Songs for Jana

Songs for Jana

Come join us for an incredible evening of music at Cedar Springs Ranch! Bring your blankets and come listen to the amazing songwriting skills of Janelle Arthur, Brett Sheroky, Lauren Mascitti, and Ben Johnson. Lite Bites and warm cider will be provided. This is a BYOB event. Grab your friends and family, and let's come together to support the Hall Family at Songs for Jana!

There has never been a person or a family more worthy of a miracle than Jana and her family. She is a beautiful 42-year-old mother of two who is faced with a battle to save her own life and get as much time with her family as she can.

Jana and her husband, Dan, have been dependable to their loved ones and pillars of strength during any crisis. Unfortunately, Jana is now the one in crisis. In the summer of 2023, Jana was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. She was given limited options for treatment and began to seek care at the Mayo Clinic.

As medical and travel expenses begin to mount up, we want to give back to Jana and Dan as they have given to so many others over the years. Jana is the most determined and strong fighter that we know.

We are putting together this evening with the hope of giving financial support in addition to our prayers and love. Our hope is that she can defy the odds with a true miracle. “Songs for Jana” will help to ease the financial hardship that comes with out of state tests, doctors’ visits, and experimental treatments. We want her focus to be on beating this and spending her precious time with her family.

Jana is a beloved daughter, sister, mother, wife, and friend. If you know, Jana then you know her as a loving, thoughtful and generous person. She is quick to turn a stranger into a friend and the most loyal person you could ever know. Jana’s love to help others lead her to choose a career in nursing. She never wavers in her commitment to serve others. Jana has a fierce dedication to her family and you can see this within an instant of meeting them. Jana’s children are 8 and 6 years old.

Please join us on November 10, 2023 at Buddy’s Place for a beautiful Songwriter’s Night. 100% of proceeds will go directly to Dan & Jana Hall.

About The Artists

Janelle Arthur

Janelle is no stranger to the spotlight. She began performing at Dollywood when she was 8 years old portraying one of her musical heroes, a young Dolly Parton. From that time and thousands of shows later, she has had the opportunity to be a guest on The Today Show, The Kelly & Michael Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Access Hollywood, and Today in Nashville.

Thanks to her loyal followers, her social media fan base is now around 150,000 on combined social media networks.As an entertainer, Janelle has had the pleasure of opening shows for or performing with: Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Craig Morgan, and The Band Perry. Her lifetime dream to perform on the world-famous “Grand Ole Opry” became a reality on June 19, 2013, and she has been a repeated guest many times since then. As a daughter of the South steeped in family ties, tradition, and truthfulness, Janelle Arthur’s music is reflective of who she is and exemplifies her way of life. As evidence in “Love You Anyway,” a compelling song written by Arthur (featuring multi-Grammy award winner Vince Gill) is honest, persuasive, and real. Her self-titled debut EP including this collaboration is available on Spotify and iTunes.

Brett Sheroky

Brett is a full of life performer and true entertainer. He is based out of Nashville, TN. Brett Has had songs recorded by Blake Shelton, Matt Shell, and Granger Smith. A native of Belleville, IL, writer/artist, Brett Sheroky moved to Nashville in 2009. Working as a speech therapist by day, Brett spent over a decade on the outside of the music scene focusing on the craft of songwriting. That disciplined approach paid off in 2020 when Brett signed his first publishing deal with SeaGayle Music. Senior Creative Director, Kim Wiggins states, "Turning effort into art is no easy task. When I heard Brett's songs, I couldn't believe that he was writing at that level and had never had a publishing deal. Brett's songs are allowing him the opportunity to write with songwriters that would usually take a newly signed writer years to get in a room with."

Lauren Mascitti

You might remember Lauren Mascitti from this past season of ABC’s “American Idol.” Mostly known for her solo round performance during Hollywood Week of a song she penned herself and dedicated to her nana titled “God Made A Woman,” she quickly became a fan favorite. During the Top 40 showcase in Hawaii, however, she became part of a history-making and controversial vote for the last spot in AI’s Top 20. Although she didn’t win the vote, putting her in 21st place, outraged Idol fans catapulted Lauren’s newest independent album release “God Made a Woman” to #4 on the iTunes Country Albums Chart within a day of her elimination. Lauren is determined to keep the fire burning bright using her momentum and success from her Idol experience as fuel. #21 just might be Lauren’s magic number…. Years before Lauren Mascitti's newest release, God Made a Woman, helped build a bridge between the traditional twang of her country influences and the modern melodies of her Nashville contemporaries, the songwriter grew up in the small farm community of Louisville, Ohio, raised on the sounds of her grandparents' music collection. Her Nana was a fan of old-school soul and gospel music. Her Papaw loved outlaw country stars like Waylon Jennings. Lauren rolled those influences into her own sound, recording her first album at 7 years old and quickly growing into a seasoned performer, skilled multi-instrumentalist, and expressive storyteller.

