Kate Myers
Warner Music Nashville, Director, Strategic Partnerships
Age 28
Insta @_kate_myers_
Kate Myers spearheads brand partnerships for Warner Music Nashville's impressive roster, including talents like Bailey Zimmerman, Ian Munsick, Avery Anna, and The Castellows. In 2023, she secured over $1M for WMN's emerging artists, designed her first semi-truck wrap, and organized multiple impactful opportunities for artists to give back. Beyond her professional achievements, Kate's commitment to sustainability led her to serve as the President of WMG's Green Americas ERG. She collaborates with colleagues across the continent to implement sustainability programming, and advocates for practices to reduce environmental impact across all North America offices. Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Kate graduated from Belmont University. After serving as a WMG College Rep, Kate joined the WMN Radio & Streaming team before rising to lead the Strategic Partnerships team in 2021.
Favorite album in 2023: Just for fun, I'd have to say 10,000 gecs by 100 gecs. Ian Munsick's White Buffalo was also a favorite, though!
Favorite place in Nashville for a business meeting: Anywhere walkable from WMN! Usually Thai Esane, The Virgin, or The Well.
Kolby Vetter
The Neal Agency, Agent
Age 29
Insta @kolbyvetter
Born and raised in small town Iowa, Kolby Vetter grew up around country music but, it wasn’t until he moved to Nashville in 2014 that he knew it was something he could call a career. Getting his first gig at CAA in 2016, Vetter worked under Jeff Gregg helping him grow the company’s corporate division. In 2019, he joined Red Light Management working as the day-to-day manager for Lady A, alongside Callie Cunningham. In late 2022, Vettermoved back into the agency world joining Austin Neal at the newly started The Neal Agency. He has since helped the roster establish an international presence while also heading up the corporate division. Simultaneously, he signed UMG artist, Anne Wilson, and Cory Asbury to help navigate their touring business across the country.
Favorite Book in 2023: The Defining Decade, Meg Jay
Favorite album of 2023: The Mockingbird and the Crow - HARDY
Lexi Howder
OH Creative, Publicist
Age 26
Insta @lexihow
California native Lexi Howder is a publicist at the Nashville-based music PR firm OH Creative. Lexi began her career in promotions at San Diego's 103.7 KSON and in the newsroom at ABC, before making the strategic move to Nashville for an internship at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating with a degree in journalism and public relations from San Diego State University, Lexi joined Olivia Hanceri’s OH Creative as the company’s first hire in 2020. Playing a significant role in the early independent publicity efforts for Ashley Cooke and Lily Rose, Lexi also helped triple the size of OH Creative’s team and artist roster. She continues to spearhead campaigns for a diverse roster of artists and songwriters including Cooke, Rose, Anne Wilson, Nicolle Galyon, Kameron Marlowe, Matt Schuster, Spencer Crandall, James Barker Band and more.
Favorite album of 2023: It's a tie between Stephen Wilson Jr.’s søn of dad and Cody Johnson’s Leather
Macie Banks
SiriusXM, Host of Highway Mornings
Age 28
Insta @maciebanks
Macie Banks always dreamed of working in entertainment, specifically to be on television. While studying Journalism at the University of Georgia, Macie took an internship with the radio show she grew up listening to: The Bert Show (WWWQ). Within a year, she was the afternoon host on a local station in Athens (CMG). Months later, she was co-host on the cluster's country station (WNGC). Three years later she transitioned into a sales position with Cumulus Atlanta. Four months later Storme Warren called, asking her to join his SiriusXM show. Nashville and SiriusXM have been "home" ever since. In 2023, Macie took on hosting the morning show, until CMT's Cody Alan joined SiriusXM. Macie now co-hosts SiriusXM’s "Highway Mornings with Cody Alan and Macie Banks."
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: I had a baby! My sweet baby girl was born on August 22, 2023 and is by far the best thing I've ever done. Professionally, I took over hosting The Highway morning show solo and didn't miss a day, or a show, until the day my daughter was born. When she arrived, I took some time off with her to get the hang of things and came back during the busiest week of country music - the CMA Awards! I have too much FOMO to miss something as stellar as that week.
Dream mentor: Ryan Seacrest! Just a couple of Georgia folk here. I actually interned at Seacrest Studios in Atlanta at the Children's Hospital. Not only does he do it all, he seems to do it all with the biggest heart.
