Basak Kizilisik. Photo: David Bradley
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.
Basak Kizilisik is the founder and CEO of Eighteen Company. She has influenced the careers and conceptualized and executed marketing strategies for artists such as George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Kacey Musgraves, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Martina McBride, Little Big Town and Jake Owen.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I was actually born in Turkey. My family is from there and most of my extended family still lives there. We lived there for about four years before my dad got a job in Canada. He’s a surgeon and had aspirations of practicing medicine in the U.S., which is a very difficult thing to do when you go to med school in a different country. We were in Canada for several years and then we moved to Saudi Arabia. We spent four years in Saudi Arabia and then moved to the States.
We lived in Virginia for a while where my dad took three or four years to redo his exams from the beginning [so he could practice medicine in the U.S.]. We went from Virginia to Memphis, where he worked in a hospital. That was eighth and ninth grade for me. Then we moved from Memphis to Nashville for my second half of high school. I went to Orlando for college and then moved back to Nashville.
Kizilisik with George Strait and members of the UMG Nashville team during preparations for Strait’s “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour”
When in your upbringing did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in the music business?
I started as pre-med in college. At some point I said, “I’ve got to figure out where my passion is. I don’t want to be in a hospital all day.” So then I went pre-law and thought, “This is not going to fire me up either. There’s no passion here for me.” I sat down and started thinking about what made me truly happy. Music has always been one of those things. I never really found any fire on the performing side, but I loved the effect that music could have on people. After seeing how that happened to me, I realized I wanted to be part of the process of getting music out to fans.
I had lived in Nashville and I had a few connections—really one main connection. That was a friend of mine from high school. His older sister worked for Shaun Silva, who is one of the premier directors in town. I ended up interning and working for her and him right after college. That was a really great foot in the door for me.
What did you do with them?
I basically did anything and everything. I took out the trash, I was up at the front desk, I ran tapes to artists, and I edited Shaun’s treatments. I’ve always loved the English language, and I was good at formatting and editing, so he had me edit the treatments that he would pitch out to labels and to artists. I ended up being a PA on music video shoots. Eli Young Band‘s “When It Rains” was the first music video that I worked on. I got great experience on the creative side, like how to bring a story to life, how to tell a story with a visual medium, and how that can play a major role on the music side of things.
Kizilisik and Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion in St. Augustine, Florida
What was next for you?
From there I ended up doing a stint on a publishing side with a tiny publishing company. After that I ended up in the digital marketing space at a time where it was super early for Nashville. I worked over at Music City Networks with Lang Scott. While there, I worked with most of the Capitol roster, such as Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, and Lady A. I worked really closely with the Capitol team doing lots of websites, fan engagement, and strategy on how to engage a fan base and how to build a fan base. Through that, I got in really tight with Capitol and the UMG team. When the EMI merger happened, they were hiring. I knew that I wanted to have some experience on the label side, so I applied for that role, got that role, and worked over at UMG Nashville for a couple years.
What was your time at UMG like?
We referred to it as the championship years. We launched Sam Hunt. [I worked with] Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town… We did George Strait‘s “60 for 60” campaign and Luke Bryan‘s Crash My Party album. It was this really incredible era at that label. I’m so lucky to have been a part of so many incredible things over there.
How did you pivot into management?
I was at UMG for a couple years and then got a call from Clint Higham at Morris Higham management. They were looking for a marketing person, but I wasn’t looking to leave UMG. I was so happy where I was and had so much more to learn. Clint said, “We need what you do. What will it take?” We figured it out and he brought me on not only in a digital role, but in a comprehensive, overall VP of marketing role. That’s what excited me about it. It was, “Take this and run with it. Grow it and build it.” When I started, it was Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, and Martina McBride on the roster. We had just signed this little unknown band named Old Dominion. Over the course of seven years, it ended up turning into a 17 or 18-artist roster and a marketing team of five. It was an incredible ride.
In April of last year, I had brought Alana Springsteen in as a management client for myself. I had gotten to a place where I felt like I had done everything that I had set out to do with Clint and as part of that team. The next logical step for me was management. I stepped down from Morris Higham in April. Alana came with me and we started Eighteen Company.
Kizilisik, Alana Springsteen, Mitchell Tenpenny and crew backstage during Mitchell’s “To Us It Did Tour,” for which Springsteen opened
Tell me about Eighteen Company.
