When duo Louis York’s Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony moved to Nashville a few years ago, chief among their aspirations was to be an integral and inclusive part of Music City’s creative community.
That is apparent from the first moments of the duo’s 13-song project, American Griots—The Album, which releases today (Oct. 18). The album’s opening strains feature a soul-sparking, spoken word intro from Nashville poet Caroline Randall Williams.
“We are commissioned to do the Nashville Ballet for 2020, and she was commissioned to do it for 2019. So we met her to see what we were getting ourselves into,” Kelly says of meeting Williams. “That voice and perspective was so genuine and so real that I was like, ‘We have to do this.’ She’s all over the album because we wanted to people to step into a world, not just song to song and she sets the tone.”
American Griots –The Album marks the first full-length album from Louis York; the duo takes its name from Kelly’s New York origins, as well as Harmony’s hometown of St. Louis.
The album’s first single, “Don’t You Forget” is a glorious rocker brimming with the vibrancy and sleek horn sections reminiscent of Earth, Wind & Fire.
“We love so much music so the reason we moved here was to reclaim our creative freedom. We’ve been writing records and producing records for people and that doesn’t mean you’re fulfilled creatively. Our conversations were about what is missing—what sounds from artists are missing from pop culture? That leads you down a road that’s kind of against the grain on purpose. Earth, Wind & Fire and people like Hall & Oates, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder—the instrumentation of it, was stuff we were craving as music fans ourselves first. I think it was one of the last songs we did for the album so we knew we wanted to come out of the gate with something big and bold, but not just with the drums and bass—we wanted to make sure the words and melodies were uplifting. Between what I wrote and sang and what Chuck wrote and sang through the instruments, it gives you the same feel that Earth, Wind & Fire gives,” Kelly says, noting they actually saw their first full Earth, Wind and Fire concert just over a year ago in Nashville. “It was amazing, we were just soaking it all up.”
Kelly, known for penning songs for Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears (“Circus”), Kelly Clarkson (“My Life Would Suck Without You”), One Direction (“Why Don’t We Go There”) and Miley Cyrus (the smash hit “Party in the U.S.A.”) is a four-time Grammy nominee.
Harmony has produced, written and/or played on songs recorded by John Legend, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Tori Kelly, Daughtry, and many more. He is also a three-time Grammy nominee and a 2011 NAACP Image Award winner.
They met around 2009, when they worked together on Epiphany, an album for Chrisette Michele. That collaboration led to a number of other collaborations, including Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” and Fantasia’s “Bittersweet.”
In 2015, Kelly and Harmony partnered again for their own artist debut as Louis York, putting out a trilogy of EPs, Masterpiece Theater: Act I, Act II, and Act III, an adventurous blend of R&B, jazz, soul, pop and electronic music. Soon after, Kelly and Harmony relocated their label and artist collective Weirdo Workshop to Franklin, Tennessee. The compound serves as an artistic hub for not only Louis York, but for many in Nashville’s creative community.
“We kind of reverse-engineered ourselves. For us those first three EPs were really us fine-tuning our music and our audience and relearning them as they relearned us,” Harmony says. “We couldn’t have made this album without the knowledge we earned touring for the past two or three years, and a lot of good stuff but also a lot of failures, losing some good friends and also gaining new friends, moving from New York and Los Angeles to Nashville and all of that is what makes this album so potent. We have enough information to sum it up in an 11 or 12 song album that we didn’t have when we started putting out music a couple of years ago.”
“When we moved to Nashville, we were hell-bent on being a community-based organization,” Kelly adds.
Weirdo Workshop has become home to a host of creative initiatives, including the Tiny Book Club community and the We Sound Crazy podcast. They are also developing female group The Shindellas, who are featured throughout the American Griots, including “No Regrets” and compelling, uplifting groove of “Love Takeover.” They have spent the better part of the past several months on tour with The Shindellas for the Love Takeover Tour.
The album welcomes several of their fellow Nashville artists. Williams is again featured on a reprise of “Teach Me A Song,” and on the track “I Wonder,” alongside countertenor Patrick Dailey and the W. Crimm Singers.
“Part of the album American Griots process was discovering some of the rich, voices of the Nashville area and trying to help highlight it by putting it on the album,” Kelly says.
