My Music Row Story: The GreenRoom’s Tyne Parrish

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Tyne Parrish

The “My Music Row Story” weekly column features notable members of the Nashville music industry selected by the MusicRow editorial team. These individuals serve in key roles that help advance and promote the success of our industry. This column spotlights the invaluable people that keep the wheels rolling and the music playing.

Tyne Parrish serves as a Co-Owner of The GreenRoom and has played a role in shaping the careers of some of country music’s most notable artists, including current clients Dierks Bentley, Bobby Bones, Brooks & Dunn, Russell Dickerson, Caylee Hammack, Lady A, Jon Pardi, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Thomas Rhett, CBS’ New Year’s Eve Live and Live Nation Entertainment.

Through strategic planning and execution of album/single/tour campaigns, securing national traditional and new media, tour publicity, international press plans, special events and charitable initiatives, her goal is to solidify and elevate client profiles.

Working in tandem with top management teams, label groups and music industry leaders over the last two decades, she enjoys sharing music and telling stories with some of the brightest people in business. Her honors include 2020 and 2024 CMA Publicist of the Year.

MusicRow: Where did you grow up?

We moved nearly every four years growing up. I spent the first 10 or so years in Michigan and Ohio, then moved to Alabama and eventually to Nashville in high school.

Photo: Courtesy of Parrish

What was your childhood like—what were you into?

My mom loved country music and my dad loved oldies, so music was an every day thing around the house and in the car.

Where we grew up wasn’t rural, but it was very small-town Michigan where all spent a lot of early childhood. My grandparents had this DIY lake house—no drywall, no AC or heat —but we made so many memories there with extended family. We had a carefree, outside-all-day kind of childhood. But I didn’t know anyone else who listened to country music, which made me feel like I was in on something different and special. I’ve always been drawn to things that are against the flow of the crowd, a little left of center.

Did you go to concerts as a kid?

Many! My mom loved Earl Thomas Conley—his was my first concert. I remember cutting out a blue moon from cardboard to give him. We went to a lot of concerts as a family—Trisha Yearwood, Sawyer Brown, Lori Morgan, Tim McGraw and George Strait’s summer stadium tours every year as I got older. I wish I still had all the merch from those ’90s shows!

So did you always know this is what you wanted to do?

Not PR specifically, but I always had an interest in what went into music. On car rides, I’d bring tapes and read liner notes. I’d figure out which songwriter wrote for which artist and what that crossover was. But I didn’t see it as a job until we moved to Nashville. Then it clicked—people really do this for a living. Belmont was nearby, so I started the music business program.

What was Belmont like?

I loved it. It was full of creative people who came from across the country for music, but there were other programs too, like nursing and sports, so it felt balanced enough for me. I had come from a fairly homogeneous high school, so meeting people from different walks of life was really enjoyable.

Then I transferred to NYU thinking, “When else can you move to New York?” But as much as I liked to visit, I figured out quickly that it wasn’t where I wanted to plant my roots. I knew I wanted to work hard and be good at whatever I did, but I enjoyed space and the pace of Nashville. I wanted to enjoy my career, work hard, and also have the time to enjoy/prioritize other parts of life.

So I moved back to Belmont and switched to psychology. I thought, “Only a handful of people will land in the music industry—maybe I should be practical.” Before I graduated, I got a receptionist position at Erv Woolsey‘s office.

Photo: Courtesy of Parrish

What was that chapter like?

I learned so much—mainly how to just be available to work. I was on the front porch answering phones. There was a door between me and the rest of the office. We didn’t really use cell phones yet except for emergencies, so I answered basically all incoming calls for the whole office. I got to know people like Ben Farrell and Terry Calogne just by being the first point of contact. Even George Strait called the main line.

Eventually, I moved up—off the porch and inside. [Laughs] I just did my job and tried to do it well.

What was the next job?

I became the assistant to Danny O’Brian, George’s booking agent, and to Scott Kernahan, who managed Dierks Bentley at the time. That’s how I met Mary Hilliard—she was Dierks’ publicist. When she was hiring, she called Kernahan for any recommendations, and he was suggested me.

