Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman Named as Nashville Business Journal's 2015 Artists of the Year

NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwired - June 16, 2015) - The Nashville Business Journal has named Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman of Little Big Town as 2015 Artists of the Year for its second annual Women in Music City Awards. Fairchild and Schlapman will be honored and be the keynote speakers at the red-carpet awards dinner on September 24 at the Omni Nashville Hotel. This event will bring together both the business and music industries, combining two major driving forces behind the success of Music City.

Kimberly Schlapman and Karen Fairchild met in the a cappella choir at Alabama's Samford University. After graduation, both ended up in Music City, and after pursuing solo careers, they decided to try joining musical forces again. The idea for Little Big Town was born. The addition of Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet filled out their signature harmonic sound, and the four members of Little Big Town sang together for the first time in Kimberly's living room. Six albums later, they're still going strong. Last fall, Karen and Kimberly teamed with home furnishing site Joss & Main for a curated sale. Most recently, Kimberly released her first cookbook, Oh Gussie!, and her cooking show, "Kimberly's Simply Southern," currently on the Cooking Channel. Karen is developing a clothing line that will launch this fall. Both women serve on boards of music associations -- Karen with CMA and Kimberly with ACM -- and work with charities including Bloodwater Mission and TJ Martell Foundation. Little Big Town has won several awards for their work, including a Grammy in 2013 for "Pontoon" and a Daytime Emmy Award for "Good Afternoon" the same year. In October, they will kick off the fall leg of their Painkiller tour, hitting 17 locations along the way.

"Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman represent what makes Nashville great," said Mayor Karl Dean of this year's Artists of the Year. "They're musicians. They're artists. And they're entrepreneurs. They consistently make great music with Little Big Town, and now they're sharing their talents in other fields, too. Nashville is lucky to have so many talented, creative women in the music industry, whether they're writing songs, recording, performing or working behind the scenes. This city would not be what it is without them."

Alongside Fairchild and Schlapman, the Women in Music City Awards will honor women who are helping shape Nashville's music industry.

NBJ Publisher Kate Herman says of the awards, "If you Google 'Women in Music City Awards,' you will find the results of last year's event -- women being recognized in the music industry for their hard work, ingenuity and impact on their community and industry. Shining the spotlight on women making a difference is good for the business and for future generations who want to contribute to music and Nashville. This year's awards will continue to fulfill this mission as the women and their accomplishments are sure to inspire you."

Nominations were taken from the public, and the final of selection of honorees will be judged by Lori Feldman of Warner Bros Records, Jacqueline Saturn of Harvest Records, Judee Ann Williams of Creative Artists Agency, Alisann Blood of Capitol Records, Camille Hackney of Atlantic Records and Natalia Nastaskin of The Agency Group.

Gold sponsors of the awards dinner Middle Tennessee State University and Van Mol Restoration. All winners will be highlighted in both a printed Nashville Business Journal special publication and online at NashvilleBusinessJournal.com.

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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