They welcomed BBR Music Group artist and “Best Shot” hitmaker Jimmie Allen on the soft and soulful “Teach Me A Song.”
“We’ve known Jimmie for years,” Harmony says. “We watched his whole ascension into a country music star. He was a fan of our previous work so we formed a bond—he’s one of the coolest people we’ve met in the Nashville area. We brought him in to do our podcast and he’s done a lot of R&B, gospel, and country, so it’s letting people see the other sides of him–and he can really sing.”
The words must be strong on the page, the song entreats, a both bold and gentle reminder of the power and depth of healing that music can—and should—hold.
“That was an ode to our Nashville community of songwriters, producers, artists, just staying we need a song about love. There’s a lot of commercial viability in music, but there also has to be meaning,” Kelly says.
Harmony adds, “Claude is super intentional about everything he says to the world and so am I. We want to heal people—somebody’s got to be responsible for healing people through music. That’s what that song is about.”
The album ends with a cover of Des’ree’s 1994 smash “You Gotta Be.”
“That song has been in the public consciousness for 25 years,” Harmony says. “We’ve performed that song and those lyrics in sound checks and things for a while so those lyrics just ring true to us. When we were doing the album, it’s literally the last thing we did for the album. Claude was like, ‘You think we should record that?’ And was like, ‘I’m up for it.’ Another thing is that, taking myself out of the equation, for Claude personally, I think it’s a good representation of his artistic expression. Taking other lyrics and making them his own is really valuable for them to see that this isn’t just a great songwriter, but this is a premier vocalist who can take a song and make it his own and take it to another level.”
That intention for every moment of a music lover’s interaction with Louis York’s American Griots project to be filled with meaning extends to the album’s very title.
“Chuck and I are both avid readers, but we hadn’t heard of that word until two or three years ago, but we started researching what ‘griot’ means,” Kelly says. “It’s a tradition from West Africa where poets, songwriters, and actors were basically either born into it, or heavily trained, to go from village to village, telling the stories and reminding people of who they are and what their culture is about.
“That resonated with us, because in a lot of ways that’s what we feel we are as musicians, as men, and as black men especially in the climate we are in right now. The griots thing felt really close to home. It’s also renaming and reclaiming a tradition that musicians often don’t know about. It’s reminding ourselves, and our peers and those that come after us, that there has to be meaning in the music. If you are a musician, you are going from town to town—on tour—and meeting people and hopefully inspiring them and making them feel something. It had a lot depth and ancestry and meaning for why we do this.
“We wanted light and love to be the central theme of our album,” Kelly says.
Ray Fulcher Inks Global Publishing Deal With Universal Music Publishing Group, River House Artists
/by Lorie Hollabaugh(L-R): Ron Stuve, Terry Wakefield, Ray Fulcher, Lynn Oliver, Troy Tomlinson
Ray Fulcher has signed an exclusive, worldwide publishing agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group and River House Artists.
Fulcher co-penned eight songs on Luke Combs’ debut album, including No. 1 single “When It Rains It Pours” and current single “Even Though I’m Leavin’.” His own EP Somebody Like Me has racked up over 15 million streams since its June release.
“All you can ask for as a writer is a team and family who believe in your songs and share the same vision and work ethic,” said Fulcher. “Couldn’t have picked a better group of people for those things than Universal and River House Artists.”
“Our creative team has a deep respect and admiration for Ray’s talent and work ethic,” said Troy Tomlinson, Chairman and CEO of UMPG Nashville. “Lynn Oliver and her team at River House Artists have built a great foundation for Ray. This is going to be a fun ride and we look forward to delivering many creative opportunities.”
“Ray was the first songwriter to sign with me as a publisher and to trust in River House Artists as a publishing company,” said Lynn Oliver, founder and CEO, River House Artists. “I am so proud of the relationships he and I have built, and we are looking forward to growing with the team at Universal. They understand where we have come from and where we want to go with Ray and his future as a writer and recording artist.”
Louis York Focuses On Light, Love, And Great Music With ‘American Griots’ [Interview]
/by Jessica NicholsonWhen duo Louis York’s Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony moved to Nashville a few years ago, chief among their aspirations was to be an integral and inclusive part of Music City’s creative community.
