On The Cover: Carly Pearce Leads MusicRow’s 2018 Artist Roster Issue

MusicRow Magazine released its annual Artist Roster issue on Monday (Aug. 13). The cover of the new issue was revealed yesterday during a party at ASCAP, featuring rising artist Carly Pearce. For a look at MusicRow’s Artist Roster cover reveal party (held Monday, Aug. 13), click here.

Honey-soaked intonation and bourbon-fueled sentiment abundant, Carly Pearce is the songwriter behind 2018’s big female breakout “Every Little Thing.” She understands setbacks, yet perseveres. Holding onto her dream as friends signed record deals, trading center stage to sing backup and cleaning AirBNBs, she continued to self-finance her music. Since leaving high school at 16 to perform at Dollywood, her Kentucky grit has refused to relinquish.

Convinced the stark ballad was three minutes of magic, SiriusXM’s J.R. Schumann stepped out with Carly’s busbee-produced “Every Little Thing” and label offers flooded in. Long-time believer, Big Machine Label Group A&R SVP Allison Jones recognized the power in the self-made singer.

Establishing herself as a live performer who not only connects but ignites the women in the audience with a reality-meets-glamour embrace on life, Carly has earned a spot as the only female on tours with Blake Shelton, Rascal Flatts and Luke Bryan in 2018. Whether the full-bodied temptation of “Hide The Wine,” or the yearning for innocence of “I Need A Ride Home,” Carly offers an empowerment that’s so needed.

“Her voice just lights up. It’s a true timeless thing, not of the moment, but always,” says busbee. “She’s the same way as a writer. As a collaborator, I’m not coming in and making these songs happen. When you reflect who she is, there’s so much there.”

One of only three women to see their debut single hit No. 1 on the country charts in the past 12 years, Carly wants to make music that lasts.

“Little did I know the impact early friendships would have. ASCAP hosted a ‘support group’ for female songwriter-artists that not only opened doors professionally but reminded me how small communities can rally around each other. Nashville helped me find me: all of it, the hard stuff, too. Embracing happy moments or where I’ve messed up, it’s important for me to share it all.”

“Even ‘Every Little Thing,’ after all that, it’s not – ultimately – a song about how bad it is, but to tell you, it’s going to be alright.”

The 2018 Artist Roster issue also features Maverick’s Clarence Spalding, the marketing strategy behind the chart-topping success of Scotty McCreery‘s Seasons Change album, as well as a roundtable discussion on the state of A&R with BMLG’s Allison Jones, BBR Music Group’s Sara Knabe, Warner Music Nashville’s Cris Lacy, and UMG Nashville’s Stephanie Wright.

Single copies of Artist Roster are available for purchase online (musicrow.com), and are included with yearly subscriptions at no additional cost.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at [email protected].

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