On Nov. 5, Hillary Lindsey and Ashley Gorley returned to their alma mater, Belmont University, to speak to students at the school’s Master Session event.
The conversation focused on Lindsey’s career from interning with Patrick Joseph Music at age 19 to writing 27 No. 1 tracks. She shared the story behind songs including “Girl Crush,” which was recorded by Little Big Town and broke the record for the most weeks a band with more than three members spent at No. 1 on the country charts. Lindsey was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2024, and Gorley was inducted in 2025.
She credited the community among writers in Nashville for her success. Serving as a moderator for the discussion, Gorley attributed Lindsey’s place in the songwriting community to her willingness to dive into the complexity of situations headfirst when writing.
“Hillary Lindsey’s honesty and transparency about her songwriting journey was so inspiring. Her ability to speak on the struggles that all young songwriters face made the discussion engaging and highlighted the importance of resilience in the industry,” shares Reagan Sheedy, a freshman songwriting major and event attendee.
Pictured (L-R): Victoria Banks, Brittany Schaffer, Hillary Lindsey, Ashley Gorley, James Elliott, SHOF Board member/Chairman, SHOF Nashville Committee Fletcher Foster, Drew Ramsey, and Dwayne O’Brien.
Ashley Gorley & Hilary Lindsey.
Lauryn Sink is a staff writer at MusicRow Magazine. Hailing from Lexington, North Carolina, Lauryn is a 2025 graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source musicrow.com ’