I feel like, in some ways, this has been something that I manifested a long time ago. I walked into the business knowing that I wanted to be a manager. I also knew that I wanted to have a ton of different experience. I wanted to have worked on the publishing side, the creative side, and the label side. I wanted to have all of this different knowledge and wisdom to bring to an artist roster, so that I could be the most valuable manager that I could be for them. That’s exactly what happened. Whether I tell you I planned it or not, I got this incredible set of skills and experiences that I honestly don’t know where I would be without.
At the core of Eighteen Company is the understanding that all creatives are storytellers and that they are, in and of themselves, a story that needs to be told. I believe that a manager’s role is to help artists find the most original way of telling their stories to the world by building a bespoke culture around their music. This starts with the songs, but extends far beyond them [into] songwriting, fan engagement, marketing, social media, touring, branding, creative direction, content, style, press, and narrative. All of these facets of an artist’s career are pivotal to the intentional brick-by-brick development of an artist. Crafting that nuanced approach is what Eighteen is all about.
Kizilisik, Alana Springsteen and Kenny Chesney backstage in Kansas City, Missouri
Who have been some of your mentors over the years?
I’m lucky enough to have learned from some of the best in the business. Having time at UMG with Cindy Mabe and Dawn Gates was a masterclass. Clint Higham is one. The skills and the approach to the business that I learned from him are second to none. To this day, I respect so much the way that he does business with the utmost integrity and moral fortitude. Joe Galante has been a really great resource for me. Even just saying that is a little bit wild, since he’s an icon. He leans in to the people that he believes in and that he sees something in.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
It has to be launching this company. I’m lucky enough to have stood on the shoulders of giants throughout my career. There have been people that I’ve worked with that, at the time, I maybe had no business working with. To have been able to learn from some of the best, to watch some of the best do what they do and then to become better for it and start this company… I’m not necessarily a small guy working her way up the totem pole anymore. I’m shoulder to shoulder with some of these giants now and that’s not lost on me.
Figuring it out from the bottom up and taking a big, giant leap is what I’m most proud of. This is just the beginning in a lot of ways. I’ve been in this town for over a decade, but it feels like the beginning. It feels like a new chapter. I’m super proud of that and the community that I’m a part of.
Thomas Rhett, Hardy, Walker Hayes, More To Perform At NSAI’s Nashville Songwriter Awards
/by Lydia FarthingThe Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) has revealed the first round of performers for the 5th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards, presented by City National Bank. The awards are slated for Sept. 20 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium.
Among those set to take the stage are Thomas Rhett, Hardy, Walker Hayes, Pat Alger, Tony Arata, Babyface, Kent Blazy, Jacob Davis, Gayle, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins, Matt McGinn, Matt Rogers, Jenn Schott, Nathan Spicer, and Matthew West. Additional appearances will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the 5th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards presented by City National Bank will go on sale this Friday (July 15) at 10:00 a.m. CT.
“You don’t want to miss NSAI’s upcoming 5th Annual Nashville Songwriter Awards,” NSAI Board President Steve Bogard notes. “We’ll be celebrating the ’10 Songs I Wish I’d Written’ awards, a category voted on exclusively by our pro members, as well as several other achievements and those writers and artists will fill the stage! There’s a lot to celebrate this year and our great songs and songwriters are at the top of the list.”
The evening will also include segments honoring previously announced award recipients. Garth Brooks will receive the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award, while Jon Platt (Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Publishing) will receive the NSAI President’s Keystone Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the betterment of songwriters.
“City National Bank has long supported the music industry and we are honored to help present the 5th Annual Nashville Songwriters Awards,” says Diane Pearson and Lori Badgett, Co-Heads of City National Bank Entertainment Division, Nashville. “We look forward to this fantastic lineup of performers and offer a special congratulations to Garth Brooks and Jon Platt for their invaluable contributions to the music industry.”
My Music Row Story: Eighteen Company’s Basak Kizilisik
/by LB CantrellBasak Kizilisik. Photo: David Bradley
Basak Kizilisik is the founder and CEO of Eighteen Company. She has influenced the careers and conceptualized and executed marketing strategies for artists such as George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, Kacey Musgraves, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Martina McBride, Little Big Town and Jake Owen.
MusicRow: Where did you grow up?
I was actually born in Turkey. My family is from there and most of my extended family still lives there. We lived there for about four years before my dad got a job in Canada. He’s a surgeon and had aspirations of practicing medicine in the U.S., which is a very difficult thing to do when you go to med school in a different country. We were in Canada for several years and then we moved to Saudi Arabia. We spent four years in Saudi Arabia and then moved to the States.
