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Darden Smith is a singer-songwriter based in Austin whose 30 year career redefines what it means to be a musician as the founder and creative director of Songwriting With: Soldiers, a nonprofit that pairs award-winning songwriters with veterans and service members in retreat settings to craft songs about combat and the return home. Rooted in the songwriting traditions of his home state of Texas, he is described by experts as a singer/songwriter blessed with an uncommon degree of intelligence, depth, and compassion. His 2017 album, Everything, features musicians Roscoe Beck (bass), JJ Johnson (drums), Charlie Sexton (guitars), Michael Ramos (keyboards) and David Mansfield (mandolin, pedal steel and strings), with vocal help from James House, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Bonnie Bishop, and Kelly Willis. Recorded in Austin, the collection features songs written by Smith and with collaborators House, Radney Foster, Matraca Berg, Bruce Robison, and Jay Clementi. Mary Gauthier says of the album, "Darden Smith has made a beautiful new record, filled with hope and love and heartfelt tenderness... This music is magic, and who doesn't need a little magic right now?"