Songwriters from Austin, TX and beyond showed up in force for the first installment of The Hook in Austin on Sunday, May 3rd. You can now see the full episode taped live a Sagebrush on South Congress below.
Hosted by (yours truly) Trigger of Saving Country Music, and award-winning songwriter Caitlin Cannon, the guest panelist for the inaugural episode was Stacy Antonel, who also started off the show with her song that’s become a sort of de facto theme song for The Hook, “Always The Outsider.”
Though singing competitions abound, and forums for songwriters are not uncommon, “The Hook” is unique in how it centers the song first, not the singer, or the performance. In an era when so many of the greatest songs go unheard, and their composers are resigned to virtual obscurity, “The Hook” aspires to open up a new forum for songs and their creators to find the audience and support they deserve.
“The Hook” seeks to create a platform to discover and showcase songs in a way that would preserve the small and pure tones of truth that would be otherwise smothered by mainstream noise and AI. That’s exactly what happened on May 3rd.
Everyone was blown away by Austin-based songwriter and performer Katrina Cain, who came up and played her unreleased song “Midnight Ballerina,” and won The Hook’s Gold Patch, which allows Katrina the privilege of performing on The Hook that’s taped live in front of a film crew and audience whenever she wishes.
Perhaps the best song presented in the entire two hour show came from aspiring songwriter and performer named Alex Evans. Her song “Southpaw” waylaid everyone.
A couple of strong Austin songwriters helped close out the show. Bill Cody performed his song “Wild Thing” to the appreciative audience of peers, and Tyler Richards closed the show out. Talk about lyrical hooks, Tyler’s line “Some love you make, some love makes you,” from his song with the working title “Love We Made Last Night” was the perfect way to end the show.
Some of The Hook’s other most memorable moments came via songwriter Marsha Craft. She showed up Sagebrush hung over, thought it would be a simple afternoon of leisure songwriters, and got foisted into the spotlight. But far from cowering, she turned in a great performance of her song “Terlingua,” along with telling a compelling personal story about losing her job as a set painter in Los Angeles, and then moving to Austin two weeks after the devastating January 2025 wildfires back in LA.
Any and all songwriters of any genre or professional level are encouraged to sign up. The next shows are May 24th and May 31st at Sagebrush from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. Songwriters who want to perform are asked to show up at 2:30.
The Hook is not just for songwriters though. Fans of songwriting are also encouraged to stop by. For more information, visit savingcountrymusic.com/thehook. Please subscribe to The Hook’s YouTube Channel, and follow The Hook on Instagram and Facebook.
The Hook is sponsored by Ear Trumpet Labs, Keystone Artist Connect, The Willie Bus, Mule Kick Productions, JWA Media, and Sagebrush.
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