries with over 6.7 million hashtags of their branded #Kind20. The top prize for the inaugural contest went to James Holt for his song “Make My Day.” To view the itv News profile on James and his performance at The Cavern Club, CLICK HERE.
The Road to Nashville – Liverpool International Song Contest is proud to partner with BMI (Broadcast Music Inc), The Cavern Club, Culture Liverpool, EXIT/IN, LIPA, Liverpool City Council, Metropolitan Nashville City Council, Musicians Hall of Fame, Nashville CVC and SAE Institute Global for the 2022 contest.
About Liverpool International Song Contest
Last year, Liverpool City Council played a role in supporting the International Song for Kindness which was created by the charity TUFF (The Unity of Faiths Foundation) to support their wider goals of empowering young people and promoting acceptance, equality and respect for other cultures.
The Liverpool International Song Contest is a vehicle used to tackle discrimination and the stigma of mental health, providing support for those most in need and developing a bespoke mental health service infrastructure specifically tailored toward those in the creative sector.
Participants in the 2020/21 Liverpool International Song Contest were invited to attend one of 23 workshops across the Liverpool City region, delivered by TUFFs Music division and led by TUFFs co-founders Anna Prior and Dr. Shamender Talwar FRSA (renowned social psychologist) and Liverpool based producer Daniel Xander BSc MA (TUFFs Head of Music). These engaging workshops provided education in music, production and human values, and provided education on mental health and one to one counselling with mental health practitioners.
In addition to the thousands who attended the in-person workshops, TUFF also provided an online version of the syllabus for those unable to attend through medical reasons, Covid-19 and/or mental health disorders such as social anxiety and depression. This online digital format provided people with the same opportunities and one to one counselling, delivered in a way that best suited their needs.
The connection with Liverpool came about because TUFF developed the global #KIND20 campaign as a way to demonstrate and promote social integration, which reached a staggering 6.5 million people from around the world. After conversations with The Cavern and other organizations in Liverpool, they came up with the idea of an International Song Contest to celebrate what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. Kevin McManus, Head of UNESCO City of Music, was involved on behalf of the city and attended the final event at The Cavern in October 2021. The songs were judged by an impressive panel of industry figures (including Adele’s agent and respected musician/songwriter Andrew Roachford MBE who had a number of hits with his band Roachford) who all attended the event in Liverpool. Entries were received from 28 countries in the inaugural contest.
About TUFF – The Co-Organizer
The Unity of Faiths Foundation (TUFF) is a British secular charitable organization working in four continents. They bridge community sectors, organizations and government by rebuilding social integration and global community cohesion. TUFF also empowers youth through participation in sports, music and science. Teaching education in human values, acceptance of integration, individual liberty, gender equality, understanding environment, respect for other cultures, the rule of law and democracy. They have been established since 2011 and have the support and acknowledgments of many dignitaries like H.H Pope Francis, H.M the Queen, President Barack Obama to name a few. The ultimate goal is to share kindness and facilitate the integration and empowerment of those people who do not have a voice, due to numerous challenges and obstacles they face in their daily lives.