DOWNTOWN CELEBRATES TEDDER AND PRINE

Downtown Music Publishing celebrated two of its most accomplished songwriters on Wednesday at multiple events in NYC.

Photo by Gary Gershoff

Ryan Tedder received the NMPA's coveted Songwriter Icon Award, along with the org's Diamond Award certification for "Counting Stars" by One Republic during its Annual Meeting at the Edison Ballroom. Accepting his award, Tedder gave a powerful speech regarding the importance songwriters' rights and followed it up with a performance of some of his smashes, inclduing Jonas Brothers' "Sucker," Beyoncé's "Halo" and Adele's "Rumor Has It."

Photo by Kevin Scanlon

Later that evening, Downtown' John Prine was honored with a showcase at PUBLIC Arts benefiting 826NYC, the NY chapter of the largest non-profit youth writing network in country. Held on the eve of Prine's induction into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the showcase featured an all-star lineup featuring Sara Bareilles, Norah Jones, Natalie Merchant and Nathaniel Rateliff among others, delivering acoustic tributes of their favorite John Prine songs. The songwriting legend capped off the night with his own performance of "Paradise," joined by friends Bonnie Raitt and Keith Sykes.