Megan Loveless
Third Man Records, Marketing & Project Manager; The Blue Room, Talent Buyer & Marketing; To-Go Records & Nashville Show To-Go Menu, co-founder.
Age 26
Insta handle @meganloveless
Megan Loveless has been actively involved in the Nashville music scene since she was nineteen years old and interning for Cold Lunch Recordings. While in college, she created the event listing page Nashville Show To-Go Menu and record label To-Go Records with Jacob Corenflos. She started at Third Man Records as an intern in 2018, and upon graduating college in 2019, was hired onto the label marketing team. Loveless has worked her way up through Third Man for the past five years and is now working as a project manager for the label, managing projects like Snooper, Heatmiser, The Paranoyds, and more. Since 2020, she has also been the talent buyer and promoter for Third Man’s independent venue, The Blue Room. To date, her favorite booking accomplishment for The Blue Room was booking Dijon for two sold out shows in 2022. For 2024, her main focus is to continue booking special shows at The Blue Room, taking on cool projects for Third Man, and helping release local music on her label To-Go Records.
Favorite place in Nashville for a business meeting: Duke’s
Dream mentor: Kim Gordon
Mike Robinson
Producer/Songwriter
Publisher: Roxy King at UMPG
MGMT: Shelby Yoder at Willo&Co
Age 28
Insta @mickrob23
Mike Robinson is a Grammy Nominated producer and songwriter. He recently signed a publishing deal with UMPG Nashville. Mike is a multi-instrumentalist (guitar/keys) who works across several genres with a focus in pop, singer-songwriter, and alternative. Mike is prolific at guitar and specializes in helping execute an artist's vision. He is the executive producer of Brenn! whose debut project signed to Darkroom. Brenn’s lead single, 4runner, has collected over 50 million streams on Spotify. Artists that Robinson has worked with include: Teddy Swims, The Band CAMINO, Quinn XCII, Nicky Youre, Bryce Vine, Lauren Weintraub, emlyn, Hastings, LØLØ, and Katie Pruitt. Writers he has worked with include Geoff Warburton, David Hodges, Mikky Ekko, Ben Johnson, and Jamie Kenney.
Favorite Book of 2023: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Nicki Fletcher
Film Director
Age 29
Insta @nicki__fletcher
Nicki Fletcher is a film director specializing in short-form storytelling. She is currently focused on music videos in the country and pop genres, as well as commercial short films. Most recently, she and her directing partner, Mason Allen, received a nomination for CMA Music Video of the Year for Old Dominion’s “Memory Lane”. Nicki has directed videos for Jessie Murph, Maren Morris, JP Saxe, Ryan Hurd, Walker Hayes, Joy Oladokun, Chris Stapleton, Lukas Nelson, Lainey Wilson, and Megan Maroney. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Glamour, People, Billboard, CMT, Jimmy Kimmel Live, James Corden, and Nashville Lifestyles.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Receiving a nomination for CMA Music Video of the Year
Nikki Sanz
Giggs, Founder & CEO
Age 27
Insta @nikkisanzz
Nikki Sanz is innovating and professionalizing the gigging industry with Giggs, the LinkedIn for the touring industry. Her experience working various gigs, staffing tours, and working on the road with several artists (including Eric Church and George Strait) highlighted the industry’s challenges and inefficiencies. Recognizing the need for change, Nikki launched Giggs, reimagining the traditional, fragmented gigging landscape into a centralized platform for touring professionals and companies to find jobs, hire, and connect. Within two months of beta launching, Giggs attracted over 5,000 users and facilitated 50+ job posts and successful hires. Backed by significant capital investment and support from the biggest names in the touring industry, Giggs is adapting to the workforce demands of the 2024 and future touring seasons, streamlining the hiring process for industry professionals.
Plans for 2024: The official Giggs launch in early 2024 will revolutionize how vetted touring professionals and companies connect, with an expected 25,000 professionals and over 1,000 companies engaging and filling jobs on the platform. 2024 will be the year the touring industry’s hiring practice shifts from “who do you know” to “GIGGS knows!”
