At the tender age of 10 James Dean Hicks began performing with Grand Ole Opry greats like Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow, and by age 13 he had opened shows for Conway Twitty, George Jones and Tammy Wynette. But, Hicks laid his music performance career aside at age 16 to enjoy his youth. After graduating college he then moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a professional artist and songwriter.

Hicks has had five No. 1 hits and numerous awards since that time. Over 160 of his songs have been recorded by some of country music's legends, including Charlie Daniels, Crystal Gayle, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash and Conway Twitty. He's also had songs cut by John Michael Montgomery, Neal McCoy, Collin Raye, Lorrie Morgan, Bryan White, and pop superstars, Aaron Neville and Tony Rich.

Hicks wrote "Sweet Kisses," the title cut for Jessica Simpson's recent album, as well as "Life is a Party" by teen heartthrob Aaron Carter. He has current cuts by Lonestar, Kenny Chesney, John McLaughlin, Jon Wolf, Emerson Drive, Rissi Palmer, a Reba/Vince duet, and is completing work on a new song for the musical American Mall. He's also had songs featured in the films "Rugrats Go To Paris," "Deep Impact," "Killer Movie" and the British short film "STAR."

As a recording artist, he has had a No. 1 video in Australia and has two critically-acclaimed CDs. He performs over 230 shows each year and has produced many other artists, for both indie and major labels.

Billy Montana

Critically-acclaimed singer/songwriter Billy Montana has a talent for tapping into powerful emotions in the songs that he writes which has led to a string of hits and awards for some of country music's biggest stars.

Once an agriculture major at Cornell University who dreamed of owning and operating an apple farm, Montana elected to sow seeds of a different sort in the songs he writes and records. Montana moved his family to Nashville in 1989 to pursue his songwriting dream full-time.

In 1994, Montana signed a songwriting deal with Moraine Music, and in 2000, Curb Publishing picked up Billy in a joint venture. That same year, Montana got his big break when Jo Dee Messina cut his song "Bring On The Rain." The song immediately jumped onto the charts, was nominated for a Grammy and became both a country and AC hit.

Montana's other No. 1 hits include Garth Brooks' record-breaking single, "More Than A Memory," which entered the Billboard and R&R charts at No. 1, and Sara Evans' smash "Suds in the Bucket." Montana also wrote "Friends for Life" for the animated MGM movie release of the Mark Twain classic Tom Sawyer.

Montana's songs have been recorded by a diverse group of artists, including Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Sister Hazel, BlackHawk, Kenny Rogers, Lee Ann Womack and Pat Green.

Rob Crosby

Singer/songwriter Rob Crosby wrote his first song at age 9 and had his first band when he was in 5th grade. He continued to write songs and perform throughout high school and college. He then formed The Rob Crosby Group, which toured Europe twice, for the Armed Forces, and played colleges along the east coast. In the late 1980s he moved his family to Nashville.

He has scored hits as both a writer and an artist, including Martina McBride's "Concrete Angel," Andy Griggs' "She's More," Lee Greenwood's "Holdin' a Good Hand" and his own "She's a Natural" and "Love Will Bring Her Around."

With three nationally-released albums and eight chart singles, Rob has toured with artists such as Travis Tritt, Reba McEntire and Brooks & Dunn, and has opened shows for Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Restless Heart and George Jones.

His songs have also been cut by artists Brooks & Dunn, Trace Adkins, Paul Simon, Restless Heart, Eddie Raven, Boy Howdy, Ricochet, BlackHawk, Ty Herndon, The Wilkinsons, Darryl Worley, The Osmond Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys, Whispering Bill Anderson and Rodney Atkins.

Crosby's most recent CD, One Light in the Dark, was released by Dureco in 2007 and he is currently producing a new artist, Nancy Casteele, for Warner Records in Holland and new artist Wendy Fierce, who is signed to Universal Records. His work in Europe continues to expand.