“I Have Always Been About Making Things Happen”: Kenny Chesney Launches Hey Now Records with Clint Higham, John Esposito and Kris Lamb

Kenny Chesney is embarking on a new adventure, with the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker launching Hey Now Records with a trio of friends and industry partners.

Chesney has joined forces with Clint Higham, the country trailblazer's long-time manager and co-founder of Morris Higham Management, along with John Esposito, 15-year-chairman of Warner Music Nashville, and Kris Lamb, a seasoned music executive that has been a key figure Big Machine Label Group for over a decade.

In an official statement, Chesney explains why he wanted to join this new venture, “When Clint, Espo and Kris came to me with the idea of creating our own team, I was curious. A label like this can be all-in, lets-make-stuff-happen – and I have always been about making things happen. Creating and exploring what’s possible inspires me, and this is a moment where we can realize ideas in a matter of hours”.

Hey Now Records is named after Chesney's beloved boat, which famously served as the title of his beautiful 2013 ode to a lost friend, ‘Happy on the Hey Now (A Song for Kristi)’.

At the same time, it encapsulates the spirit of joie-de-vivre and making the most of the present that has always underpinned the Knoxville native's radiant, uplifting catalogue.

Higham adds further insight into the impetus behind Hey Now Records, “We have always believed in finding the best people for what an artist needs. That philosophy has seen us super-serve our clients to create more meaningful opportunities and connections. In today’s flooded marketplace, Espo, Kris Lamb and I looked at this moment and saw an opportunity to super-serve a handful of talented developing and established artists by using that same perspective. By being laser-focused on the music, artists and right next moves, we can accelerate the artist development process through targeted and specific execution”.

Esposito echoes Higham's enthusiasm about Hey Now Records, “HEY NOW Records was born out of conversations Clint, Kenny and I had about the increasing lack of focus that artists are getting as rosters increase while staffs shrink. When Kris joined our conversations, I knew we would be lucky to have him at the helm of our operation. I’m thrilled to be in the role of co-founder, advisor, mentor and cheerleader for Kris as he leads the HEY NOW Records operation!”

He expands, “In a world of more, more, more, as well as corporate over-reach and rush, Kris will deliver hyper-focused, deep strategy for a select few. Whether a genre re-defining artist like Kenny or the superstars of tomorrow, this is about breaking the mold and chasing great songs and artists. Having Kris as our president means a competitive and cutting-edge approach that delivers”.

Lamb concludes, “Having the chance to create something from the ground up means the options are wide open. In a world where structure blocks creativity, HEY NOW is a place where whatever we can conceive, we can realize. This is more than a dream; this is a gateway to creating an entirely new form and reality of Artist Development”.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that the official unveiling of Hey Now Records as Chesney's new home, after spending the best part of a decade with Warner Music Nashville, means there is new music bobbing on the horizon from the country titan.

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