Parker Stacey
Sony Music Nashville, Associate Digital Marketing Director
Age 28
Insta @parkerlstacey
Parker started his career in artist management working with country legends Clint Black and Sara Evans. From 2022 on, Parker has overseen digital marketing strategy at Sony Music Nashville for several acts including Kane Brown, Megan Moroney, and Restless Road. A few notable projects have included Moroney’s breakthrough debut album Lucky, her latest track “No Caller ID”, Restless Road’s 18-track debut Last Rodeo, and Brown’s hit-album Different Man.
Dream mentor: Zane Lowe, Rick Rubin and Jennifer Coolidge.
Favorite Book of 2023: Elvis & Me, Priscilla Presley & Sandra Harmon
Reid Yarberry
Bobby Bones, Creative Director
Age 27
Reid began his creative pursuit in 2020, after moving to Nashville from Jonesboro, AR. As a freelance cinematographer/photographer, Reid started out by assisting Grammy Award Winning Producer/Mixing Engineer Jacquire King, in creating long & short-form content. A year of freelance projects eventually led to a position with Radio & TV Personality Bobby Bones, as his Creative Director in 2021. Since then, Reid's work has been featured in People Magazine, E! News, and more. Reid is currently shooting/editing a sports travel show, Too Much Access, which features programs with the Indiana Pacers, the Carolina Panthers, the University of South Carolina, Arkansas, and more. He is also a producer for the “BobbyCast”, which has featured artists like Morgan Wallen, Reba, and Keith Urban. In addition, Reid is a producer/personality on Bobby Bones "25 Whistles Sports Show" podcast and continues to take on freelance opportunities.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Being featured in People Magazine, which showcased my photo work with Jake Owen, Parker McCollum, and others for Bobby Bones' Million Dollar Show
Plans for 2024: I plan to push myself this year. Among continuing my usual ventures with Bobby Bones, I plan to jumpstart my YouTube Channel, a Podcast, and express myself through other mediums, including music.
Taylor Blackman
CMT Hot 20 Countdown, Associate Producer
Age 28
Taylor started her career as a college associate at Fox News. Her first post-grad job was in legal affairs at Disney in Los Angeles. Taylor then approached the head of Marketing Production at ABC, and got the opportunity to learn another side of the industry. When the global pandemic hit, she decided to move across the country to Nashville and pursue her true passion, country music. In Nashville, she landed her dream job at CMT with Hot 20. Her passion for music, discovering new talent, writing and connecting with like-minded professionals, fully bloomed in Music City. Taylor teaches a course at her alma mater, Loyola Marymount, and has a heart for mentorship.
Favorite book in 2023: Stay Sane in an Insane World, Greg Harden
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Writing and producing CMT Hot 20's Golden Sky Music Festival Episode from start to finish! Hot 20 is a three hour broadcast that airs Saturday and Sundays.
Zoe Johnson
Clair Global, Monitor Tech
Age 27
Insta @thatsozoe
Born and raised in Nashville, after graduating high school Johnson began her career in the studio, quickly realizing she wanted to pursue a career in live music production. Music and traveling the world has always been a passion so she made it her career when she was hired by Clair Global, one of the best and biggest audio companies in the world. Along with Phish, Journey, Roger Waters, Miranda Lambert, Alanis Morissette and many more on her resume, she is now currently set to be part of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS 2024 World Tour as the monitor systems tech. This tour will be one of Johnson’s biggest accomplishments.
