Big City Thoughts - Issue #6

ISSUE #6 | DEC/JAN

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH

Cimorelli

BIG TICKET FESTIVAL, LIV, MANDY MCMILLAN, AND MORE

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Table of Contents Staff Editor & Founder Acacia Evans Editor-in-Chief Ethan Blackbird Design Alyson Coletta Andi Rogers Photographers Evan Davies Miranda Eliot Acacia Evans Nolan Knight Sarah McGonagle Writers Acacia Evans Lexy Fields AJ Gruenewald Anna Kaplan Stephanie Lesher

22 Cimorelli

Social Media & More Website: bigcitythoughts.com

Innovo Music Management

Insta: @bigcitythoughtspress Twitter: @bctpress Facebook: facebook.com/bigcitythoughts Email: acaciaevanspr@yahoo.com

INNOVO

M U S I C MANAGEMENT

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Jeffrey James

26

Innovo Management

14

Sitting Down with Jacquees

{

48

VH1 You Oughta Know Concert

46

Circa Survive

04 - Jeffrey James

26 - Innovo Management

08 - CAPPA

29 - Live Photos: Breaking Benjamin

12 - Shedding Light on ‘So Much Light’

30 - Live Photos: Sevendust

14 - Sitting Down with Jacquees

31 - Live Photos: Shinedown

18 - LIV

32 - The Big Ticket Jacksonville

20 - Mandy McMillan

46 - Live Photos: Circa Survive

22 - FEATURED: Cimorelli

48 - VH1 You Oughta Know Concert

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}

Jeffrey James interview by lexy fields, photos by acacia evans

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BCT: Tell us about your background in music and how you got your start.

Jeffrey: I started back in Indiana. My whole family sings, you know, we were that cheesy family who sang harmonies in the car together to The Beatles. I have an uncle on my dad’s side that literally wrote the books on how to play guitar, the Hal Leonard guitar lesson books.

My mom’s side is all music people.

Acacia: So basically you were destined to be a musician?

Jeffrey: I guess you could say so, whether I knew it or not! I got to college and was actually a business major. I realized my first semester of freshman year that music was the only thing that I could do well. At that time, it was the only thing I wanted to do. So I did that, started taking my songwriting seriously, and became a performance major. Then I started playing out in Nashville as much as I could.

Acacia: Your sound is very original, very much a mix of different types and genres of music.

Jeffrey: What would you say it is?

Acacia: I don’t know, it’s like pop kind of but maybe R&B? It’s really cool! How would you describe it?

Jeffery: I try not to because it just makes it more original, and it’s kind of hard to describe!

With my new music I’m releasing this next year, it’s all R&B with some electro-pop in there.

My influences are always my parents’ music early on, like The Doobie Brothers. The music I love to listen to are Fitz and The Tantrums, Janelle Monáe, The Weeknd’s early stuff, and more. I also like all kinds of neo-90’s acts from England, just a really cool movement.

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Acacia: Belmont University is the reason you came to Nashville, but do you feel like you want to stay in Nashville? Is this somewhere you like to be or do you want to be somewhere else?

Jeffrey: Nashville is a great place! The only other place I would want to be is Los Angeles, but after the past two years, it hasn’t mattered if I was there or here. With the exception of my manager in Orlando, my entire team is here — my lawyers, my booking agency, and my publisher. Nashville is great for touring, you know, eight hours in any direction and you can get to a major city. You can’t say that if you’re in New York or Los Angeles.

Acacia: So what is your songwriting process?

Everyone’s is kind of different and we’re interested in knowing how yours works.

How do you go about writing a song?

Jeffrey: Usually my songs start out with melodies. Even if I’m writing with someone else, I try to bring in the start of my melody.

Maybe a hook, or a chorus – like what is the vibe? Sometimes it’s as simple as, “What is the first line to come out of my mouth?” Then you try to take that and make it into a real song based off something I did in my past that I want to sing about.

Acacia: Do you co-write with a lot of people?

Do you like co-writing?

