Meet the Mentors

Director of School and Music Programs

Aaron oversees the Museum’s flagship education program, Words & Music®, which serves thousands of students and audiences each year. Prior to joining the Museum’s education team in 2019, Aaron taught at Nashville’s Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts. He has served as a guest instructor, clinician and judge for various music festivals, camps and organizations in Tennessee and his native Arizona, as well as an education curriculum consultant for Quaver Music. Aaron performs regularly in Nashville with his acoustic duo, Emberland. As a trombone player, he has performed with artists including Danny Gokey, the Jacksons, and the Temptations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and a master’s degree in music from Northern Arizona University.

Senior Manager of Music Programs

Adam is a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who co-wrote “Moonlight, Mistletoe, and You,” the title cut on Keb’ Mo’s 2019 holiday album, which spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard blues album chart. He has also written songs with Natalie Hemby, Jim Lauderdale, and Maren Morris. Adam has toured and recorded with Will Hoge, Kacey Musgraves, and John Oates—playing pedal steel, Dobro, and guitar—and has appeared on recordings by J.D. McPherson and Carrie Underwood. He has performed on the Country Music Association Awards, the Grammys, the Late Show with David Letterman, and The Tonight Show, and alongside Loretta Lynn, NEEDTOBREATHE, Willie Nelson, Katy Perry, and Lee Ann Womack. Adam holds degrees from Princeton University and Berklee College of Music.

Words & Music Manager

Raised in a musical family in Chicago, Layla began performing on stage at age four.  She has released two EPs, Tame the Fox in 2017 and Postcard from the Moon in 2021, and has performed her songs for audiences of all ages at venues throughout the U.S. Layla has served as a teaching artist and educator at the Old Town School of Folk Music, The Chicago Children’s Choir, and the Music Institute of Chicago. Her single “You Can’t Love Me Like I Loved You” was a finalist in both the 2020 John Lennon Songwriting Contest and The Great American Song Contest. Her song “Josephine” was a semi-finalist in the Music City Song Star songwriting contest. Her holiday pop song “Hanukkah Honey” was featured in Hallmark’s movie Hanukkah on the Rocks.​  Layla holds a BA in Creative Writing with a minor in music from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Words & Music Coordinator

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Claire moved to Nashville in 2016 to pursue songwriting full time. Her songs have been placed on ABC Networks’ Station 19, HBO Max’s 12 Dates of Christmas, and her song “The Art of Letting Go” was recently featured on the hit Netflix series Love is Blind. In 2020, Claire was named a finalist for both the Kerrville Folk Festival’s Grassy Hill New Folk Songwriting Competition and the Songwriter Serenade” songwriting contest in La Grange, Texas. Her latest album, Can’t Start Loving You Again, came out in 2024.

Associate Manager of School Programs

As an upright bassist, “Smilin’” Jay McDowell toured the world with CMA Award-winners and GRAMMY-nominees BR5-49, supporting the Black Crowes, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, George Jones, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, and Brian Setzer. When he pivoted to video editor at Sony Music, Jay contributed to music videos, documentaries, and commercials for artists including Jones, Tracy Lawrence, and Ashley Monroe. He created the video content for the Vanderbilt University class, Popular Music’s Effect on the Integration of America. His collaboration with the music education character, Farmer Jason, led to an EMMY nomination. At the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Jay led the video department and collaborated on Backstage, a broadcast whose guests included Steve Cropper, Emmylou Harris, and Don McLean. He has published more than 350 music-related magazine articles and currently contributes to American Songwriter and Now Dig This.

Songwriting Mentor, July

Kyshona began her career as a music therapist, writing her first songs with patients. She has shared the stage with many artists, including Lake Street Dive, Meiko, JD McPherson, Margo Price, and Wynonna, and has opened for Jason Isbell. Her latest album, LEGACY, shares her story and family history, and features collaborations with Keb’ Mo’, Ruthie Foster, and Brittney Spencer. Her organization, Your Song, connects performing arts centers, musicians, and artists with vulnerable communities to promote healing and community connectedness through songwriting.

