Troy ‘Tracker’ Johnson has reflected on his experience of managing some of the biggest stars in country music, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and HARDY, during a time when they were establishing themselves in the country music landscape.

Tracker was a key part of Big Loud Management for almost a decade, with the manager joining FGL's Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley while they were at the height of their fame, as well as helping to build Wallen and HARDY's careers as they were starting out.

In a new interview with SoundExchange, Kahan reflects on how much he learned from managing these three distinct and unique yet all wildly successful artists at varying points in their careers, “I was very, very lucky to be put in a position where FGL, Morgan and HARDY, three artists that just flew...You didn't really develop FGL, Morgan and HARDY - they knew exactly what they wanted and they were a rocket-ship and they went for it. So I learned way more from them than I think they would've learned from me in [those] stages, because we were all just hanging on”.

Tracker - who launched his own management firm, TRACK Management, in 2024 with HARDY as their flagship artist - goes on, “But those experiences taught me so much. Taught me how to deal with complete disasters, and how to deal with the biggest highs of doing award shows to New Year's Eve shows to the GRAMMYs and doing all these things was because of them. And I was definitely in the room and definitely a part of all those conversations, but those three acts...”

He references how he has always had a strong bond with HARDY, who he still manages, “HARDY and I have a much different relationship than I would've had with FGL. You know, FGL, I was tour-managing and I did some day-to-day with them when I first got off”.

Tracker then outlines, “And Morgan I was managing, but you know...there's no real managing Morgan. You just kind of hang on for things. With HARDY and I, we see very eye to eye with a lot of things, and we are very blunt with each other in our discussions”.

Wallen has a reputation for knowing which direction he wants to go in and following through on that, a quality that has - at times - gotten him into trouble over the years, but also one that has helped to fuel his refreshingly eclectic approach to songwriting.

Few artists at the pinnacle of the charts would have the courage to change tack and start incorporating indie-rock and alternative textures, as Wallen does across I'm the Problem, epitomised by ‘Genesis’ and ‘If You Were Mine’. But Wallen, as Tracker hints, knows what he wants and good luck to anyone who tries to get in his way.

It's a fascinating conversation that finds Tracker lifting the veil on certain elements of the artist management process. Alongside HARDY, Tracker looks after the careers and progression of acts like Dallas Smith, Jake Worthington and McCoy Moore.

It's the latest chapter in an impressive career, particularly when you consider the fact that Tracker was spearheading the Big Loud Management crew at a time when Florida Georgia Line were dominating and Wallen and HARDY were being tipped as the next-big-things of country - potential that he helped to ensure was fulfilled.