Jeffrey: I do! It depends on who you work with. There’s this guy, Justin, who I’ve been writing with for the past six years. As I was kind of finding my sound, we ended up living together. He’s been a constant songwriter friend and we’ve written probably 50 or 60 songs together. At this point, we kind of know each other’s lives like with dating and drunkenness and everything like that. We write together a

lot. Especially with my publishing deal, I cowrite every day that I’m in Nashville basically.

You kind of just throw out ideas together until something sticks. You have to be okay with someone saying, “That was a great try, but let’s do something else.” I’ve found that you have to be really honest with what you write. If I’m writing about a breakup, let’s not just say the breakup was terrible, but really explain how I was feeling at the time.

Acacia: Tell us more about your publishing deal.

Jeffrey: It’s been great! I signed with Sony ATV. I do a lot of work in New York and of course, Nashville. It’s been pretty recent as I signed in September. It’s a pop deal, which is a newer thing in Nashville, so I go to LA a lot to write. We actually, just got out first cut, which for three months is a pretty good deal. It was a Sony artist in Australia who cut a song I wrote with two other people. We’re hoping to get more of those! My deal is cut out for me as an artist, but I’m really trying to solely make a name for myself as an artist who can also write for other people.

Acacia: I’ve read that you’ve been working with some EDM artists – is that true? If so, how did that come about, and will it influence the sound of your music?

Jeffrey: Yeah, it is true! We’ve released two EDM songs, one with an artist in Switzerland.

I didn’t even write on it, they just had me sing on it, so I’m technically a featured artist. The newest one was with an artist in Amsterdam. The only thing that changes are the vibes and instrumentals around it, but my sound is still the same on the chorus. My music has progressed a little bit because of that, and it’s gone from a live sound to that

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heavy synthetic, EDM sound. For me, it’s still based on the groove of the song.

idea to do some coupling movements and it really took off from there.

Acacia: Tell us about your song “Good Friends.” What was the inspiration for that?

The music video was really cool as well!

Acacia: That’s so cool – and it was your original idea too!

Jeffrey: I co-wrote that song with my friend Justin. It was kind of the experience I’ve had in the past where basically two people are hooking up, it’s a mutual thing, and using each other to hide from their real feelings of whatever is going on in their world. I think most people in this time have been on one side, or even both sides of that kind of relationship. I had to get really honest with myself and say that I’ve experienced it. I’m not even talking about it in a good way, but it happened and the song is me trying to figure out what it means to me now. The idea for the video that I came to the film directors with was basically the song being acted out. I’m ignoring the girl dancing around me and I was really happy with how it turned out. The original idea was for her to just do a lyrical dance around me and have zero interaction. She came in and had the

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Jeffrey: The original concept was mine but the directors really brought it to life and she, the dancer, choreographed it all. The whole experience was just amazing!

Acacia: Where do you want to go from here?

Jeffrey: We were on the road this summer for a little bit testing out the new music. We’ll be on the road a lot this next year after we release this new batch of music. It’ll be a good amount of songs – it’s an EP but it is more like an album realistically. The cool thing about being independent is that I could tour, I could release more music – it’s awesome. I’d like to look into doing more EDM collaborations, some hip-hop collaborations. Basically, just getting my name out there as much as possible!

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U

p-and-coming pop musician Carla Cappa, better known by her stage name CAPPA, has been interested in music for nearly as long as she can remember. “I started really young. I always was interested in singing. My mom gave me my first guitar when I was seven, and that was it for me.”

Cappa explored a few different styles of music before landing on pop as her home.

She grew up in the hardcore and punkrock scene and followed Warped Tour this summer, promoting her music. Although she’s moved on to pop, she continues to be inspired by the scene she grew up in. “The amount of passion they put into it, those Warped Tour bands, it’s their life. It’s really inspiring.”

landed her on Spotify’s Viral 50—Global playlist, just under Justin Bieber. The song now has over one million plays on Spotify.

Cappa released her debut self-titled EP this past May, her first excursion into the world of pop. Surprisingly, she didn’t really start listening to a lot of her favorite pop artists until after the release of her EP. “I stumbled on it somewhat by accident. I was doing more of an EDM/Dance kind of feel before and it just didn’t feel as true to me as this does.” Now that she has become more familiar with pop, two of her favorite artists are Halsey and Grimes.

