NashViva

Byron Kennedy
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Music Interviews

Nashville's hit songwriters tell the stories behind the songs — and the comedians in the room don't let them get away with anything. NashViva is a writers' round, rewired. The people who actually wrote the country hits you know sit down, tell the story behind a song, then play it. Stand-up comedians sit in the circle with them, riffing and cutting the long setups short — turning an insider Nashville ritual into a show you don't need to know a single songwriter's name to enjoy. Hosted by Byron Kennedy, a radio programmer turned Stoney Creek Records executive turned stand-up comic. Featuring hit writers Trent Tomlinson ("Close Your Eyes," "In Case You Didn't Know," "Damn Strait"), Jordan Walker (Luke Combs' "When It Rains It Pours"), and Adam Craig ("Close Your Eyes," "World to Me"), with headlining comedian Butch Bradley. Behind the curtain of Nashville.

Episodes

  1. 3d ago

    Locked Out NAKED in China… Then He Pulled the Fire Alarm

    A comedian gets locked out of his hotel room NAKED in Shanghai and pulls the fire alarm. A country artist rides an elevator in his tidy whities on radio tour. Then Trent Tomlinson tells how he hit rock bottom — divorced, dropped by his label, waking up next to a Jim Beam bottle. That morning became "Whiskey on My Breath," the song Love and Theft recorded for Netflix's The Ranch — and the song that later helped Eric Gunderson get sober. Host Byron Kennedy is joined by Trent Tomlinson ("In Case You Didn't Know," "Damn Strait"), Adam Craig ("Just a Phase"), Jordan Walker (Kane Brown's "Backseat Driver"), and Las Vegas headliner Butch Bradley. They cover blackout travel stories, the nine-writer campfire song, why you "don't need talent" to make it in Nashville, labels that want 100K followers before they'll hear a song, viral TikTok stars who can't play live, and how radio testing really works. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:00 Welcome to NashViva 0:23 The two Hilton Tempos: wrong hotel, someone's in my room 2:16 "You call it traveling": wine at noon 2:50 Locked out NAKED in a Shanghai hotel hallway 3:47 Pulling the fire alarm (it didn't work) 4:05 Walking through the lobby naked 4:41 "Why'd you call the fire department?" The security footage 5:32 Adam Craig's underwear elevator ride on radio tour 6:51 Tidy whities vs. boxers 7:12 The story behind "Whiskey on My Breath" 7:41 Trent's rock bottom: divorce, lost record deal, Jim Beam in bed 8:30 "Meeting my Lord with whiskey on my breath" 9:13 One campfire, nine co-writers 9:45 The Nashville co-writing rule: if you're in the room, you're on the song 10:14 Love and Theft cut it, then Netflix's The Ranch 10:42 42 identical work tapes 11:10 The song that helped Eric Gunderson get sober 11:38 "That's healing stuff" 11:57 Seven years off Jim Beam + Good Butch vs. Evil Butch 13:10 Kid Rock and Tim McGraw almost cut it 13:43 The rewrite: "Jesus had whiskey on HIS breath" 14:34 "You don't need talent to make it in Nashville" 15:23 Throw a quarter, hit 100 great singers 15:55 Timing, luck and the "it" factor 16:25 Roasting Adam Craig's "Just a Phase" 16:50 Viral TikTok stars who've never played live 17:47 Development deals are dead 18:08 The 550K-follower comic who ate it in Vegas 19:01 Label meetings: "How many followers you got?" 19:32 "Unless he has 100K followers, don't bring him here" 20:04 Shameless plug: FOLLOW US 20:26 Moving to Nashville in 1995 and Tootsie's 21:15 Be "successfully inaccessible": don't overexpose 21:28 A new single every six weeks? 21:50 Focus tracks: how radio testing really works 22:38 Why familiarity beats taste at radio 23:28 The grind: "If you're a killer, you'll get your day" 24:00 Comics who can split a room four ways 24:43 When a joke pops, "there is no rehab for that" 25:08 How social media changed comedy bookings 25:50 Real or bought? Should apps hide like counts? 26:20 Who won? Cheers and sign-off PANEL: Byron Kennedy, host / comedian Butch Bradley, Las Vegas headliner Trent Tomlinson, "In Case You Didn't Know," "Damn Strait" Adam Craig, "Just a Phase" Jordan Walker, co-writer of Kane Brown's "Backseat Driver"