That is apparent from the first moments of the duo’s 13-song project, American Griots—The Album, which releases today (Oct. 18). The album’s opening strains feature a soul-sparking, spoken word intro from Nashville poet Caroline Randall Williams.
“We are commissioned to do the Nashville Ballet for 2020, and she was commissioned to do it for 2019. So we met her to see what we were getting ourselves into,” Kelly says of meeting Williams. “That voice and perspective was so genuine and so real that I was like, ‘We have to do this.’ She’s all over the album because we wanted to people to step into a world, not just song to song and she sets the tone.”
American Griots –The Album marks the first full-length album from Louis York; the duo takes its name from Kelly’s New York origins, as well as Harmony’s hometown of St. Louis.
The album’s first single, “Don’t You Forget” is a glorious rocker brimming with the vibrancy and sleek horn sections reminiscent of Earth, Wind & Fire.
“We love so much music so the reason we moved here was to reclaim our creative freedom. We’ve been writing records and producing records for people and that doesn’t mean you’re fulfilled creatively. Our conversations were about what is missing—what sounds from artists are missing from pop culture? That leads you down a road that’s kind of against the grain on purpose. Earth, Wind & Fire and people like Hall & Oates, Janet Jackson, Stevie Wonder—the instrumentation of it, was stuff we were craving as music fans ourselves first. I think it was one of the last songs we did for the album so we knew we wanted to come out of the gate with something big and bold, but not just with the drums and bass—we wanted to make sure the words and melodies were uplifting. Between what I wrote and sang and what Chuck wrote and sang through the instruments, it gives you the same feel that Earth, Wind & Fire gives,” Kelly says, noting they actually saw their first full Earth, Wind and Fire concert just over a year ago in Nashville. “It was amazing, we were just soaking it all up.”
Kelly, known for penning songs for Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears (“Circus”), Kelly Clarkson (“My Life Would Suck Without You”), One Direction (“Why Don’t We Go There”) and Miley Cyrus (the smash hit “Party in the U.S.A.”) is a four-time Grammy nominee.
Harmony has produced, written and/or played on songs recorded by John Legend, Janet Jackson, Celine Dion, Rihanna, Tori Kelly, Daughtry, and many more. He is also a three-time Grammy nominee and a 2011 NAACP Image Award winner.
They met around 2009, when they worked together on Epiphany, an album for Chrisette Michele. That collaboration led to a number of other collaborations, including Bruno Mars’ “Grenade,” and Fantasia’s “Bittersweet.”
In 2015, Kelly and Harmony partnered again for their own artist debut as Louis York, putting out a trilogy of EPs, Masterpiece Theater: Act I, Act II, and Act III, an adventurous blend of R&B, jazz, soul, pop and electronic music. Soon after, Kelly and Harmony relocated their label and artist collective Weirdo Workshop to Franklin, Tennessee. The compound serves as an artistic hub for not only Louis York, but for many in Nashville’s creative community.
“We kind of reverse-engineered ourselves. For us those first three EPs were really us fine-tuning our music and our audience and relearning them as they relearned us,” Harmony says. “We couldn’t have made this album without the knowledge we earned touring for the past two or three years, and a lot of good stuff but also a lot of failures, losing some good friends and also gaining new friends, moving from New York and Los Angeles to Nashville and all of that is what makes this album so potent. We have enough information to sum it up in an 11 or 12 song album that we didn’t have when we started putting out music a couple of years ago.”
“When we moved to Nashville, we were hell-bent on being a community-based organization,” Kelly adds.
Weirdo Workshop has become home to a host of creative initiatives, including the Tiny Book Club community and the We Sound Crazy podcast. They are also developing female group The Shindellas, who are featured throughout the American Griots, including “No Regrets” and compelling, uplifting groove of “Love Takeover.” They have spent the better part of the past several months on tour with The Shindellas for the Love Takeover Tour.
The album welcomes several of their fellow Nashville artists. Williams is again featured on a reprise of “Teach Me A Song,” and on the track “I Wonder,” alongside countertenor Patrick Dailey and the W. Crimm Singers.
“Part of the album American Griots process was discovering some of the rich, voices of the Nashville area and trying to help highlight it by putting it on the album,” Kelly says.
They welcomed BBR Music Group artist and “Best Shot” hitmaker Jimmie Allen on the soft and soulful “Teach Me A Song.”
