Barn Bash

DAVE TURNBULL

Dave Turnbull (BA dad to Dave ’25) attended the United States Naval Academy Prep School and graduated from Virginia Tech University with a degree in Economics. He scored his first top-ten hit with Darryl Worley's "If Something Should Happen.” The same year, Trace Adkins recorded the touching military tribute, Arlington, which went to #13 on the country charts. Since then, Dave has scored four #1 singles including "Lucky Man" by Montgomery Gentry, "The Boys Of Fall" by Kenny Chesney, "Old Alabama" by Brad Paisley, and "Anything Like Me" also recorded by Paisley which he wrote about his oldest son, David.  Dave's current radio single is “Where The Wild Things Are” recorded by Luke Combs. 

BRETT JAMES

Brett James (BA dad to Preston ’16, Sam ’17, Clare ’19, and David Cornelius ’22) has had more than 750 of his songs recorded by some of the biggest artists in the world.  His songs have appeared on albums that have combined sales of over 110 million copies. He has had numerous hit singles including 27 #1's and earned a GRAMMY® in 2006 for "Jesus, Take the Wheel”.  He was named ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year in 2006 and 2010 and Music Row Magazines’ Songwriter of the Year in 2015. He has received more than 40 ASCAP hit song awards in country, pop, Latin, and Christian genres.  In 2020, he was elected into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

JIM COLLINS

As the songwriter behind some of country music’s biggest hits of the last four decades, Jim Collins is pure and simply a hitmaker. He is a member of the Texas Songwriter’s Hall Of Fame and a two-time GRAMMY® nominee. Jim’s hits include the multi-week, #1 smashes “Big Green Tractor” (Jason Aldean), “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven” (Kenny Chesney), and “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not” by Thompson Square. In addition to being both iTunes and Country Aircheck’s #1 “Country Song Of The Year” in 2011, it received a Grammy nomination and was named one of the top five songs of the decade by Country Aircheck.