For 20 years, APA’s Nashville office has kept several of the music industry’s most recognizable names on the road and in front of their fans. The company celebrated its long and continuing run with a bash at Hard Rock Cafe last night (Feb. 18), attended by a slew of artists and industry. Presiding over the event were Sr. VPs Bonnie Sugarman and Steve Lassiter, who recently spoke exclusively with MusicRow about APA’s history in Music City.
After joining APA in 1983 as Head of Fairs & Festivals, Bonnie Sugarman worked with Country artists including Dottie West, Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Gatlin Brothers, and Johnny & June Carter Cash. Sugarman transferred to Music City in the early 1990s to help oversee APA’s then-new Nashville office. “I knew we had to be [in Nashville], and we should have been here long before we were, because we represented Johnny and June Cash and the Gatlins at one time. Other agencies were coming to Nashville, so I volunteered to move here and loved it immediately. I used to come for the CMA Awards and the SRO awards, so I knew a lot of people even before I moved to Nashville. I knew APA needed a presence in Nashville, but I’m not sure I knew we would still be here 20 years later.” Sugarman is now APA Nashville’s Sr. VP/Head of Fairs and Festivals.
Together, Sugarman and Steve Lassiter, Partner/SVP/Head of Concerts Department, lead an agency that represents more than 50 artists and employs more than one dozen agents. Among the artists that APA Nashville represents are Dolly Parton, Charlie Daniels Band, Travis Tritt, and Maggie Rose.
“I think we’re able to successfully represent income-producing artists because we are equipped to focus on those artists,” Lassiter says. “We are able to focus on the developing artists, too. Our agent-to-artist ratio is very low, and that enables us to give more time, energy and focus to building careers and maintaining careers.” APA Nashville currently has approximately three artists per agent. “It gives each agent time to work more to tighten up each deal.”
Lassiter joined APA Nashville in 1998. Prior to that he spent 12 years at William Morris Agency, where he booked concerts in the Southeast territory, rose to a VP role, and navigated tours for Trisha Yearwood, Charlie Daniels, The Oak Ridge Boys, and others.
Both Lassiter and Sugarman have earned numerous accolades along the way. In 2005, the Nashville Association of Talent Directors (NATD) named Lassiter Talent Director of the Year. He has served as both President and Board member for the NATD; he has also served on boards for the ACM and the International Entertainment Buyers Association. In 1995, Sugarman made NATD history when she was the first woman awarded the organization’s Agent of the Year award. The following year, she made history again as the first agent to win the award for two consecutive years. Sugarman, a member of the 2010 class of Leadership Music, was honored with the Hubert Long Award in 2005, and currently serves as the first VP of NATD.

APA Nashville has enjoyed several recent signings, including Tate Stevens, Maggie Rose, Mallory Hope, Jacob Powell, and band Strung Like A Horse. On the road, developing artists can tighten their performing skills, build an audience early in their careers, and help determine what songs and sound elicits a response from concertgoers.
“We are the artist development department,” Lassiter says. “Most of our young developing acts don’t have record deals. We are able to get them work before all of that and a lot of that is because of our relationships with club owners.” A solid touring schedule is also a boon for artists seeking deals. “I can remember through the years, companies would sign artists who had never performed live, ever,” adds Sugarman. “They are not doing that anymore. If you can go to a label with a track record of touring and a proven fan base, that is what they are looking for.”
Developing rising artists and songwriters through touring isn’t without risk and commitment, given the amount of time agents must invest to secure dates for (sometimes) little-known artists. Lassiter notes the time aspect can be taken for granted. “The labels sometimes frown at us, because they see that labels put a lot money in and the publishing companies put a lot of money in [developing an artist],” says Lassiter. “They sometimes look at [agencies] like, ‘Well, you are not putting any skin in the game.’ We are. It’s called manpower. If you take the hours and effort we are putting into a developing act and multiply that to a monetary value, it’s a lot of money. So yes, we do have skin in the game.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, established artists including Travis Tritt and Charlie Daniels Band are able to tour year-round thanks to a tight-knit team of agents. Tritt is currently in the midst of a 30-city acoustic jaunt. “He loves it because he feels like he’s sitting in his living room. It’s Travis and his guitar for two hours,” says Lassiter. “He can tell stories and recall the time he spent with Waylon [Jennings] and Johnny Cash and Marty Stuart. People walk away thinking they have just spent the evening in his living room, as opposed to the large stage and huge productions.” Of course, this kind of tour also offers an economic advantage. “The scaled back acoustic tour does net more money in the long run. What the other artists are doing [on larger tours] is packaging,” says Sugarman. “It takes three or four artists to sell out an arena now. There are very few solo artists that can do that these days.”
According to Sugarman, having a physical address in Nashville for two decades has been a critical component of the company’s success. “We’ve been here and we know the people in this industry. Plus, the Nashville industry is generally so supportive of each other. Although we are fiercely competitive, we are good friends with our competitors. We’ve developed a longstanding reputation as an agency that artists and others in the music industry know and trust.”