“We’ve known Jimmie for years,” Harmony says. “We watched his whole ascension into a country music star. He was a fan of our previous work so we formed a bond—he’s one of the coolest people we’ve met in the Nashville area. We brought him in to do our podcast and he’s done a lot of R&B, gospel, and country, so it’s letting people see the other sides of him–and he can really sing.”
The words must be strong on the page, the song entreats, a both bold and gentle reminder of the power and depth of healing that music can—and should—hold.
“That was an ode to our Nashville community of songwriters, producers, artists, just staying we need a song about love. There’s a lot of commercial viability in music, but there also has to be meaning,” Kelly says.
Harmony adds, “Claude is super intentional about everything he says to the world and so am I. We want to heal people—somebody’s got to be responsible for healing people through music. That’s what that song is about.”
The album ends with a cover of Des’ree’s 1994 smash “You Gotta Be.”
“That song has been in the public consciousness for 25 years,” Harmony says. “We’ve performed that song and those lyrics in sound checks and things for a while so those lyrics just ring true to us. When we were doing the album, it’s literally the last thing we did for the album. Claude was like, ‘You think we should record that?’ And was like, ‘I’m up for it.’ Another thing is that, taking myself out of the equation, for Claude personally, I think it’s a good representation of his artistic expression. Taking other lyrics and making them his own is really valuable for them to see that this isn’t just a great songwriter, but this is a premier vocalist who can take a song and make it his own and take it to another level.”
That intention for every moment of a music lover’s interaction with Louis York’s American Griots project to be filled with meaning extends to the album’s very title.
“Chuck and I are both avid readers, but we hadn’t heard of that word until two or three years ago, but we started researching what ‘griot’ means,” Kelly says. “It’s a tradition from West Africa where poets, songwriters, and actors were basically either born into it, or heavily trained, to go from village to village, telling the stories and reminding people of who they are and what their culture is about.
“That resonated with us, because in a lot of ways that’s what we feel we are as musicians, as men, and as black men especially in the climate we are in right now. The griots thing felt really close to home. It’s also renaming and reclaiming a tradition that musicians often don’t know about. It’s reminding ourselves, and our peers and those that come after us, that there has to be meaning in the music. If you are a musician, you are going from town to town—on tour—and meeting people and hopefully inspiring them and making them feel something. It had a lot depth and ancestry and meaning for why we do this.
“We wanted light and love to be the central theme of our album,” Kelly says.
Tyler Childers Releases New EP Exclusively On Apple Music
/by Jessica NicholsonTyler Childers has released a new EP, Tyler Childers: Reimagined, exclusively via Apple Music.
The album includes acoustic renderings of several of Childers’ top hits including “Lady May” and “Help Me Make It Through.” The EP was recorded in the same Nashville studio where Childers recorded his first two project.
To accompany the EP, Apple Music has also released a short film which invites viewers into the studio with Childers as he records songs for the EP.
New Podcast ‘Dolly Parton’s America’ Examines Dolly’s Universal Appeal
/by Lorie HollabaughA new podcast from Jad Abumrad and WNYC Studios, “Dolly Parton’s America,” is premiering now. The nine-part podcast series retraces the steps to Dolly’s near-universal appeal and turns the mirror around to discover what America’s collective adoration reflects and reveals about us beginning this week. Among those interviewed on the podcast about Dolly and her universal appeal are Jane Fonda, Ralph Emery, Rhiannon Giddons, Gloria Steinem, and more.
Hosted by Nashville native Abumrad, creator of the award-winning WNYC Studios podcast Radiolab, “Dolly Parton’s America” leads us on a journey that starts in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, and then heads off to the hills of Nairobi, the mountains of Lebanon, a classroom in East Tennessee, a red carpet premiere in the United Kingdom, and back to Nashville to investigate Jad’s own father’s journey to America. Along the way, the series moves far beyond Dolly’s biography to dig deep into personal, political and philosophical questions about feminism, faith, migration, immigration, workers’ rights, the South, the American Dream, and the universal longing for home.