Favorite Book of 2023: The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Crush
Dylan Gossett
Artist
Label: Mercury/Big Loud
Publishing: UMPG
Management: Homebase MGMT/Range Media
Age 24
Insta @dylangossett
Dylan Gossett is a 24-year old singer-songwriter hailing from Austin, TX. Dylan began releasing music in June 2023, and recently released his self-written/self-produced debut EP "No Better Time", which features his hit song "Coal". Dylan is currently on tour supporting Noah Kahan in Australia, and will be embarking on his debut headline tour in March/April, which sold out at the presale.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Releasing my first songs and debut EP
Bryce Sherlow
Warner Chappell, A&R Manager
Age 26
Insta @brycesherlow
Bryce Sherlow graduated from Belmont University in 2019 and interned with Scooter Braun Projects, Sony Music Entertainment and Songs Music Publishing throughout her time in college. She joined Warner Chappell Nashville in 2021 after stints at Creative Artists Agency and Collective Artists Management. She currently serves a robust roster of songwriters and artists in her current role as A&R Manager at WCM. Sherlow has immense passion and drive for songwriters, dedication to her work, and the ability to be forward thinking in a constantly evolving industry. Shortly after being promoted she signed Josh Ross, The Castellows and Brandon Wisham to the Warner Chappell Nashville branch. She is looking forward to continuing to work with and identify creative forces in the industry and is focused on the impact she can bring to the future.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Landing my first two signings since being promoted at Warner Chappell - Josh Ross and The Castellows
Favorite album of 2023: Higher - Chris Stapleton
Eric Berger
Make Wake Artists / Deep Roots Management, Day-to-Day Manager
Age 26
Insta @Ericjberger
Eric Berger is a Day-to-Day Manager at Make Wake Artists, and works primarily within the Texas/Americana/Roots spaces. His music industry career began in the WME Mailroom in 2019. Berger quickly elevated to Agent Assistant and was booking club-size venues in the Southwest and Texas until June of 2020 when he joined Make Wake as the Assistant to Chris Kappy (CEO, Manager). When Kappy partnered with Dylan Wright (Deep Roots Management) to co-manage Flatland Cavalry in 2020, Eric immediately joined the team. He has been the band's Day-to-Day Manager throughout their Grand Ole Opry debut, three #1 songs at Texas Country Radio, signing to Interscope Records and opening a sold-out Luke Combs Stadium Tour. Eric is also Day-to-Day Manager for Josh Abbott Band, The Wilder Blue, The Panhandlers, and has played roles on the teams for Luke Combs, Colby Acuff, Hailey Whitters and Niko Moon. Eric is from Philadelphia and holds degrees in Economics and Public Policy from UC Berkeley.
Favorite Nashville place for a business meeting: Ugly Mugs
Favorite album in 2023: Either Jason Isbell's Weathervanes or Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS
Grace Bowers
Guitarist
Age 17
Insta @grace_bowers
Grace Bowers has quietly emerged as a guitar phenomenon who has an enigmatic musical presence in Music City. It's why she's been sought after by everyone from Lainey Wilson, Devon Allman, Margo Price, Tyler Childers, Kingfish, Susan Tedeshi, and others. Since her childhood in the Bay Area, she has immersed herself in rock ‘n roll and guitar, honing her abilities further via YouTube tutorials and lessons. In the midst of the COVID lockdown, she built an audience by regularly livestreaming solo jam sessions on Reddit, while her Instagram reels often achieved viral impact. Along the way, she landed a coveted Gibson endorsement at the age of 14. Grace notably made her Newport Folk Festival debut in 2023 with three sets (contributing to a John Prine tribute, accompanying Margo Price and Valerie June), and serving up a solo instrumental set. Of the latter, Rolling Stone professed, "Her twenty-minute performance gave the distinct sense that everyone lucky enough to have attended was witnessing a star in the making." Using her artistry to give back, she headlined the Grace Bowers & Friends benefit for The Covenant School in Nashville, supporting Covenant Heals and MusiCares® and featuring Butch Walker, Hannah Wicklund, Devon Gilfillian, and Daniel Donato. Grace is getting ready to go into the studio with John Osborne (The Brothers Osborne) to record her debut EP.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Definitely playing with Lainey Wilson for Nashville's New Years bash, which had 215k in the audience. It was a huge milestone for me!
Jackie Augustus
Spotify, Lead, Country & Folk, Artist Partnerships
Age 29
Jackie Augustus leads Country & Folk Artist Partnerships at Spotify. In her role, she looks after artists, managers and key industry collaborators to develop strategic relationships and lead all aspects of impactful strategy for Country and Folk artists globally. She advises on creative, cultural moments to build genre innovation and creates opportunities beyond the release cycle. That includes activations like Artists to Watch, Spotify House at CMA Fest and her favorite project last year - booking Kelsea Ballerini on Call Her Daddy. Augustus previously held the role of Strategic Partner Manager on Meta’s Music Partnerships team and spent most of her early professional career as Head of Digital Marketing at Scooter Braun’s SB Projects, managing numerous activations for artists including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Spotify House @ CMA Fest - 75+ artist performances across 4 days!
