photo by Lena Nugent Photography; photo courtesy of Knyvet

Single Review of Elisa Smith: “Nashville Don’t Forget Me”

Elisa Smith won a 2025 Josie Music Award for Female Country Song of the Year for “Nashville Don’t Forget Me.” And it’s easy to see why. The song is well-written and impeccably instrumented, and Smith’s vocals hit all the right notes, literally and figuratively.

As the song begins, the opening guitar twang lets you know this is gonna be some true-blue country music. Then Smith’s voice, that sweetly strong voice kicks in. It’s an old-fashioned, crisp, old-school country voice. When I caught Elisa at the 2025 New England Americana Festival, I thought this song was a ’70s throwback, and indeed it came off that way as a live acoustic duo performance. However, this fully instrumented arrangement, while maintaining the classic, timeless country vibe, also has a richness and fullness that’d allow it to stand toe-to-toe with modern recordings of this same sub-style of country.

image courtesy of Knyvet

Neatly, the song builds, as instrumentation and vocals build to power, expressing the song’s lyrical sentiment, “Nashville, don’t forget me.” (Oh, it’s a lot deeper than that, but I’m not giving away any more lyrical content.) And, of course, the energy level pulls back and fades away at the end; message delivered.

One of the neat things you’ll discover, as you explore Smith’s playlist a little deeper, is that she’s as good at hitting some more energetic and sassier songs, as well. So beyond this kickass softer-touch song, she’s got the chops to pull off the song variety necessary for a fun full-length album or concert event.

Looking Forward

You can catch Elisa Smith live on Saturday at the New England Americana Festival at the Bellforge Arts Center in Medfield, MA – the pre-event schedule suggests she’s scheduled to go on at 2:00, so get out early to this all-day, 1:00-8:00 concert at a cool outdoor venue. For more upcoming performances, check out the “Live” page of Smith’s website.