Zac Brown is bringing his roots to the masses with the launch of his record label Southern Ground Artists, Inc., dedicated to developing, introducing and promoting some of Georgia's brightest rising stars.
Brown's label comes out of a devotion to giving talented artists a voice. "I'd like to think there's a movement coming out of Atlanta that's like [Memphis-based soul label] Stax was, back in the '60s," he said in an interview with The Tennessean. "The Wood Brothers are one of the best live bands you'll ever see, and we just got Sonia Leigh's record finished, and I'm super proud of it. There's Blackberry Smoke coming onboard, and Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey, and all the people that love our music will love their music, too, I feel confident."
Artists signed to Southern Ground include:
- Sonia Leigh, whose debut album '1978 December' (out September 2011) features the single "My Name is Money" soon to be heard on country radio, as well as the jaunty track "Roaming," co-written by and featuring Brown himself.
- Critically-acclaimed duo The Wood Brothers will release 'Smoke Ring Halo' on August 2 and are headed to AAA Radio supporting the album's first single "Shoofly Pie." The song is accompanied by a video that stars ZBB multi-instrumentalist Clay Cook.
- Country and Southern Rock quintet Blackberry Smoke are performing 20 + dates with Zac Brown Band nationwide this summer and have previously shared the stage with ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, among numerous others. They'll begin work on a new highly anticipated album this summer.
- Levi Lowrey, co-writer of ZBB's #1 hit "Colder Weather" is on a year-long tour in support of his haunting debut album 'I Confess I was a Fool' (out Summer 2011) and plans to make song writing stops in Nashville along the way.
- Pop songsmith Nic Cowan is currently on the road gaining fans fast with tracks from 'Hard Headed' (out Summer 2011).
Southern Ground Artists, Inc has select tracks from each artist available for streaming at: http://www.southerngroundartists.com
The label, which will be widely distributed by RED, has already put out a compilation of 11 tracks from ZBB and three of the Southern Ground Artists as part of the "Letters for Lyrics" campaign. Fans who wrote letters to American service members received the compilation at no charge as part of Southern Ground's collaborative effort with RAM Truck Brand and nonprofit organization Soldiers' Angels.
Alan Becker RED Senior Vice President, Product Development said: "I've been lucky to work on behalf of some of my favorite artists and to do it again with Zac Brown and his Southern Ground Artists label feels just right. We believe Zac has tapped a vein again in Atlanta reminiscent of legendary Phil Walden and Capricorn Records and we just can't wait to get started."
http://www.zacbrownband.com/
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