Favorite Book of 2023: Britney Spears - The Woman In Me
Jacob Hackworth
Artist/Songwriter
Publishing company: Boom Music Group & Goat Island Sound
Age 27
Insta jacobhackworthmusic_
West Plains, MO native Jacob Hackworth combines strong vocals with a knack for melodies & toplining that has already netted him the multi-platinum 6-week #1 song "Rock And A Hard Place" by Bailey Zimmerman (the most played song at country radio in 2023.) Hackworth signed his first publishing deal with Boom Music Group & Goat Island Sound in the fall of 2022, and has since collaborated with hit songwriters and artists across country, pop, and rap.
Favorite Book in 2023: The Creative Act - Rick Rubin
Favorite album in 2023: One Thing At A Time - Morgan Wallen
Jaxson Free
Artist/Writer/Producer
Publisher: Goat Island Sound
Age 24
Insta @jaxsonfree
In 2019, Jaxson was featured on a collaborative track with Lesthegenius and Sonny Miles titled “Raleighwood Hills.” It caught the attention of Barack Obama and earned them a spot on “President Obama’s Favorite Songs of 2019” playlist. While many tracks in his eclectic catalog are 100% self-written and produced by Free, Jaxson is currently collaborating with top songwriters, producers, and artists. Jelly Roll said, about Free, “…I love that kid. In the next 10-15 years remember this name. This kid’s going to have 30-40 #1’s." The “Jax buzz” has led to scores of multi-genre major label artists cuts including his first #1 as a songwriter, the Kane & Katelyn Brown crossover smash “Thank God” and Kane Brown's chart topper "I Can Feel It." All this happened less than a year after signing with music industry veteran Kos Weaver’s Goat Island Sound.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Earning my first Country Radio #1
Favorite Book of 2023: Inner Engineering: A Yogi's Guide to Joy by Sadhguru
Jess Anderson
Big Loud Records | Director, Media Relations
Age 29
Insta @jesseliseanderson
Anderson is the head of Big Loud’s in-house publicity department, spearheading and collaborating on strategic campaigns for HARDY, Lauren Alaina, Larry Fleet, Lauren Watkins, Morgan Wallen, Hailey Whitters, Ashley Cooke, Stephen Wilson Jr., Charles Wesley Godwin, Dylan Gossett, and more. Before joining Big Loud’s in-house team, she executed press campaigns as a junior publicist at Sweet Talk PR, working on artists including HARDY, Morgan Wallen, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, MacKenzie Porter, Eli Young Band, Alana Springsteen, Robin Thicke, and more, as well as standout projects including Morgan Wallen’s all-genre No. 1 album, Dangerous: The Double Album, Gabby Barrett’s 7x Platinum debut single “I Hope” and Platinum debut album Goldmine, and HARDY’s debut album, A ROCK.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: How we built out our internal publicity team. Working with Mackenzie Pepper and Rachel Heatherly, who outstanding publicists and even better people, is an honor everyday
Favorite Book of 2023: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazel-wood
Joel Beaver
Monument Records, Associate Director, Marketing
Age 27
Insta @joelbeaver
Hailing from the Mountain State, Joel Beaver moved to Nashville in 2015 where he attended Middle Tennessee State University and later graduated from Belmont University with a degree in Music Business. In 2017, Beaver joined Monument Records as the label’s first intern shortly after its re-launch, and quickly was hired as a staff member before graduating MTSU in 2018. During his nearly 7 years at Monument, Beaver has been in the center of marketing campaigns across the artist roster, most notably with superstar Walker Hayes and his multifaceted “Fancy Like” campaign with Applebee’s, as well as launching sister-duo Tigirlily Gold. Beaver was selected for the Recording Academy’s 2023 New Member Class, was named a 2024 Next Big Thing by Music Row Magazine and has been involved in CMA EDU, the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Troubadour Society and SOLID.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: The marketing behind Tigirlily Gold's single "Shoot Tequila" and its reception in the US and UK.