The series features intimate recollections and insights from a range of people in the “Dollyverse”—starting with Dolly herself. Culled from over 12 hours of interviews, Dolly opens up on her life, her music, her business empire, faith, politics, and the afterlife. The series takes listeners behind the scenes with her at the London premiere of 9 to 5 the Musical, and revisits the awkward moment at the 2017 Emmys when Fonda and Lily Tomlin got political, and Dolly deflected with a boob joke. She opens up on why she adamantly refuses to take public stands on political issues, even at a time when everyone is expected to have an opinion and take a side. And in the her most personal revelation, Dolly describes the moment she found God in an abandoned church, and the one time she contemplated suicide.
“I grew up in Nashville, where Dolly is practically on every street corner, smiling down from countless billboards, practically infusing the air,” said Abumrad. “She was so ubiquitous that I didn’t think about her much. But in the past few years, as her stature has grown and as America has become so culturally and politically divided, I found myself thinking about Dolly all over again. I mean, she’s such a singular figure. As a songwriter, she’s almost Mozart level. As a performer, she manages to speak to so many different audiences at once. And as an entertainer, she’s been in the public eye so long that she’s intersected nearly every social and cultural movement in America over the last 50 years. With ‘Dolly Parton’s America,’ I wanted to use Dolly’s incredible life story and discography as a lens to observe our country at this particular moment in time.”
“Dolly Parton’s America” widens its lens to include over 50 voices that illuminate, contextualize, and in some cases, challenge conventional notions of what Dolly’s story represents. Listeners hear from family and friends, business associates, country music insiders, Appalachian and Nashville commentators and academics, and of course, the multitudes of fans who find common cause in her music.
Josh Turner Earns His First GMA Dove Award
/by Alex ParryPhoto courtesy of Gospel Music Association
Multi-Platinum-selling country artist Josh Turner took home his first Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award on Tuesday night (Oct. 15) for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Recorded Song of the Year with “I Saw The Light” featuring Sonya Isaacs. This song is featured on his album, I Serve A Savior. Turner was also nominated for Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year with “How Great Thou Art” featuring Sonya Isaacs, and Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year for I Serve A Savior.
I Serve A Savior debuted at No. 1 on Nielsen’s Top Current Country Albums chart and No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and Top Christian Albums chart. The album remained in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart for 17 consecutive weeks and has remained in the Top 10 on the Top Current Contemporary Christian Albums chart since its release in October 2018.
Industry Pics: Brett Young, SESAC, ACM
/by Jessica NicholsonBrett Young Celebrates RIAA Platinum Success
Pictured (L-R): Scott Borchetta, Brett Young, Jimmy Harnen
Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta, Brett Young, and BMLG Records CEO Jimmy Harnen recently celebrated Young’s fifth consecutive RIAA Platinum-certified, No. 1 single, “Here Tonight.”
SESAC Honors Rami Dawod As Pop Songwriter of the Year
Pictured (L-R): SESAC’s Mario Prins, SESAC Chairman/CEO John Josephson, SESAC President Kelli Turner, and Songwriter of the Year Rami Dawod. Photo: Teal Moss
SESAC hosted a dinner on Wednesday (Oct. 16) to celebrate affiliate songwriter Rami Dawod as Pop Songwriter of the Year. The song “Never Be The Same,” co-written by Dawod, along with Camila Cabello, Frank Dukes, Sasha Sloan and Jacob Olofsson, was also named Pop Song of the Year, with awards presented to Dawod and DAWODMUSIC. For the celebration, several music industry colleagues came together at Nobu in Malibu to recognize Dawod and the song’s success. “Never Be The Same,” recorded by Camila Cabello, became the artist’s third number one single and spent three weeks at the top of the charts. In addition, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 4 of the “50 Best Songs of 2018.”
“We’re beyond thrilled to honor Rami as SESAC’s Pop Songwriter of the Year,” said Sam Kling, SESAC SVP of Creative Operations. “We’re grateful to Rami and proud that he is part of the SESAC family, and we look forward to celebrating many more successes with him in the future.”
Dawod is a Grammy-Award winning writer/producer/artist, who has had a hand in creating multiple hits, including “Electricity,” performed by Mark Ronson and Silk City ft. Dua Lipa, which won him a Grammy for Best Dance Recording in 2018. Dawod makes up one half of the production duo Jarami alongside Olofsson. Earlier this year, Dawod joined the roster of independent music publisher Reservoir.
