Ep. 43 - TRENT DABBS ("Girls Chase Boys")

Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Mississippi native Trent Dabbs relocated to Nashville in the early 2000s, where he’s carved out a niche on the local indie rock and Americana scene. Over the last twelve years, he’s released ten solo albums, a collaborative EP with edgy country sensation Ashley Monroe, and two retro R&B inspired projects with fellow singer/songwriter Amy Stroup under the name Sugar + The Hi-Lows. Earning significant critical acclaim, All Music predicted that Sugar + The Hi-Lows “just might be the next breakout band to capture the nation’s imagination.” Dabbs is a co-founder of the Ten out of Tenn artist collective, and has collaborated with high-profile songwriters, including Lori McKenna, Gabe Dixon, Joy Williams of the Civil Wars, and Kacey Musgraves, with whom he penned the Top 40 country single “Undermine” from the hit TV show Nashville. Other songs from the Trent Dabbs catalog that have appeared on the series include “World on Time,” “I’m Coming Over,” “Shine,” and “Don’t Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet,” which became a Top 40 hit for series regular Hayden Panettiere in 2014. Many of the songs from Dabbs’ solo projects have landed on high profile TV shows such as The O.C., The Hills, Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, So You Think You Can Dance, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, Hawaii-Five-O, NCIS, and others. Dabbs contributed six songs to Ingrid Michaelson’s 2014 album Lights Out, including “Girls Chase Boys,” a Top 10 single on both Billboard’s Hot Rock Songs and Adult Top 40 chart. His latest album as a solo artist is called The Optimist.