  2. Oct 3

    Howard Stern Asked Him THAT On Air… Then He Sold 150,000 Albums

    Howard Stern put Trent Tomlinson on the spot LIVE on air, and his answer sent "Drunker Than Me" flying off the shelves — 150,000 copies. Then the road stories get worse: a Texas state trooper draws his gun on Jordan Walker's drummer, host Byron Kennedy gets thrown off a plane in Vegas and has to drive home, and Adam Craig admits what happened at the gym at 6 AM. It ends with Adam Craig playing "MIA Down in MIA" live — the song George Strait cut on Cowboys and Dreamers, written by Adam Craig and Dean Dillon. NashViva is a writers' round, rewired: Nashville's hit songwriters + Las Vegas comedians, one room, zero filter. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:00 Cold Open 0:46 Welcome to NashViva: Nashville songwriters meet Vegas comedians 0:57 Trent Tomlinson on The Howard Stern Show 1:28 How "Drunker Than Me" + Miss Howard Stern got him booked 3:58 Howard's on-air question: "Would you?" 5:54 The Stern bump: 150,000 albums 8:57 Jordan Walker buys Adam Craig's tour bus (no CDL needed) 9:18 Pulled over in Paris, Texas with guns on the bus 11:00 "The trooper draws, bro!" 12:16 Butch Bradley's cop-show obsession (Tasers & "June") 14:03 Byron gets kicked off a plane in Vegas 16:08 The sinkhole story that started it 18:02 Banned from flying: the drive home & "halfway to Barstow" 19:16 Adam Craig's 6 AM gym disaster 22:00 The Episode 1 callback 22:26 George Strait cut his song and he called Jordan 23:06 Who won the episode? 24:11 Outro PANEL: Byron Kennedy, host / comedian Butch Bradley, Las Vegas headliner Trent Tomlinson, "Drunker Than Me," "One Wing in the Fire" Adam Craig, co-writer of George Strait's "MIA Down in MIA" Jordan Walker

  3. Sep 29

    John Daly: "I Sent Willie Nelson a Song. He Emailed Back a Verse."

    John Daly sits down with NashViva for one of the wildest episodes yet — from the song he sent Willie Nelson without asking him to appear on it, and the verse and guitar part Willie emailed back, to his behind-the-scenes stories filming Happy Gilmore 2 with Adam Sandler, to the legendary 1995 British Open playoff win that made his career. Plus: he explains how he taught himself golf on a baseball field with his dad's old clubs, breaks down his favorite golf courses (St. Andrews, Augusta, Bay Hill), and tells the story of the shortest putt he ever missed. Trent Tomlinson closes the show with a brand-new song. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:00 Cold Open — Welcome to NashViva 1:03 John's charity work — $600K+ raised for Boys & Girls Club Arkansas 2:04 The Willie Nelson story — the verse he emailed back 6:24 Childhood dreams of golf legends 8:58 Growing up in Arkansas & the George Strait origin story 10:04 Teaching himself golf on a baseball field 17:02 The 1995 British Open playoff story 24:29 John's favorite golf courses of all time 27:20 Behind the scenes of Happy Gilmore 2 with Adam Sandler 32:46 The bee story — the shortest putt he ever missed 36:42 LIVE: Trent Tomlinson debuts a brand-new song Guest: John Daly This episode features a sponsor mention from Good Old Boy Vodka. Please enjoy responsibly. Must be 21+ to consume alcohol.

