NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwired - September 25, 2015) - On Thursday, Sept. 24, Nashville Business Journal held its second annual 2015 Women in Music City Awards at the Omni Nashville Hotel. The red-carpet awards dinner honored Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman as the 2015 Artists of the Year as well as 26 women who are helping shape Nashville's nearly $10 billion music industry. Bankers, lawyers, record label executives and music educators were all in attendance to celebrate.
The awards program stemmed from a mentoring event held in April 2014. A challenge arose finding enough women from the music industry to fill all the requests for such. It seemed like a natural step to marry the music and business industries together, and the Women in Music City Awards was born.
Nashville Business Journal President and Publisher Kate Herman gave opening remarks for the program, and accomplishments of winners were highlighted as each honoree took the stage for their award. Winners also shared words of wisdom and lessons learned during the past year in pre-recorded videos.
Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman delivered the keynote address, sharing insights on their longtime friendship and tips for success they learned from each other and their families. They concluded with a surprise performance with band mates Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet.
One message became clear: Making it in music takes hard work and persistence. The women recognized have both, and are eager to share what they've learned with the next generation, passing the torch to keep women's success in the music business thriving.
All of the event's honorees were featured in both a Nashville Business Journal printed program and online at NashvilleBusinessJournal.com. The list of honorees included: Danielle Bouharoun of Wells Fargo Private Bank; Brandi Brammer of Creative Artists Agency; Debbie Carroll of MusiCares; Sarah Cates of Belmont University; Legina Chaudoin of O'Neil Hagaman PLLC; Beville Dunkerley of Rolling Stone Country; Lucia Folk of CMT; Cyndi Forman of Universal Music Publishing Group, Nashville; Leslie Fram of CMT; Tracy Gershon of Rounder Records; Lisa Harless of Regions Bank; Ali Harnell of AEG Live/The Messina Group; Becky Harris of Huskins-Harris Business Management; Deana Ivey of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.; Beverly Keel of Middle Tennessee State University; Gina Keltner of Grand Ole Opry; Chandra LaPlume of Taillight; Lynn Morrow of Adams and Reese LLP; Erika Wollam Nichols of The Bluebird Cafe; Kelly Rich of Big Machine Label Group; Brittany Schaffer of Loeb & Loeb LLP; Sarah Trahern of Country Music Association; Ellen Truley of SESAC; Marcie Allen Van Mol of MAC Presents; Betsy Williams of Universal Music Group; and Sally Williams of Ryman Auditorium/ Opry Entertainment Group.
Nominations were taken from the public, and the final selection of honorees were judged by Alisann Blood of Capitol Records; Lori Feldman of Warner Bros Records; Camille Hackney of Atlantic Records; Natalia Nastaskin of The Agency Group; Jacqueline Saturn of Harvest Records; and Judee Ann Williams of Creative Artists Agency.
Gold sponsors of the awards dinner were Gary Musick Productions, Middle Tennessee State University, Nielsen Entertainment, Ryman Hospitality Properties, SunTrust and Van Mol Restoration.
About the Nashville Business Journal (NBJ)
The Nashville Business Journal, one of 43 country-wide publications with American City Business Journals, is a division of Advanced Media Publications. NBJ is a media outlet that provides local business news and connections through our platforms: print, online, mobile and events. The Nashville Business Journal believes that growing the strength of women business leaders is essential to our community's success. NBJ holds multiple award programs and events for women including the Women of Influence Awards and Mentoring Monday. NBJ's parent company, American City Business Journals, recently launched Bizwomen.com, a national website for women business leaders. The Nashville Business Journal is published every Friday and can be viewed online daily at NashvilleBusinessJournal.com.
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Contact Information:
Alison Nash
Nashville Business Journal
615-846-4269
anash@bizjournals.com