Songwriting Mentor, June

Anne Buckle is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer. A descendent of the Carter Family and a cousin of June Carter Cash, Anne has country music in her blood, but she took a non-traditional path to Nashville. After earning her master’s degree from Harvard University, she spent her first few years out of college working for the U.S. Department of State and the governor of Tennessee before settling into her music career. As an artist, she has shared the stage with the late Charlie Daniels, toured with Augustana, opened for the Chicks on their DCX MMXVI World Tour, and has become a regular performer at the world-famous Bluebird Cafe. As a songwriter, she has written songs for other artists including David Archuleta, Marisa McKaye, and Jacob Westfall.

Songwriting Mentor, July

Raquel is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from British Columbia, Canada. She has fronted shows for Johnny Lang, Scotty McCreery, Brothers Osborne, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, Diamond Rio, and others. Having won the Canadian Country Music Association’s Discovery Award in 2016, Raquel was featured by the Canadian Broadcast Company as one of the “25 musicians under 25 you need to know.” She released her debut album, Personal Truth, in 2018.

Songwriting Mentor, June

Kevin is a Grammy-recognized engineer, producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who has worked with Mikky Ekko, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, SHEL, and Abigail Washburn. He co-produced and performed on Compassion, the 2020 breakout EP by Brittney Spencer, who was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2021. Dailey also composed and recorded original score for the Web television series Queen America, starring Catherine Zeta Jones, which premiered on Facebook Watch. He engineered the album Rocket Science, by Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, including the song “Life in Eleven,” which won Best Instrumental Composition at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. As a member of the band Civil Twilight, Dailey has contributed music to films and television series, including Big Love, House M.D., One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars, and Shameless. Kevin records and releases his own original music as Garden Friend.

Songwriting Mentor, July

Lexie is an artist and songwriter originally from Virginia. Her songs have been featured on the Women of iHeart Country radio show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, CMT Awards, and ESPN. She co-wrote Pricilla Block’s single “My Bar,” which reached the top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2022. Lexie released her debut full length album Counting Rainbows in 2024.

Songwriting Mentor, June

Jennie Hayes is a Nashville-based songwriter, producer, and band leader originally from Dallas. She began writing and performing original music while attending the University of Arkansas and moved to Nashville in 2013, where she has since become an active member of the songwriting and music community. Alongside her brother, David Bingaman, she leads the independent Americana/roots band Brother and The Hayes. Together, they have produced and released five studio projects while independently managing their publishing, production, and busy tour schedule. Since 2014, Kurtz has worked with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, leading hundreds of songwriting programs. A seasoned performer and mentor, Kurtz enjoys helping young songwriters find their own voices through music and encouraging creativity through the craft of songwriting.

Songwriting Mentor, June

AJAYE (“A.J.”) is an award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter based in Nashville who blends Americana, folk, and country. Named British Columbia Country Music Female Artist of the Year, AJAYE has been featured in Rolling Stone Australia, American Songwriter, and Americana UK. She has performed at The Bluebird Cafe, on Today in Nashville and CTV Morning Live, and tours across Europe and North America.

Songwriting Mentor, July

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, singer-songwriter Paulina Jayne won the 2023 ASCAP Peggy Lee Songwriting Award for her song “Half.” She has opened for Sheryl Crow, Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince Gill, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Rascal Flatts, and Keith Urban. Paulina’s music has been featured on CMT, in a national Folgers Coffee commercial, and on the Netflix show Top Grier. She is sponsored by Ford Motor Company and serves as an ambassador for the national non-profit organization Miss Amazing, Inc., which empowers girls and women with disabilities.

Songwriting Mentor, July

Chris grew up in New England and moved to Nashville in 2013 to pursue a music career. He won the 46th annual Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition and was selected to perform at the 2018 Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival in Texas. He has shared the stage with folk troubadours Joe Ely, Tim O’Brien, and members of Old Crow Medicine Show. Chris released his first full-length album Bitter Ballads & Cynical Prayers in 2020.

Songwriting Mentor, June & July

Claire Wyndham is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music has taken her all around the globe. After achieving success in her native Australia, she moved to Nashville in 2010. She signed a publishing deal in 2013 and found her niche placing songs in film and television. Claire’s songs have been featured on networks like HBO, CBS, NBC, The CW Freeform, and MTV. In 2022, she released an EP Waves with her duo, the Lonely Fighters.