In the Round: Matkosky, Ahnquist, Barnhill & Parker

An in-the-round songwriter show puts Dennis Matkosky, Smith Ahnquist, Greg Barnhill and Drew Parker at the center of The Bluebird Cafe, a snug Nashville room with 18 tables, 8 bar seats and 8 church pew seats. The remaining pew seats are available first come, first served. It's the kind of setting where the songs and the stories behind them take center stage.

The lineup covers a lot of country songwriting ground. Ahnquist, a Danville, Kentucky native and staff writer, has had songs cut by artists including Brad Paisley, Lainey Wilson, and Florida Georgia Line. Barnhill, from New Orleans, has written songs recorded by Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley ("Walkaway Joe") and by Amy Grant and Vince Gill ("House of Love"), among many others. Drew Parker grew up in small-town Georgia, sang in church from age three, and taught himself guitar at 14. Together, these four show what a Nashville songwriting round can be: intimate, varied, and full of stories.