ACM Welcomes Travis Denning
Pictured (L-R): Jeremy Stover, RED; Angie Coonrod, Red Light Management; Travis Denning; RAC Clark, ACM Interim Executive Director; Jordan Ben-Hanania, Universal Music Group
The Academy of Country Music welcomed Universal Music Group artist Travis Denning to its Los Angeles office recently. Denning performed his current Top 40 single, “After a Few,” along with other songs from his upcoming project.
The Other Nashville Society Announces Inaugural London Artist Immersion Week
/by Lorie HollabaughParticipating AWAL talented artists from London include Millie Turner, Litany, Iyamah & MAX RAD. They will spend the week in co-writing sessions, networking events, and unique Nashville experiences curated by TONS. They will be paired up with top tier songwriters and producers like Audra Mae, Jim Jonsin, and Jon Santana from the TONS community. In addition, they’ll be immersing themselves in Nashville’s music scene ranging from the Bluebird Cafe and the Ryman Auditorium, to the city’s longest running independent radio station, Lightning 100. Each artist’s experience will be tailored to their own genre and needs, completely curated by the local TONS experts.
“When we started TONS, one of our goals was to build a stronger bridge between the non-country music scene in Nashville and other music cities around the globe,” said TONS co-founder Josh Collum. “London was No. 1 on our list. The two cities share a similar rich musical history and a reverence for the song. There’s a kinship that’s unique.”
“The global music business is more connected than ever and Nashville has always stood out as an incredibly vibrant creative community,” said AWAL’s VP A&R, Matt Riley. “AWAL is globally focused from day one for each of our artists so creating an opportunity to take five of our promising up-and-coming British artists to Music City is an exciting prospect for collaboration between the two communities.”
BODE Nashville will be hosting the artists for the week and as a part of this week, TONS is hosting a panel conversation with leading creatives and executives from both sides of the pond to further explore what these two music scenes have in common as well as areas for future opportunity on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at ANALOG in the Hutton Hotel.
Weekly Radio Report (10/18/19)
/by Alex ParryClick here or above to access MusicRow’s weekly CountryBreakout Radio Report.
Keith Urban Sets 12 Caesars Palace Shows In Las Vegas For 2020
/by Lorie HollabaughKeith Urban is heading to Las Vegas next year for 12 concerts beginning in January at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. After two sold-out performances at the newly-renovated venue in September, Urban is returning with an all-new show, packed with hits, explosive showmanship and usual unpredictability. Keith Urban Live – Las Vegas will be a once-in-a-lifetime concert event taking its arena-sized production to a theater setting that is up close and personal for the fans.
Keith Urban Live – Las Vegas will utilize The Colosseum’s new general admission capability on the main floor for a dynamic and re-imagined fan experience for the landmark venue. The shows are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.
General tickets go on sale to the public starting Friday, Oct. 25 at ticketmaster.com/
Keith Urban Live – Las Vegas Dates:
January 2020: 10, 11, 17, 18
April 2020: 24, 25
July 2020: 10, 11
August 2020: 7, 8
November 2020: 20, 21
Clay Bradley Talks Developing Artists With New Venture Eclipse Music Group
/by Jessica NicholsonClay Bradley
Nashville native Clay Bradley’s career has revolved around music and songwriters, from his career beginnings at BMI in the 1990s, his time as Creative Director at Acuff Rose, and working at labels MCA/Universal and Sony Music Nashville, before returning to BMI in 2008. In 2015, he launched Third Generation Entertainment and Segue 61, an immersive-learning music industry college certificate program.
In December 2017, Bradley launched his latest venture, again with the goal of helping songwriters and artists further their careers and reach their dreams. He partnered with investor Kurt Locher to launch Eclipse Music Group. The company, along with its publishing arm, aims to develop and promote artists and songwriters, both new and established.
The Eclipse Music Group roster of artists and songwriters includes triple threat singer/songwriter/musician Katie Pruitt, 19-year-old guitar phenom and newly-signed Big Machine Label Group artist Payton Smith, Sarah Darling, genre-less songwriter Ronnie Bowman, Early James and the Latest, Jabe Beyer, Konrad Snyder, Eric Masse, as well as Kendell Marvel, the respected Nashville songwriter with a burnished brassy voice.
As the son of soon-to-be Country Music Hall of Fame inductee and former RCA Nashville label head Jerry Bradley and the grandson of producer, musician, songwriter and Country Music Hall of Fame member Owen Bradley, who helped establish Nashville as a commercial force for music and music business, Clay comes by his passion naturally.