  4. Sep 29

    ChatGPT Wrote a Country Song LIVE… "It Wrote Hotel California"

    Can ChatGPT write a country hit? The NashViva panel finds out LIVE — then Jordan Walker, who wrote the real "Backseat Driver" (recorded by Kane Brown), explains exactly where the machine got it wrong. Nashville hit songwriters + Las Vegas comedians, one room, zero filter. Butch Bradley, Trent Tomlinson, Adam Craig, and Jordan Walker go head-to-head with AI — from a ChatGPT-generated country song performed on the spot, to an AI roast of host Byron Kennedy, to why a hologram pop star is selling out arenas in Japan. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:00 Intro — Welcome to NashViva 0:26 Nashville vs. Vegas: Broadway, The Strip & Last Call 1:26 Meet the crew: Jordan Walker, Trent Tomlinson, Adam Craig, Butch Bradley & Byron Kennedy 2:36 Is AI being used to write songs in Nashville? 2:55 The viral AI song about Puerto Rico — why it feels "gimmicky" and not human 4:00 The Alexa rant — "She's cocky now" 6:36 Songwriter caught secretly using ChatGPT in a co-write (the mirror story) 8:41 Another writer getting all his song titles from ChatGPT 9:54 AI hologram artists & why live entertainment always wins 11:41 "Backseat Driver" — let's see what ChatGPT does with it 12:02 The experiment: "Write me a country song called Backseat Driver" 12:59 Jordan Walker performs the ChatGPT-written song LIVE 14:17 Reacting to the AI song — "It wrote Hotel California" 15:39 The real story behind "Backseat Driver" (written with Jacob Davis in 2019) 16:39 The verdict: AI vs. the human element 18:01 Testing Suno AI's version + AI-written comedy jokes 20:07 "We're like God to AI" 20:35 Using AI to fire people & Byron's record-deal firing story 22:23 The fake ChatGPT newspaper roast prank (Seattle Times story) 25:24 Putting AI on real problems: traffic & colonoscopies Guests: Jordan Walker, Trent Tomlinson, Adam Craig, Butch Bradley

  5. Sep 29

    The Radio Exec Kissed Him ON THE MOUTH! Crazy Music Industry Stories

    Welcome to NashViva — the show where Nashville's best hit songwriters and Las Vegas's worst comedians sit in one room and nothing is off-limits. In Episode 1, host Byron Kennedy brings together singer-songwriter Adam Craig, hit songwriter Trent Tomlinson ("One Wing in the Fire," co-written with Bobby Pinson), Jordan Walker (co-writer of Kane Brown's "Backseat Driver"), and Las Vegas headliner Butch Bradley for music industry war stories and stand-up confessions you won't forget. This is the unfiltered side of Nashville and Vegas — the gigs nobody talks about, the radio promoters nobody forgets, and the stories behind the hits. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:08 Welcome to NashViva — Nashville meets Vegas 0:50 How Byron Kennedy created the show (and his record label past) 3:00 "Apparently we have five comedians" 4:27 Blacking out on stage — the Willie Barcena story 7:01 The brutal truth about record promotion & radio 11:44 Driving door-to-door to radio stations "like you're with Elvis" 12:56 The mattress store gig 15:31 Playing a pot shop in Vegas (why stoned crowds are the hardest) 18:02 The New Orleans story — a radio PD kissed him ON THE MOUTH at 3AM 21:11 How long has Butch Bradley been a Vegas headliner? 22:02 The youngest headliner in Las Vegas 26:37 "Today, 7 years sober" — Butch gets real 29:30 Surviving a rocket attack on a USO tour — 4,000 soldiers didn't flinch 31:51 "This might be a good time to kiss" 35:48 NASH FM! Let's go, baby — sign-off Guests: Adam Craig, Trent Tomlinson, Jordan Walker, Butch Bradley

  • 5 Episodes

About

Nashville's hit songwriters tell the stories behind the songs — and the comedians in the room don't let them get away with anything. NashViva is a writers' round, rewired. The people who actually wrote the country hits you know sit down, tell the story behind a song, then play it. Stand-up comedians sit in the circle with them, riffing and cutting the long setups short — turning an insider Nashville ritual into a show you don't need to know a single songwriter's name to enjoy. Hosted by Byron Kennedy, a radio programmer turned Stoney Creek Records executive turned stand-up comic. Featuring hit writers Trent Tomlinson ("Close Your Eyes," "In Case You Didn't Know," "Damn Strait"), Jordan Walker (Luke Combs' "When It Rains It Pours"), and Adam Craig ("Close Your Eyes," "World to Me"), with headlining comedian Butch Bradley. Behind the curtain of Nashville.

Information

  • Creator
    Byron Kennedy
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    5
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 NashViva
  • Show Website
    NashViva