Cappa’s unique style moves beyond her music and into her hobbies as well. “I love to find pieces and just mix and match them.”

Like many Nashville musicians, she loves to find unique items at thrift stores and work them into her outfits to make them feel more personal.

“It’s not that it’s accidental, but it’s something you can never really expect,” she says of the incredible developments in her career.

“Every time I’ve put something out, people have been so supportive.” It may be a bit of chance, but Cappa deserves every bit of it.

Her talent and unique style are sure to bring her to the top of the charts soon enough. “I think the best thing to do is to be yourself and go after what you want. I feel like if you put everything you have into something, that’s your ‘it’ factor.”

So what’s next for Cappa? Look for live shows coming up in early 2016 and a potential album this spring with some of her favorite songs she’s ever written. And don’t forget Although she is new to the pop scene, Cappa to check out her latest release, “Goddess,” has already amassed quite a following. Her available on iTunes, Spotify, and other music ultra-catchy single, “Killin’ It,” was featured in outlets. the premiere episode of MTV’s Scream, and her music video for “Other Girls” premiered on the homepage of the popular magazine STORY BY STEPHANIE LESHER “Glamour.”

PHOTOS BY ACACIA EVANS More recently, Cappa decided to take one of her favorite songs from her childhood and make it her own. “I kind of grew up listening to ‘No Scrubs.’ I think it came out when I was, like, seven.” Her cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs”

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Shedding light on

story by aj gruenewald, photos by anti records

So much light

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“...His song ‘Soap Box’ has been described as a ‘sexy Animal Crossing.’ ” NorCal’s Damien Verrett, aka So Much Light, took some time with us to talk musical heroes and influences. This October he released his EP ‘Idiot Soul’ which has a vapor wave, Frank Ocean vibe to it, and is full of catchy melodies with sassy lyrics such as, “Do you do anything that you don’t tell your friends?” The EP was released through Anti Records, which was huge for Verrett since his manager’s cold call somehow randomly landed him his spot.

Growing up, Verrett’s mom and dad encouraged him to begin his musical endeavors. His dad played a bit of everything and Damien would watch him whenever he’d play with his bands. He talks about his other hero, Tommy Caldwell, as a general badass.

“From getting abducted in Kyrgyzstan

by Islamic militants, being forced to push one of those kidnappers off a cliff, cutting his index finger off on a table saw, and then climbing the hardest route up Yosemite’s El Capitan.”

Climbing is Verrett’s second passion,

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so Caldwell serves as a big inspiration to press on in that and music as well.

He may pull inspiration from Caldwell, but artists such as FKA Twigs, ULTRA, and 18 Carat Affair are what influence Damien.

He pays special attention to production in their works; talking about notch filter and how frequency spectrums are affected by them. He’s different than these artists though, because of his background.

Damien played in math rock and experimental bands growing up, and tries to let that translate a bit into his R&B work as well. Verrett also jokes about basing some of the sounds in his record off of popular video games, hence why his song ‘Soap Box’ has been described as a “sexy Animal Crossing.” Whatever, we can dig it.

So Much Light plans to continue touring and cranking out tunes in the coming months. To keep up, throw him a ‘Like’ on Facebook or search the act on Bandcamp to pay your own price for the EP!

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photos by sarah mcgonagle, interview by aj gruenewald

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e had the chance to get together with Jacquees of Cash Money Records recently and talk sound, collaboration, the life revolving around Cash Money, his latest EP ‘19’, and the future. Decatur, Georgia’s 21-year-old R&B Singer/ Songwriter has recently been gaining traction for what he calls his “OG R&B sound,” which blends a mixture of rapping and singing. Although he pulls influence from many older artists such as Michael Jackson and 2000’s rap like Lil Wayne, who he still to this day says is his favorite rapper, the songs on his EP are reminiscent of Chris Brown in his heyday or maybe a present day Justin Bieber. It’s mature and would fit on the radio with today’s hits.

Jacquees believes he’s only going to further mature with his new material, saying, “If people want to get to know me, they should listen to ‘19’.