“With each of these newer artists, I met them and all I really said was, ‘I think you are so good at what you do now. I want to be in business with you to see where we can take this in five years or so,” says Bradley, settled in a conference room at the Eclipse Music Group offices, located on Music Circle South, close to Sound Stage Studios and Columbia Studio A. A worn studio session logbook sits on a nearby table, its pages filled with recording session notes from decades ago—chronicling the sessions of hit songs, yes, but also the broken dreams of many a musician who aspired to become a hit artist. Bradley knows well the odds of success for many who chase their dreams to Music City, and says he aims to help beat the odds for the talented artists and songwriters he works alongside.
Bradley met the now 19-year-old Payton Smith when Smith was just 14. Earlier this year, he signed Smith to Eclipse and the two began developing a formal plan of artist development, one that would allow Smith to spend six months writing songs, then record a few tracks to send to potential label suitors.
“Two months into that plan, Scott Borchetta saw him playing on a stage at CMA Fest and signed him,” Bradley says.
“He’s got so much energy and there’s no fear on stage, and that brings people in to him—you just give him a microphone, an amp, and a good song. I remember one time I sent him some pics of early James Dean and early Elvis, because I think that is part of the vibe that Payton exudes.”
Pruitt co-wrote every song on her upcoming Rounder Records debut project, played all the guitar parts, and co-produced the project.
“Gary [Paczosa, VP, A&R for Rounder] had Katie and her band in his studio in January before they ever signed the deal and just said, ‘Let’s record some stuff, no pressure.’ Well, they recorded like six songs in two days, and those are the basis of her record.”
Marvel is already well-known in Nashville’s industry circles for penning songs with and for Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, and Lee Ann Womack. He just released the excellent Solid Gold Sounds, produced by Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson. The project follows Marvel’s 2018 project Lowdown and Lonesome. Bradley and Marvel have known each other since before Marvel scored his first co-writing hit, “Right Where I Need To Be,” penned alongside Casey Beathard and recorded by Gary Allan.
“As the industry changed, and we started to see this revolution of the Chris Stapletons and the Sturgill Simpsons and people making art and not necessarily chasing anything, just chasing their own voice inside of them, Kendell decided that he wanted to get a little bit of that. He’s been so committed to staying true to who he is and following his path. Last November, I took a meeting with Dan Auerbach and David Ferguson and they fell in love with Kendell and they made this new record.”
Given the unique blend of classic country and Americana sounds on Marvel’s new album, Bradley says the marketing plan behind the new project has included a mix of streaming outlets and Americana radio. Marvel is also opening arena shows for Stapleton’s 2019 All-American Road Show.
“The great thing about putting this album out is he’s going to go play in front of several thousand people on the tour, and we have all of this content and music for the fans to discover. Our goal would be to probably make another record by the end of 2020.
“The reality is the records that Kendell’s making, nobody’s going to go play those on what country radio is today. But we’ll promote some to Americana radio. The challenge is marketing these records to the people that really aren’t listening to country radio, and we know there’s millions of them out there, and they’re fans. Not to say we wouldn’t love to get played on the big country stations, but I think that’s tied up at the moment. With streaming, there are so many playlists that aren’t country-specific, with new ways to reach thousands of listeners.”
With each of his artists, Bradley is focused on global growth, as well as domestic, from the earliest stages of their careers.
“Everybody I’ve worked with has been or is going over to the UK,” Bradley says. “Katie Pruitt has been over there twice. Payton, he just left a big marketing meeting at Big Machine, and a big topic was C2C. We picked up a new client Early James and the Latest, and he’ll be going overseas. The unique thing about going over there is if you can have, what we call here maybe the ‘Bluebird moment,’ where you just can play your guitar and sing your song. You can go to the U.K. and there’s tons of venues, tons of places for you to play like that, and you can build a great fan base.
“The funny thing is, it’s always been like that. My uncle Harold [Bradley] toured with Slim Whitman in the late ’70s and early ’80s and he would go over there, and he said the audience knew every record that Harold played on, they knew everything about the band, they knew everything about everybody and really, it hasn’t changed much. Other people were just craving great music and craving the authenticity of the artists and that doesn’t change.”