We lived in Virginia for a while where my dad took three or four years to redo his exams from the beginning [so he could practice medicine in the U.S.]. We went from Virginia to Memphis, where he worked in a hospital. That was eighth and ninth grade for me. Then we moved from Memphis to Nashville for my second half of high school. I went to Orlando for college and then moved back to Nashville.
Kizilisik with George Strait and members of the UMG Nashville team during preparations for Strait’s “The Cowboy Rides Away Tour”
When in your upbringing did you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in the music business?
I started as pre-med in college. At some point I said, “I’ve got to figure out where my passion is. I don’t want to be in a hospital all day.” So then I went pre-law and thought, “This is not going to fire me up either. There’s no passion here for me.” I sat down and started thinking about what made me truly happy. Music has always been one of those things. I never really found any fire on the performing side, but I loved the effect that music could have on people. After seeing how that happened to me, I realized I wanted to be part of the process of getting music out to fans.
I had lived in Nashville and I had a few connections—really one main connection. That was a friend of mine from high school. His older sister worked for Shaun Silva, who is one of the premier directors in town. I ended up interning and working for her and him right after college. That was a really great foot in the door for me.
What did you do with them?
I basically did anything and everything. I took out the trash, I was up at the front desk, I ran tapes to artists, and I edited Shaun’s treatments. I’ve always loved the English language, and I was good at formatting and editing, so he had me edit the treatments that he would pitch out to labels and to artists. I ended up being a PA on music video shoots. Eli Young Band‘s “When It Rains” was the first music video that I worked on. I got great experience on the creative side, like how to bring a story to life, how to tell a story with a visual medium, and how that can play a major role on the music side of things.
Kizilisik and Matthew Ramsey of Old Dominion in St. Augustine, Florida
What was next for you?
From there I ended up doing a stint on a publishing side with a tiny publishing company. After that I ended up in the digital marketing space at a time where it was super early for Nashville. I worked over at Music City Networks with Lang Scott. While there, I worked with most of the Capitol roster, such as Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, and Lady A. I worked really closely with the Capitol team doing lots of websites, fan engagement, and strategy on how to engage a fan base and how to build a fan base. Through that, I got in really tight with Capitol and the UMG team. When the EMI merger happened, they were hiring. I knew that I wanted to have some experience on the label side, so I applied for that role, got that role, and worked over at UMG Nashville for a couple years.
What was your time at UMG like?
We referred to it as the championship years. We launched Sam Hunt. [I worked with] Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town… We did George Strait‘s “60 for 60” campaign and Luke Bryan‘s Crash My Party album. It was this really incredible era at that label. I’m so lucky to have been a part of so many incredible things over there.
How did you pivot into management?
I was at UMG for a couple years and then got a call from Clint Higham at Morris Higham management. They were looking for a marketing person, but I wasn’t looking to leave UMG. I was so happy where I was and had so much more to learn. Clint said, “We need what you do. What will it take?” We figured it out and he brought me on not only in a digital role, but in a comprehensive, overall VP of marketing role. That’s what excited me about it. It was, “Take this and run with it. Grow it and build it.” When I started, it was Kenny Chesney, Jake Owen, and Martina McBride on the roster. We had just signed this little unknown band named Old Dominion. Over the course of seven years, it ended up turning into a 17 or 18-artist roster and a marketing team of five. It was an incredible ride.
In April of last year, I had brought Alana Springsteen in as a management client for myself. I had gotten to a place where I felt like I had done everything that I had set out to do with Clint and as part of that team. The next logical step for me was management. I stepped down from Morris Higham in April. Alana came with me and we started Eighteen Company.
Kizilisik, Alana Springsteen, Mitchell Tenpenny and crew backstage during Mitchell’s “To Us It Did Tour,” for which Springsteen opened
Tell me about Eighteen Company.
I feel like, in some ways, this has been something that I manifested a long time ago. I walked into the business knowing that I wanted to be a manager. I also knew that I wanted to have a ton of different experience. I wanted to have worked on the publishing side, the creative side, and the label side. I wanted to have all of this different knowledge and wisdom to bring to an artist roster, so that I could be the most valuable manager that I could be for them. That’s exactly what happened. Whether I tell you I planned it or not, I got this incredible set of skills and experiences that I honestly don’t know where I would be without.
