Jason Kirkness: Developing as a songwriter

Nationally celebrated for his modern Country sound, Jason Kirkness has established himself as a standout figure in Canadian Country music, capturing audiences with two acclaimed albums. Awarded Male Artist of the Year title at the 2023 Manitoba Country Music Awards, Kirkness gained impressive traction on the Canadian Billboard Top 50, where his single “Anywhere the Night Goes” spent 18 weeks. The track spent four weeks on the Billboard New and Active Indicator chart in the U.S. and earned a spot on the Music Row Breakout Artist chart. Renowned for his dynamic stage presence, Kirkness has shared stages with international Country icons like Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood. His music enjoys widespread airplay on Canadian networks including Rogers, Pattison, and SiriusXM, alongside notable appearances on CTV News and features in major publications across Canada.

Jason shared the process behind his song Ghost of You. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

• How Jason started songwriting without knowing anything about it
• How getting schooled in Nashville helped Jason develop his songwriting discipline
• Keep all your little ditty ideas; you never know what they can grow into
• Getting through a draft of a song quickly can be valuable; you can always revise it afterwards
• Collaborating with Jesse Slack on writing Ghost of You
• Collaboration tip: Leave with great friendships rather than a great song