Ernest Teams With Big Loud To Fire Up DeVille Records

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Ernest. Photo: Delaney Royer

Ernest has launched his own label, DeVille Records, in conjunction with Big Loud Records.

The new joint venture is focused on artist development, personal song craft, creative swagger and a collaborative spirit, and is designed to build careers for the long haul—just like Ernest’s prized Cadillac DeVille. Chandler Walters, Rhys Rutherford and Cody Lohden are the first signings to the new label’s roster.

“We’re going to build this thing wide and on concrete,” says Ernest. “Artist development. Write the songs and do it the old-school way. Make the videos, see the vision, help the vision come to life.”

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“We have been in business with Ernest for almost a decade. What started with Ern as a young prolific songwriter-artist in Big Loud’s publishing hallways, has evolved into so much more over the years,” Big Loud CEO/Partner Seth England shares. “Our partnerships in Ern’s Cadillac Music have gone so well, and his desire to create DeVille Records alongside of it made sense. Ernest himself grew in an independent and cultural environment much like the one he desires to create. He and I have talked about this day for years, and all of the unique ways we could help break the next wave of prolific artists. Kudos to Rhys, Cody and Chandler for buying into this vision and supporting this unique rollout style with our upcoming DeVille project.”

Chandler Walters, a native of Marietta, Georgia, is a seasoned steel-guitar player touring with Post Malone and Ernest, and a multi-Platinum, all-genre No. 1 songwriter with Post Malone’s five-times Platinum “I Had Some Help (feat. Morgan Wallen)”.

Cody Lohden is a singer-songwriter and former firefighter/paramedic who was drawn to the simplicity of country craftsmen like Keith Whitley and Don Williams and the greasy grit of rockers like Bob Seger, and has spent the last few years on a unique story of self-styled success.

The son of Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Rivers Rutherford, Nashville native Rhys Rutherford has a commanding baritone vocal, and the emerging songwriter’s first batch of tunes were just beginning to land when Ernest encouraged him to pursue a career as an artist.

The first project to be released on DeVille, Cadillac Sessions, is a mixtape-style compilation featuring two new originals and one cover from Ernest, Walters, Rutherford and Lohden, plus additional superstar guests. Honky tonk, Western swing, ’90s country, and more collide with vivid imagery and modern hooks on the new project, which will be released May 9.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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