At the core of Eighteen Company is the understanding that all creatives are storytellers and that they are, in and of themselves, a story that needs to be told. I believe that a manager’s role is to help artists find the most original way of telling their stories to the world by building a bespoke culture around their music. This starts with the songs, but extends far beyond them [into] songwriting, fan engagement, marketing, social media, touring, branding, creative direction, content, style, press, and narrative. All of these facets of an artist’s career are pivotal to the intentional brick-by-brick development of an artist. Crafting that nuanced approach is what Eighteen is all about.
Kizilisik, Alana Springsteen and Kenny Chesney backstage in Kansas City, Missouri
Who have been some of your mentors over the years?
I’m lucky enough to have learned from some of the best in the business. Having time at UMG with Cindy Mabe and Dawn Gates was a masterclass. Clint Higham is one. The skills and the approach to the business that I learned from him are second to none. To this day, I respect so much the way that he does business with the utmost integrity and moral fortitude. Joe Galante has been a really great resource for me. Even just saying that is a little bit wild, since he’s an icon. He leans in to the people that he believes in and that he sees something in.
What are you most proud of in your career so far?
It has to be launching this company. I’m lucky enough to have stood on the shoulders of giants throughout my career. There have been people that I’ve worked with that, at the time, I maybe had no business working with. To have been able to learn from some of the best, to watch some of the best do what they do and then to become better for it and start this company… I’m not necessarily a small guy working her way up the totem pole anymore. I’m shoulder to shoulder with some of these giants now and that’s not lost on me.
Figuring it out from the bottom up and taking a big, giant leap is what I’m most proud of. This is just the beginning in a lot of ways. I’ve been in this town for over a decade, but it feels like the beginning. It feels like a new chapter. I’m super proud of that and the community that I’m a part of.
‘CMA Fest’ With Dierks Bentley & Elle King To Premiere August 3
/by Lorie HollabaughCMA Fest, the TV special, is returning this summer on Aug. 3 on ABC with three full hours of can’t-miss collaborations and performances. This year’s primetime special is hosted by Dierks Bentley and Elle King.
Filmed from Nissan Stadium in Nashville during the 49th CMA Fest, the special features 30 performances from country’s hottest stars as they take the stage during the four-day festival. Collaborations include Bentley and Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, King and Ashley McBryde, Lady A featuring Breland, and Zac Brown Band with Darius Rucker.
Additional performers include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood.
“I think Elle brings so much to the table,” Bentley shares. “Onstage she’s just a riot and also super talented–a great combination of talent with comedic humor. A lot of spontaneous moments between the two of us and just a lot of laughs.”
“I am co-hosting this whole shebang,” laughs King. “Not only do I get to do it with my buddy Dierks, I also get to see all these incredible performances and be a part of a big party!”
“When Dierks and Elle first performed together at CMA Fest in 2016, I knew they had something special,” adds CMA Fest Executive Producer Robert Deaton. “The festival itself may be over, but thanks to these two, along with a solid slate of performances and special collaborations, the party continues in homes across America. It was a fun challenge to think differently with our setup these last two years, but it felt great to be back with a full house at the stadium.”
Tennessee Tourism Celebrates 95 Years Since The Bristol Sessions In New Docudrama
/by Lydia FarthingTennessee Tourism is partnering with Circle Network and DittyTV for Born in Bristol, a one-hour docudrama to celebrate the 95th anniversary of the “Big Bang” of country music. The upcoming special is set to premiere on Saturday, July 30 at 9 p.m. CT on Circle Network with repeats throughout August. It will also debut on connected devices on Ditty TV on Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m. CT.
Born in Bristol relives the 12 days in 1927 when musicians descended upon the Tennessee-Virginia state line. Musical pioneer Ralph Peer brought “hillbilly music” to life in a warehouse in the town, recording such artists as the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers. The special takes viewers into the modern-day studio and all the way back to the warehouse as it may have looked nearly 100 years ago when Peer convinced 19 acts to let him record their music.
“If you’re a country music fan, we’re offering you a glimpse into the genesis of the genre as told by some of country’s most iconic artists,” says Circle Network’s Senior Vice President of Content, Evan Haiman.
The docudrama also features cinematic reenactments and new interviews with artists, including Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Eric Church, Marty Stuart, Shannon Campbell, Ashley Campbell, Ashley Monroe, Sheryl Crow, Steve Earle and Vince Gill, as well as Grammy-winning producer Carl Jackson.
“Those were songs that I grew up with and knowing and it influenced the way I write,” shares Parton. “But they’re really simple songs—ordinary songs about ordinary people. But they’re told in such a sweet, extraordinary way.”
“It was the first time [country music] was recorded, it was documented, and it was the bible of country music,” Church adds. “It is still the bible for country music.”