Ready. Set. GO!!! Country Radio Seminar opens today (Tues., Feb. 18) with a bang.
MusicRow’s 12th annual CRS Meet & Greet and CountryBreakout Awards, the unofficial kick off to CRS, will be today at Margaritaville in downtown Nashville, featuring performances by Native Run and Natalie Stovall & The Drive. Details here.
The jam-packed week will keep artists, industry and radio programmers hopping until the wee hours. Below are a few highlights from the official schedule, while tons of other invitation-only parties are also on attendees’ dockets.
All events are at the Renaissance Hotel/Nashville Convention Center unless otherwise noted.
Tuesday, Feb. 18
6:00 PM – 8:15 PM: Country Radio Hall of Fame Dinner & Ceremony. Honorees include Radio Inductees Larry Wilson and Mike Brophey; On-Air Personalities Paul Schadt and Jim Denny; Career Achievement Award winner Vince Gill; and President’s Award recipient Ed Hardy.
8:30 PM: Official Hall of Fame After Party featuring Rachele Lynae, sponsored by Momentum Label Group. Plus Millstar Entertainment artists Outshyne and a special guest appearance by Jamie O’Neal.
Wednesday, Feb. 19 
9:30 AM: Brett Eldredge will kick off the seminar with the national anthem at the opening ceremonies, followed by the presentation of Scholarship and the Artist Humanitarian Awards. Carrie Underwood is this year’s Artist Humanitarian Award recipient.
10:15 AM – 11:00 AM: Keynote Address: 11 Reasons Why Social Media Could Save The Radio Business Featuring Gavin McGarry Sponsored by Folds of Honor.
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM: Little Big Town “Perseverance” Sponsored by Folds of Honor. Bob Kingsley will conduct an interview with the CMA Vocal Group of the Year about perseverance in the country music industry.
12:00 PM – 2:20 PM: Team UMG at the Ryman Auditorium. This year’s performers are Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Easton Corbin, Billy Currington, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Scotty McCreery, Kip Moore, Kacey Musgraves, David Nail, Jon Pardi, Eric Paslay, Darius Rucker and Josh Turner. Lunch served at NCC, Level 2, lobby near Ryman exit.
2:30 PM – 3:50 PM: CRS Research Presentation. Country Radio Seminar has commissioned a comprehensive Country music research study for presentation, with data on the increased popularity country music is seeing with the 12-34 year-old age group.
 Panelists: Larry Rosin, Jayne Charneski.
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Muscle Shoals: The Magic in the Music Sponsored by Muscle Shoals to Music Row Live and Alabama Tourism. These legendary producers and musicians are featured in a new award-winning documentary, Muscle Shoals. Panelists: Rick Hall, Jimmie Johnson, Spooner Oldham, Mac McAnnally, and David Hood. Moderator: Charlie Morgan.
9:30 PM – 11:30 PM: Muscle Shoals film screening.
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM: The Grand Ole Opry Presented by My Well Being Powered by Humana. Performances by Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Old Crow Medicine Show, along with Thompson Square, Chris Young, Charles Esten (Nashville), Love & Theft, Brandy Clark, Will Hoge and Eric Paslay. Bill Cody will host the event.
Thursday, Feb. 20
11:00 AM – 11:50 AM: CMA Presentation: Building a Strong Brand No Matter What Technology Does. Presenters: Mark Ramsey, Mark Ramsey Media; and Karen Stump, Senior Research Director, Country Music Association.
12:00 PM – 1:50 PM: UMG Nashville Lunch and Performance, Ryman Auditorium, with performers Jennifer Nettles, Brothers Osborne and Kalleigh Bannen.
3:00 PM – 3:50 PM: Why Choosy Brands Choose Country. Major brands are jumping on the country bandwagon. Moderator: Erica Farber, RAB. Panelists: Julie Craig, Retail Marketing Manager, Cracker Barrel;
Shari Lewin, William Morris Entertainment; Darcie Law, Vice President, Account Director, Chevrolet, Jack Morton Worldwide; and Mike Weidman, Chevrolet National Promotions Manager.
7:00 PM: Bob Kingsley’s Acoustic Alley Sponsored by Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 and Co-Sponsored by Suntrust Bank, Beverage Bar Sponsored by ASCAP. Performers: Ben Hayslip, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Ashley Gorley, Rodney Clawson, Brett James, Matt Jenkins, Rhett Akins and Dallas Davidson.
Friday, Feb. 21
12:00 PM – 1:50 PM: Black River Entertainment Lunch and Performance with Kellie Pickler, Craig Morgan and John King.
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM: BMI Legends Featuring John Oates Sponsored by BMI. Oates discusses his career and performs a couple of acoustic songs. John Esposito, President of Warner Music Nashville, will moderate.
6:30 PM – 10:00 PM: New Faces of Country Music® Dinner and Performance Co-Sponsored by MDA and ACM, with performers Brett Eldredge, Tyler Farr, Cassadee Pope, Thomas Rhett and Charlie Worsham, followed by the Official After Party of the New Faces Show Presented by TNT’s Private Lives of Nashville Wives.