Favorite album in 2023: Stick Season, Noah Karan
Jordan Dozzi
Big Loud, Songwriter/Producer
Age 25
Insta: jordandozzi
Dozzi, an Australian native, moved to Nashville in Fall of 2019, transferring to Belmont University Men's Soccer Team. 2 years later he tore his ACL and dropped out of college to write full time at Big Loud. Now, almost 3 years into his first publishing deal, Dozzi has his first radio single with Morgan Wallens' “Man Made a Bar” ft. Eric Church. His songs have been cut by artists such as Ernest, Jake Owen, Larry Fleet, Dylan Scott, Seaforth, Jordan Davis, Travis Denning and Chase Matthew.
Dream mentor: Jon Bellion
Favorite place in Nashville for a business meeting: Losers
Jordin Wentworth
underscore works, Artist Manager
Age 28
Insta - @jordwent
Jordin Wentworth is an Artist Manager at Nashville-based entertainment company, underscore works. With a background in entertainment law and publishing administration, Wentworth first joined the underscore works team as a management coordinator in 2022. Following her promotion from coordinator to manager, she now handles day-to-day responsibilities for Priscilla Block and Dalton Dover. During her time with the company, Wentworth has shared in many incredible milestones such as Priscilla’s first #1 at country radio (“You, Me, and Whiskey” with Justin Moore) as well as Dalton’s Opry debut. She is a Syracuse, New York native and a graduate of the University at Buffalo.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Taking the wild idea of Priscilla showing up to the CMA Awards in a dump truck and turning it into a reality.
Joseph Ross
Photographer
Age 27
Insta @__josephross
Joseph Ross is a photographer who works primarily in the editorial, music, and commercial industries. In 2018, Ross graduated from undergrad with a degree in Speech Pathology & Audiology but decided to move to Nashville to pursue photography after realizing that for him, “being an artist came first”. Since then, Ross has worked with publications like Allure and Rolling Stone, companies including Apple, Under Armour and Marriott, and has photographed artists such as Maren Morris, Billy Strings, Yola, Julien Baker, and Brittany Howard, to name a few. Ross is currently working on multiple bodies of work that he plans to show in both group and solo exhibitions in 2024.
Favorite book in 2023: What Comes Next, Joanne Tompkins
Favorite place in Nashville for a business meeting: Soho House
Kara Smoak
Messina Touring Group, Senior Digital Marketing Manager
Age 29
Insta @southkaralina
Kara Smoak spearheads tour digital marketing and creative strategy for all MTG country artists including George Strait, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Blake Shelton and Old Dominion. Kara builds and executes innovative digital campaigns for all phases of tours focusing on digital partnership activations, content creation, paid media campaigns, and data analysis. In 2021, Smoak joined MTG as Digital Marketing Manager and quickly rose to senior-level in the same year. She has contributed to marketing over 400 shows, 75+ of them being stadiums including: Church’s sold-out One Hell of a Night in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium with Morgan Wallen grossing over $9.5 million, and Strait’s 2023 run of seven stadium shows with Chris Stapleton (which sold over 375,000 tickets, grossed over $95 million, and was nominated for 2023 Billboard Music Awards Top Country Tour.)
Favorite album in 2023: The Golden Crystal Kingdom by Vincent Neil Emerson
Dream Mentor: I can without a doubt say I already work alongside my dream mentors. Thank you Sara Winter, Kate McMahon and Rachel Powers! Lucky to learn from the best in the biz and be surrounded by strong women who make any dream I have feel achievable.
Kashus Culpepper
Singer-songwriter
Age 26
Insta @kashculpeppermusic
26-year-old Navy veteran Kashus Culpepper was born and raised in Alexander City, Alabama where he grew up singing in church. His influences range from Stevie Wonder and Howlin’ Wolf to Chris Stapleton and Ray Lamontagne. Kashus has developed his own unique singing style that has inspired crowds throughout Alabama and the Mississippi Gulf Coast where he has become a fixture in the local music scenes. Playing in cover bars helped pay the bills, but Kashus knew early on he would prefer audiences sing along to his own original songs rather than the songs of others. With that in mind, he made the move to Nashville where he has been welcomed by the songwriting and artist community. He has since written some amazing songs that remain rooted in country, but reflect the wide range of music and artistry that have influenced him throughout his life.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Honestly, deciding to go all in on singing/songwriting and truly believing in my dreams
Favorite Book in 2023: The In-Between by Hadley Vlahos
Chris Burrus
CAA, Agent
Age 28
Insta @chrisburrus
Chris Burrus is an agent in the music touring department for CAA. Upon returning home to Nashville after graduating UNC-Chapel Hill in 2018, Chris worked through the internal ranks as an assistant for various agents including Marc Dennis, Meredith Jones, Sabrina Butera, Brett Saliba and Emily Van Allsburg. After being promoted to agent, post-pandemic, Burrus now oversees the Midwest territory for touring acts across the CAA Country roster. Additionally, he represents a collection of artists across the format including Austin Snell, Tyler Booth, Kashus Culpepper, Owen Riesling, Eddie Flint, Matt Koziol, Alex Lambert, Ryan Larkins, Brooke Lee, Clayton Mullen, Jake Owen, Brandon Ratcliff, and Kyler Weston. Outside of CAA, Burrus is an alumnus of SOLID and actively does benefit work for the Knox Martin Foundation.