In 2014, Tennessee Tourism and Virginia Tourism Corporation, in partnership with the Birthplace of Country Music museum in Bristol, recreated the Bristol Sessions with the release of Orthophonic Joy: The 1927 Bristol Sessions Revisited, featuring new recordings of the original songs by modern-day stars including Country Music Hall of Famers Gill, Harris, Parton and Stuart.
Dailey & Vincent Sign With Conway Entertainment Group
/by Lorie HollabaughDailey & Vincent. Photo: Josh Daubin
Grammy-nominated duo Dailey & Vincent have signed with Conway Entertainment Group for touring representation.
“Our goal, and mine personally, is to work with and represent the most outstanding, the most professional, and the most entertaining musicians, songwriters and vocalists that exist,” notes Tony Conway, President of CEG. “We are so excited to be able to work with Dailey & Vincent who are certified A+ in all of those areas. We are honored to oversee their touring worldwide.”
“We are proud to be the new kids represented by the team at Tony Conway’s CEG,” says Darrin Vincent. “With a deep history as an agency and management company, we’re looking forward to a bright and prosperous future together.”
“In a fast-changing, interdependent world, it’s imperative we surround ourselves and our business with experienced and bona fide professionals who understand the importance of relationships and the continued planning for the challenges the future holds,” adds Jamie Dailey. “Conway Entertainment Group not only has the knowledge, but they have the heart and soul for music. That’s one of the many reasons we’re thrilled to sign on with Tony Conway and his impeccable team!”
The pair recently announced their upcoming country release Let’s Sing Some Country! due out Sept. 16 through their new partnership with BMG. Produced by Paul Worley the project unleashes another side to the award-winning duo fans don’t often hear. Since their first Grammy nomination for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group for their rendition of “Elizabeth” alongside Lady A, Little Big Town, The SteelDrivers and Zac Brown Band, the guys have been eyeing a country project.
Charley Crockett’s New Album ‘The Man From Waco’ Slated For September
/by Lorie HollabaughCharley Crockett. Photo: Bobby Cochran
Charley Crockett will release his latest album, The Man From Waco, on Sept. 9 via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers. The lead single from the project, “I’m Just A Clown,” is out now.
Crockett wrote or co-wrote all 14 tracks on the album, which started out as a demo session with producer Bruce Robison at Robison’s studio outside of Austin and turned into Crockett’s first album made with his band, The Blue Drifters, backing him. Mostly first takes with only a handful of overdubs, The Man From Waco finds Crockett refining his “Gulf & Western” sound, which continues to draw an ever-growing legion of fans.
“I just wanted an honest partnership: do it at your place, live to tape, everybody in the room,” Crockett says of the recording experience. “The magic is in the performances on that tape. That’s what Bruce wanted to do, that’s what I wanted to do. When we were done, I said ‘these are masters, not demos.’”
Crockett is currently on the road across the U.S., mixing headlining shows with a slot on Willie Nelson’s roving Outlaw Music Festival and other festival appearances. He will also head to Europe and the UK for a headlining tour at the end of October.
Keith Urban To Serve As Presenting Sponsor For Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament
/by Lydia FarthingKeith Urban
For the sixth consecutive year, multi-Platinum recording artist Keith Urban will serve as the Presenting Sponsor of the Music Row Ladies Golf Tournament (MRLGT).
Urban, a CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year Award winner, has been a long time supporter of the MRLGT, as well numerous other charities. His All For The Hall benefit concerts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum have raised millions of dollars over the years. He is also the first Ambassador of the CMA Foundation, an advisory board member at the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, and a longtime supporter of both The Mr. Holland’s Opus Fund and The Grammy Foundation.
Nashville-based boutique investment and development firm E3 Construction Services will also return as Tournament Host, and ASCAP, City National Bank, and Big Machine Records artist Tim McGraw will reprise their longtime roles as Title Sponsors.
The 35th annual event will be held on Monday, Aug. 15 at Nashville’s Old Natchez Country Club, and will once again benefit United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) of Middle Tennessee. One of the Nashville country music community’s original and longest-standing charitable efforts, the MRLGT raised over $100K in 2021 for a grand total of more than $2.4 million raised in the history of the tournament.
Registration for the MRLGT closes on Aug. 4. To register, sponsor, or for more information, click here.
Mojo Music & Media Acquires Catalog Of Sharon Vaughn
/by Lorie HollabaughSharon Vaughn. Photo: Jessika Jarl
Mojo Music & Media, the global independent publishing and marketing company, has acquired the catalog of songwriter Sharon Vaughn.
