Country Is His Rock At Tin Pan South 2008

NASHVILLE, TN. (Top40 Charts/ Lyric Street Records) - This year's Tin Pan South event in Nashville, TN is better than ever with an impressive roster of songwriters all week long. Among these writers, there is one in particular, from Kennett, Missouri, that stands out� Trent Tomlinson. With a former basketball star as a father who groomed him for a career in basketball, Trent hardly had the 'easy road' to musical stardom. "The trouble was," says Trent, "I could score 32 points and on the way home he'd be on me about why I didn't take the charging foul in the fourth quarter."

While his father may have had sports-destined dreams for him, it was Trent's mother who encouraged him to play the piano. When Trent realized that it was difficult to cart the piano around from gig to gig, he taught himself how to play the guitar. It wasn't until Trent auditioned and was the runner-up in TNN's talent show "You Can Be A Star," that things started snowballing in the right direction. The final round of the talent competition brought him to Nashville and from there were a string of publishing deals, as Trent tried to make a living writing and playing his music.

Finally there was a turning point when Trent got a deal with Cal IV Entertainment which, in turn, led him to his current home with Lyric Street Records. "Luckily," he says, "my vision was their vision." Even his father is behind him now. "At one time," he laughs, "he thought it was all a pipe dream. Now he's calling with song ideas."

Trent has had three cuts on the first Emerson Drive record, a Sara Evans cut called, 'Missin' Missouri', and another cut by George Strait. Trent's debut album with Lyric Street Records, 'Country Is My Rock', released February 21, 2006, has eleven original tracks, from which it is hard to choose just one favorite song. "My songs," he says simply, "are real-life situations with kick-ass guitar." "It's 'open a beer, sit in a lawn chair, let's have a party' country," he says of his music. "At the same time, the songs are saying, 'I have the ability to love you, to understand,' and at the end of the day all that matters is Mama and Daddy and going to heaven. That pretty much sums everything up.' His album has turned many heads and radio loves him. The next step is to see him live, and what better way to do that, than to check him out on the second day of this year's Tin Pan South event.

Trent will be at 3rd and Lindsley Bar and Grill on April 2, 2008 along with Anthony L. Smith, Lisa Carver and Ira Dean for this year's Tin Pan South event. Tickets are $10 at the door and the show starts at 6:30pm. For more information on Trent Tomlinson, go to www.trenttomlinson.com. For more information on Tin Pan South 2008 and a day to day lineup, go to www.nashvillesongwriters.com.