Hardy Debuts New Song About a School Shooting ‘Tommy Made the News’

Hardy Debuts New Song About a School Shooting ‘Tommy Made the News’ The songwriter played a three-song set Tuesday night at the 20th anniversary concert of Nashville's songwriters haven the Listening Room By Joseph Hudak Joseph Hudak Contact Joseph Hudak on X Contact Joseph Hudak by Email View all posts by Joseph Hudak March 4, 2026 For 20 years, songwriters have been testing out new material at Nashville’s writers haven the Listening Room. On Tuesday night, during a celebration of the Listening Room’s 20th anniversary at the Ryman Auditorium, Hardy stayed true to that tradition by debuting a new song for a sold-out crowd. And it was a doozy. Titled “Tommy Made the News,” it detailed a troubled young man’s final day at school in which he carries out a shooting: “Till 10 a.m. it was just another morning/everybody went a-running and locking their doors,” Hardy sang in a verse. “Hollow points rained like hell in the hallway/and they found Tommy on the bathroom floor.” Hardy prefaced the song by saying he was nervous to try it out, but his direct performance enraptured the audience, who chanted his name. “Tommy Made the News” was the first of his three-song set. He followed it with “Truck Bed” and then a finale of his first Number One song as a writer, “Up Down,” recorded by Morgan Wallen. While Hardy was the headliner of the evening, the lineup had its share of heavy hitters. Jo Dee Messina sang “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” surprise guests Old Dominion delivered “Song for Another Time,” and Brett Young offered “In Case You Didn’t Know” with his own surprise guests: Boyz II Men . The Philly soul greats received one of the night’s two spontaneous standing ovations (Hardy was the other), and fans swooned when they sang their own “Water Runs Dry.” But this was a concert emphasizing the impact of songwriters on country music, many of whom cut their teeth on the stage of the Listening Room in its various locations. It’s currently located on 4th Avenue South, but it’s ...