The deal spans 25 years of Vaughn’s work and includes 28 charting singles released between 1977-2004, including standards such as Willie Nelson’s “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” Waylon Jennings’ “Broken Promise Land” and The Oak Ridge Boys’ breakout single “Y’All Come Back Saloon.” Also included are the top 10 hits “I’m Not That Lonely Yet” (Reba McEntire), “Lonely Too Long” (Patty Loveless),“Out Of My Bones” (Randy Travis), and “Powerful Thing” (Trisha Yearwood).
Vaughn was in her early 20’s when she first came to Nashville from Orlando, beginning her career as a background singer and eventually charting two singles as an artist. After a stint as an on-air TV personality, she pivoted to songwriting and landed her first major cut with “Y’all Come Back Saloon,” the first single and title track from the Oak Ridge Boys’ 1977 debut album.
Around the same time, Jennings cut “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” on the 1976 release Wanted! The Outlaws, a collaboration with Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser, which became country’s first Platinum album. Nelson’s version, recorded for the soundtrack of the Robert Redford-starring Electric Horseman, topped the country chart in 1980.
Vaughn’s hit streak continued through the 80’s and into the 90’s, and she moved to Sweden in 2008. While there, she immersed herself with songwriters and producers across Europe and Asia and landed more than 100 cuts, including four chart-topping singles in Japan and a No. 1 dance record in the U.S. She also co-wrote The Sweet Potato Queens musical with composer Rupert Holmes and Melissa Manchester. Her post-2008 catalog is represented by BMG Scandinavia.
“Sharon came to Nashville with $50 and a dream and won over Music Row’s biggest names through sheer will, drive and talent,” says Mark Fried, Mojo’s Co-Founder and CEO. “She’s inspired a generation of women to pursue songwriting, no matter the challenges, always emphasizing the importance of art, craft and storytelling. We’re honored she’s chosen us to caretake and promote her truly iconic body of work.”
“It is gratifying to know that the works I created over the past decades have found a good home,” adds Vaughn. “I feel Mojo will respect and enrich my catalogues and through their efforts my songs will realize their potential.”
She has won numerous ASCAP awards, was inducted into the NSAI Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2005, and joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 2019.
CMHOF To Premiere 43rd Annual Words & Music Showcase Tonight
/by Lydia FarthingThe Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will premiere its 43rd annual Words & Music Night showcase tonight (July 12) at 6 p.m. CT. The event will present a compilation of songs written by students from Tennessee, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Canada and Australia in collaboration with Nashville-based songwriters.
Hosted by Aaron Helvig, the museum’s Words & Music Program Senior Manager, students will introduce themselves and their professional songwriting partners, who will perform the song they wrote together. Throughout the evening, artists such as Priscilla Block, Ashland Craft, Walker Hayes, Miko Marks, John Osborne, Lily Rose, Tenille Townes and Hailey Whitters, will share words of wisdom and encouragement for aspiring songwriters.
Designed for grades 3-12, Words & Music allows students to tell their stories by writing original song lyrics, while developing language arts skills. Through the program, students interact with a professional songwriter in a performance workshop that transforms students’ lyrics into finished songs. More than 150,000 students have participated in the Words & Music program since its inception in 1979.
Words & Music Night will be available for on-demand viewing on the museum’s website.
Lorrie Morgan, Sawyer Brown, More To Headline Inaugural Inverness Country Jam
/by Lydia FarthingPictured (L-R, top row): Lorrie Morgan & Sawyer Brown; (L-R, bottom row): Sammy Kershaw & Aaron Tippin
The first ever Inverness Country Jam, presented by Sunny Cooter, is slated to take over the shores of Lake Henderson in Liberty Park and The Depot in Inverness, Florida from Oct. 28-30. The festival will feature two stages, food trucks, bars, festival vendors, and a kids’ play area.
Featured headliners for the inaugural event include Sawyer Brown, Aaron Tippin, Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw, with additional performances from Collin Raye, Matt Stell, Frank Ray, the James Barker Band, and more.
“We have invested millions in redeveloping our lakefront parks and The Depot District, which created an environment that is much more conducive to handling a big festival,” shares City Manager Eric Williams. “We have beautiful waterways, a natural lake system, and the longest bike trail in Florida. Our motto is ‘Small Town Done Right.’”
Tickets will go on sale beginning July 15. VIP packages will also be available, which will allow holders access to a private bar and restaurant-style tent, and more. For more details, click here.