I left Nashville in 2012 after 16 years. I had enjoyed the community of songwriters and musicians, unmatched anywhere on earth. But, the Bro country movement had attracted an invasion of young, tobacco chewing, backward baseball cap wearing dudes who were only interested in writing songs about drunken partying, tight jeans, pickup trucks and glorifying a culture founded on willful ignorance, misogyny, homophobia, and racism. The great storytelling tradition of Music Row songwriting was, for a time, pushed into the periphery and fell off of the charts.

Things improved with the emergence of artists like Kasey Musgrave, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne, who were courageous enough to stand up on behalf of inclusion and acceptance. But, every bit of evolutionary progress invariably sparks a reactionary response… thus the jingoistic, bigoted attitudes championed by performers like Jason Aldean.

Maren Morris is one of the most skilled and truly versatile singers around. She is fully capable of thriving in any popular music genre. However, it’s sad to hear that country music is losing an artist of such integrity and humanity. I, for one, can’t wait to hear what she does next. I’m a true fan of her elastic voice, her vibrant spirit and her highly principled conscience.