I had taken one PR class. I didn’t know anything. I asked Scott, “What should I do?” And he said, “Mary Hilliard’s one of the most fun people I know and I learn something new from her every day.” That’s all it took for me to jump in nearly blind, but I knew without a doubt that experience with Mary was something I should pursue.

What was it like to jump into PR?

I was young and just naïve enough to believe I could do it. Mary told me to write a press release, and I’m pretty sure I asked what goes in a press release—you couldn’t just google everything then! It was just the two of us and trial by fire, but she was so patient and encouraging.

Photo: Courtesy of Parrish

Do you remember an early win—or maybe a fail?

I remember an early mistake (I’m sure there were many more prior to this). I sent a program blurb for an artist opening for Kenny Chesney and wrote their single was Gold instead of Platinum. I was mortified when I caught the error.

But, I owned it and Mary walked me through it. I told the manager, and he laughed and said, “Go tell the artist.” I was so nervous. But the artist said something like, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I think it’s going to be okay.”

That taught me—own your mistakes. Fix what you can. That’s how you get better.

What about a win?

I remember getting my first magazine cover—it was for Lady A. I pitched it, and I saw it through. I remember thinking, “We have a moment. Let’s go.” It was a women’s magazine so they obviously wanted Hillary on the cover, but we had to figure out how to include the guys but still have it make sense. Working through that with the magazine and the Lady A team—it was just a really fun challenge.

After becoming a leading publicist, you became an owner of The GreenRoom with Kristie Sloan. Tell me about that.

We bought the majority of The GreenRoom from Mary in 2015. She could’ve taken a big check and walked—but she instead offered us the opportunity to set up and every single client stayed. She gave us the foundation and let us take it from there.

Kristie was pregnant at that time, and my husband and I had started the adoption process. It felt a lot like, “When it rains, it pours.” But, we figured it out and had a lot of support from the GreenRoom team and our clients’ teams. Since then, Kristie and I have had four babies combined, taking turns flip-flopping carrying the full load of the company every time. It’s easily one of my life’s greatest gifts to both be able to lead a company and trust that it’s in good hands so that I could step away to be with family during that precious time.

Photo: Courtesy of Parrish

What’s your favorite part of what you do now?

Watching my team win. Today, a manager sent a group text, and one of my teammates replied exactly what I was in the process of typing out. That moment—seeing her gut line up with mine—is the best.

And the work itself—I still love it. We market music via humans, and that unpredictability keeps it fun. The media landscape constantly shifts. No two days are the same.

With country music continuing to gain national attention, there’s more awareness and excitement for it than ever. But even when pop culture shifts, country music is not going anywhere. We build lifelong stars and have career-long fans. Our fans are so invested. And we know how to connect with them.

Who would you say are your biggest mentors?

Mary Hilliard Harrington for sure. Clarence Spalding‘s advice always surprises me in the best way. He helps me see things I didn’t consider. My dad, too. He gave me a book about women climbing Everest when I was little. His advice was never “you can do anything,” it was “if you work hard, you can do something you enjoy.”

Photo: Courtesy of Parrish

What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?

My dad always said, “Dress for the job you want.” While he partially meant it literally, it’s always reminded me to try and do more than just what’s expected…think ahead, see the gaps and jump in to fill them.

I also love what Thomas Rhett says, “Be where your boots are.” That helps me reset when I’m stressed or trying to regulate some amount of balance between work and personal life.

How do you have a life outside of the demands of being a publicist?

A great team. And, Kristie and I tag in and out. We try to model boundaries in a realistic way. Now that I have kids, I really think about how they’ll remember me from their childhood. Will it be a vision of me staring down at my phone or swinging in the backyard? On a “normal” day when you’re not working early, nights and weekends, you only get a couple hours with them as it is.

But even with the non-traditional work hours, the flip side is that we’re not tied to an office desk 40 hours a week anymore, we don’t have to take a half day from a small PTO allotment to go read to my daughter’s class for an hour. So, for as demanding as our business can be, there are also some major advantages. For me personally, that flexibly goes a long way in terms of the makeup of how I structure my time.

What are you most excited about right now?

There’s a lot to be excited about—we’ve got so much new music coming this summer!

LB Cantrell
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