Texas Music News — August 23, 2026
Dallas songwriter Troy Cartwright stepped into the Grand Ole Opry circle this week and earned a standing ovation. The Dallas native now writes from Nashville, but Tuesday belonged to him. He got his first guitar at 13 and started writing songs soon after. Since then, he’s written hits for Cody Johnson, Lee Brice, Ryan Hurd and Nickelback. He’s also racked up more than 250 million streams on his own music.
Then Troy Cartwright performed two unreleased songs, “One Summer When I Was Young” and “Shoulders,” inside the Grand Ole Opry’s famous wooden circle. That circle came from the stage of the old Ryman Auditorium, so it carries nearly a century of country history. Hank Williams and Patsy Cline once stood in that same six feet of wood.
Troy Cartwright Steps Into the Circle
“Country music specifically is such a special genre because places like the Grand Ole Opry preserve the history and cherish memories made there,” Cartwright said after he left the stage. “Standing in that circle for the first time, not only do I carry with me all of those who have come before me, but I get to look out into the audience and see my parents, my wife and my son.”
Still, Troy Cartwright’s own audience wasn’t just fans; it was family. That’s the kind of night a songwriter remembers long after the applause fades.
Details at MusicRow
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