ABOUT US
How SNL began:
Craig Lackey and Ken Veltz met at a writers night in Nashville. What started as a conversation about the venue’s sushi quickly morphed into a discussion about songs, songwriting, and most importantly—songwriters. They soon became friends and collaborators, and eventually decided to create a unique singer-songwriter experience called SongNest Live.
The show ran from November 2016 to March 2019 until a tornado, and then a pandemic, put the show on hiatus. When the time was right, Craig found a new home for the series at The Green Light bar, thanks to a suggestion from his longtime friend and co-writer Dani Jack, who joined as co-host.
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UPDATE: Our residency at The Green Light has now ended, and SongNest Live is on hiatus. While we’re no longer producing regular monthly shows, we still host occasional pop-up events and venue takeovers—so stay tuned for the next one!
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Craig Lackey writes with many hit writers including Tim James (Lee Brice, Trace Adkins), Steve Williams (George Strait, Craig Morgan) and Rivers Rutherford (Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney). Craig has had many artists record his songs including Jimmie Van Zant, Dave Adkins, Maddie Wilson, Kim Parent, Steve Williams and many more. Craig wrote the title track with Elles Bailey's for her current album "Shining In The Half Light" which charted at #1 Blues, #2 Americana, #4 Indie, and #42 Overall Album on the UK charts. Craig has had his songs placed in films and on TV shows, such as The Unit, Any Day Now, and Passions.
Ken Veltz is a singer/songwriter, percussionist whose career spans multiple aspects of the music industry. He has composed and produced musical scores for dozens of award winning film projects that have aired on major and cable television networks. Ken has also produced radio programs, music theatre productions, music videos and was signed to a NYC Atlantic Records recording contract as the principal songwriter and drummer for his family band, "Cecilia The Band", aka, "The Veltz Family".
After the family band run, Ken went on to developing popular singer/songwriter venues, i.e., "The Listening Room" and "SongNest", in the NYC, Hudson Valley and Western NY markets. Ken and his wife, Jeannie, moved to East Nashville in 2015.
Dani Jack – Since releasing her debut EP Grace in 2018, Dani Jack has been the opener in a national stadium tour, released two singles, and created three music videos. She hosts an annual benefit for Espere Community Counseling Center, one of the only mental health centers in Haiti. She has plans to release an acoustic EP in 2023 honoring her late co-writer John Cirillo. When she’s not writing or performing, Dani is busy running Party Up Balloon Co, bringing balloons and cheer to all of Nashville.