Caymanian singer, songwriter and musician George ‘Barefoot Man’ Nowak returned to the place that shaped his music career in the late 60s, performing for a ‘Songwriters’ Night’ at Chief’s on Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee on 22 Sept.
“There were lots of lights, cameras, and lots of laughs when I did my songs. I was honoured [for] the opportunity,” Nowak told the Cayman Compass.
Nowak shared that right after high school, he got a job in Nashville working for Chart Records.
“I’ve been back many times since then to record with local country singer Andy Martin and attend the CMA award [shows],” he said.
“The venue Chief’s is a huge nightclub/theater/bar/restaurant complex located on Broadway in Nashville, which is the heart of the country music scene, a place where songwriters, producers, and record executives gather.”
During the almost two-hour event, Nowak performed some six songs from his 50-year repertoire, which brings out the spirit of calypso and island-style country, combined with humorous anecdotes and off-the-wall innuendos.
“As a songwriter, it’s always enjoyable when people are listening to your lyrics in a theatre atmosphere rather than a nightclub where you are just live background music,” Nowak said.
TIK PIK collaboration
Nowak joined popular Nashville-based songwriters and musicians Keith Stegall, Michael White and Kevin MaC on stage for an impromptu ‘Pick Pick Pass’ session, where one musician passes along the pick to create a smooth musical synergy of picking and storytelling in song.
That pick was from the revolutionary guitar pick company TIK PIK, developed by Nowak’s son, Nick Nowak, MaC and Jake Lyda to help prevent musicians from losing picks during performances. The patent-pending guitar pick company was recognised on ABC’s Shark Tank show last year, which caught the attention of host Mark Cuban to invest in their company, ultimately securing a $75,000 deal.
Along with performing two of his popular songs during a ‘writers’ round’, Nowak also got a chance during the Nashville event to perform a song, ‘She Loved my Deck’, for Cuban, who Nowak noted “has been a fan of my music for years”. Nowak also made a special guest appearance for the ABC show, which was taping for a follow up on the TIK PIK company’s success.
Among the attendees in Nashville was tourism director Rosa Harris and other representatives from the department of tourism.
Nowak’s performance included songs from new album, which he described as “typical me – a mix of tropical country, risqué and lots of humour”.
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