Songwriters in the Round: Thomm Jutz, Tony Arata and Ed Snodderly

Thomm Jutz studied classical guitar performance at the Conservatory of Music in Stuttgart,Germany, and earned his graduate degree in Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee StateUniversity.Heis a Grammy-nominated songwriter, artist, and producer.His songs have been recorded by Billy Strings, The Steeldrivers, Nanci Griffith, DelMcCoury, and many other artists.His work has received hundreds of TV, movie, and advertising placements(BBC, CNN, AlJazeera, Disney, Discovery, etc.)Jutz is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame’s“American Currents”class of 2021. Peter Cooper, the senior writer and producer of the Country Music Hall of Fame called Jutz,“one of the quiet and graceful heroes of the acoustic guitar.”
Tony Arata is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (2012). His songs have been recorded by Dolly Parton, Patty Loveless, Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Delbert McClinton, Hal Ketchum, Don Williams, Lainey Wilson, Charlie Worsham, Del McCoury, Mountain Heart, and many others.
With four No. 1 songs to his credit, including Brooks’ The Dance, for which he received a Grammy nomination and won ACM Song of the Year in 1991, and Here I Am, by Loveless, Arata, who was born in Savannah, GA, has called Nashville home for nearly 40 years.
In 2020 Ed was awarded a lifetime achievement award, presented to him from SERFA (Southeastern Region of Folk Alliance) for his contribution to Southern folk music.
The third verse of his song, “The Diamond Stream”, is permanently on the wall displayed in the Hall Of Honor at the Country Music Hall Of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ed songs have been recorded by such artists as Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Missy Raines, John Cowan and others. He lives and works out of Johnson City, Tennessee.
His latest recording was released in 2024, titled Chimney Smoke and features Gretchen Peters, Amythyst Kiah, Maura O’Connell and Eugene Wolf, among others.