Nine albums later, Lauren's story remains grounded in the cultural tapestry of her upbringing. A proud Italian-American, she grew up with the songs of her favorite Italian-American artists, whose classic melodies inspired her own songwriting. Equally inspirational were the Saturday nights of her childhood, when Lauren would often stay up late to watch singers like Crystal Gayle on The Statler Brothers Show. Come Sunday, she'd be at her beloved church, Trinity Gospel Temple, singing in the choir and leading praise and worship in the youth group. Mentored at the age of 7 by choir member Cheryl Jamison, Lauren developed a strong voice and began recording her own gospel albums while still in elementary school. By 12 years old, she had released four solo records and moved to Branson, Missouri, where she balanced her schoolwork with nightly performances alongside gospel singer (and original Oak Ridge Boy) Gary McSpadden. She played six shows a week at the Americana Theater, becoming a professional singer before she was even a teenager. Meanwhile, Lauren was also growing into a seasoned songwriter. Strumming an old Gibson Dove acoustic guitar that had once belonged to her great-grandfather, she wrote her first songs as a young teenager, drawing not only upon her background as a gospel singer, but also her love of poetry and a lifelong appreciation for classic country music. She started making regular trips to Nashville at the age of 13. There, she studied with renowned vocal coach Brett Manning, played her original music at local songwriters showcases, and began planning her move to the big city. Lauren recorded her first batch of original songs at 15 years old and even scored a hit with "Child of God," which debuted at number 70 on the national Southern Gospel radio chart. In the meantime, Lauren was still traveling from church to church with her music ministry, as well as anywhere else her Nana drove her. Lauren eventually did move to Nashville, but not before graduating college with a degree as a registered nurse. "I work with people at different stages in their lives," she says of her ongoing work as an RN, "and I've heard so many stories. The whole experience has inspired me. I've learned a lot about people and what they've gone through." During her off-the-clock hours, Lauren continued writing songs, sometimes alone and sometimes with the input of co-writers like Pam Tillis, Matraca Berg, Mo Pitney, Bobby Tomberlin, Wil Nance, Bill Whyte, Ronnie Bowman, Renee Martin, and more. She also struck up a partnership with Grammy Award-winning producer, Shawn Camp, who produced Lauren’s strongest album to date: 2020’s God Made a Woman.

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is GRAMMY nominated songwriter, producer, and artist living in Nashville, TN. He is signed to a worldwide co-publishing deal with Tape Room Music (Nashville) and Artist Publishing Group (Los Angeles) as well as a record deal with BBR (Stoney Creek), and has written songs for artists such as Charlie Puth, Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Ava Max, Lee Brice, Meek Mill, Justin Timberlake, Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bentley, HARDY, Parmalee, Jake Owen, David Guetta, Bebe Rexha, and more.

Originally from Meridian, Mississippi, Johnson grew up surrounded by music. He is a classically trained pianist and cellist, and grew up performing everywhere from bluegrass festivals to orchestra concerts. From a young age, Johnson has written and produced music with his two sisters in their country band Track45 (managed by Missi Gallimore and Gary Borman, and signed to BBR/Stoney Creek).

In 2012, Johnson moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University, and it was at this time that he began co-writing. Johnson also made many connections in the country world singing BGVs for the CMA Awards each year- heʼs had the opportunity to perform with artists like Dolly Parton, Alan Jackson, George Strait, Reba, and many more. Johnson met Ashley Gorley of Taperoom Music through a co-writer and they began working together, leading to Johnsonʼs eventual signing at Tape Room Music/APG in 2018.

His first major cut was “Patient” with multi-platinum pop artist Charlie Puth on his 2018 album “Voicenotes”. Since then, heʼs had dozens of cuts in both the pop and country worlds, as well as success as a producer. Johnson had his first #1 in 2020 with Lee Brice’s “One of Them Girls”, which stayed at the top of the charts for 3 weeks. He also had a #1 song with Dierks Bentley’s “Gone”, as well as a 4 week Alternative Airplay #1 with Weezer’s “All My Favorite Songs”.

In 2021, Johnson broke into the top 10 on Music Row Magazine’s Top Songwriter Chart. He won the 2021 AIMP Song of the Year award for “One of Them Girls” as well as the 2021 AIMP Publisher’s Pick Award for HARDY’s “Give Heaven Some Hell. Additionally, Johnson was nominated for the 2021 Music Row Magazine Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year. He made history in 2021 with the first song to ever win Country Song of the Year at all three PROs (BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC) with “One of Them Girls”. In 2022, Johnson received his first GRAMMY nomination for “Rock Song of the Year” with Weezer’s “All My Favorite Songs”.

Currently, Ben spends most of his time writing and producing at his studio on Music Row, and working with his band Track45. Track45 released their first EP in 2020, and their single “Met Me Now” went to radio in 2021. The song earned them a spot as the most added artist on country radio the week of its release. Find Track45 online at www.track45.com.

Host or Publisher Patti Ashe Coleman, Rebecca Cain Collins and Buddy Norris