Favorite place in Nashville for a business meeting: Third and Home - a sneaky, underrated hang
Favorite album of 2023: Life Lessons by Wyatt Flores
AVERY ANNA
Artist
Label: Warner Music Nashville
Management: Tina Crawford & David Fanning, 33 Creative
Age: 19
Insta @avery.anna.music
Warner Music Nashville recording artist Avery Anna is a vibrant talent who, some might say, speaks to sad girls – and sad boys. She has earned recognition for nuanced lyricism well beyond her 19 years, coupled with a dynamic, piano-forward sound. Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube have all named the Arizona native as an Artist to Watch. Avery’s debut EP Mood Swings, a seven-song introduction that has contributed to her 320+ million global streams, features viral hit “Narcissist.” She performed the Gold-certified smash on the 2023 CMT Music Awards, where she was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Her latest release, “I Will (When You Do)” with Dylan Marlowe, is out now. Having quickly become an in-demand touring artist, Avery hit the road last year with Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis, BRELAND, Chase Rice and more.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Playing 100+ shows, including my first headlining tour.
Plans for 2024: Debut album / world domination.
Carlile Willett
WME, Agent, Music Brand Partnerships
Age 28
Insta @marycarlile
In her role as agent, Carlile Willett works in securing brand partnership opportunities for WME’s country music roster. Working closely with client teams and her large network of brand relationships, she has successfully closed deals for Walker Hayes, Ingrid Andress, Ashley Cooke, Lily Rose, Cooper Alan, Tanner Adell, and more. She most recently played a key role in Chris Stapleton’s partnership with Walmart for their first-ever Heroes & Headliners event, which celebrated the military community through a social media campaign and star-studded concert on Veteran’s Day. Outside of being a respected agent, Willett is an active member of the Women of Endeavor program, which supports professional advancement and equity for women throughout WME and all Endeavor companies.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: Being promoted to Music Brand Partnerships Agent. I started in the WME mailroom in 2018 and completed the Agent Trainee program prior to my promotion.
Dream Mentor: Reese Witherspoon
Caroline Munsick
Not A Public Figure MGMT, CEO
Age 29
Insta @carolinemunsick
Caroline Munsick’s entrepreneurial spirit sparked the founding of her own management company, Not A Public Figure, in 2017. While attending Belmont University, Caroline met Wyoming native Ian Munsick, whose Western authenticity and stage presence stood out among the country mainstream. Caroline signed Ian as her client and played an instrumental role in developing him as an independent artist, overseeing the release of his self-titled EP in 2017 as well as his debut album Coyote Cry. Ian’s streaming success led to a partnership with The Erv Woolsey Co in 2019 and a record deal with Warner Music Nashville in 2020. The release of Ian’s sophomore album, White Buffalo (2023), has helped launch Country & Western back into the mainstream. Caroline’s guidance has been pivotal in his career including an RIAA-Gold certified duet with Cody Johnson, “Long Live Cowgirls,” which Caroline pitched to Johnson. Upcoming events include the release of Ian’s upcoming documentary, Voices of the West, that she spearheaded and produced. She is also looking forward to Ian’s headlining sold-out Red Rocks debut on June 5th.
Proudest accomplishment in 2023: It is a tie between Ian Munsick’s sold-out headlining Ryman debut and the red carpet premiere of the Voices of the West documentary at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
Dream Mentor: Erv Woolsey was my dream mentor and I’m blessed that I get to work side by side with him. Lots of good advice.