However, my new stuff is way better. (Laughs)” The guy still shouldn’t dog the EP, though.

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After talking with Jacquees about the artists he was able to collaborate with on the record, it was clear that his music was really gaining recognition, especially among other performers. He had the opportunity to co-sign and work through CBE with Chris Brown on ‘19’, which is fitting seeing as their sound is similar. That managed to land him a spot on the Billboard charts. As well as Chris Brown, Jacquees was able to work other notable names on the record. He mentioned, “I had just gotten cool with Lloyd, so I thought he’d be good for a record. Trinidad James and I had already known each other because we were working with the same people.”

‘19’ changed more than just relationships for Jacquees. The EP was written about everything he had experienced those first 19 years of his life; that included everything from

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traveling, the industry, love, and everything in between. He would go up into the studio, mainly because he said, “I can’t listen to things in my car, I need to be in the studio.”

Now 21, the EP has made Jacquees so busy.

Joining Cash Money turned him into “more of a business man”. His life, according to him, is “structure, but it’s good structure.” Life after ‘19’ and the Cash Money signing for Jacquees is work, fans, and the road. He describes it as “a complete 360.”

That rotation has turned Jacquees in the right direction. He told us his plans for the near future include a project with Birdman and a solo album of his own. We’re really looking forward to it! You can find ‘19’ via streaming on Spotify and for purchase and download on iTunes. Look him up so you can say you knew him first.

...His life, according to him, is “structure, but it’s good structure.” Life after ‘19’ and the Cash Money signing for Jacquees is work, fans, and the road. He describes it as “a complete 360.”

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R

aised in a small town on the outskirts of Chicago, singer and songwriter Liv Miraldi, better known as the artist LIV, grew up surrounded by music. Graduating from Lake Ridge Academy’s School of Fine Arts with a concentration in voice, LIV knew when she was in the seventh or eighth grade that she belonged in Nashville. “I knew if I planned a college visit there, I could convince my parents to take a trip,” says LIV. Succeeding in her plan, her parents finally took her to visit Belmont University. As she suspected, LIV fell in love with “Music City” and was eventually accepted to Belmont University as a songwriting major.

“It was a no brainer for me,” she explained. “I knew I had to move here.”

a broken bond meant to her. From betrayal to suppression, and from night terrors to acceptance, LIV ends her EP with “The One to Love You.” Being the most important song to her, it symbolizes her regain of confidence and taking back her power. Through her hard work and dedication, it ended up being therapeutic and extremely successful.

Before her EP was even released, LIV tested out the waters with her single “Poison in the Blood,” which just so happened to explode all over the Internet. New York Post, InStyle, and E! Online are just a few of the major outlets to give Liv and Jonathan the exposure they deserve. “It was a surreal feeling,” says LIV. “Now I feel like it has motivated us to work harder and see if we can LIV released her debut EP in November with top ourselves.” One of our biggest questions to a little help from her producer, Jonathan LIV was how she manages to balance college Timberlake. “I actually signed up for the wrong with her career. course my first semester of college and Jonathon just so happened to be seated next to me in this According to LIV, the best advice she can give class,” she said. They say everything happens is to make sure that you maintain balance in for a reason, at least in this situation. Realizing your life. As we all know, in the music industry, they had a lot of musical similarities, they began you never know what’s going to happen. It writing together to form the artist LIV and 3806 can be fun, but also stressful. Getting ahead Entertainment. of her studies when she can and mastering the idea of time management are things that LIV’s Trilogy is more than just a collection of LIV encourages those who are struggling with songs, the writing process was an outlet for balance to do. The future for LIV finally includes her to express things that were going on in her live shows in 2016 and of course continuously life that she didn’t necessarily understand or writing. Be sure to stay tuned and check out want to share with anyone. “I wanted to convey more on livmusicofficial.com. what each stage was like for me,” says LIV in regards to helping listeners understand what PHOTO & STORY BY ACACIA EVANS

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Mandy McMillan Mandy McMillan, Canadian Singer-Songwriter gone Country, came and hung out with us to open up about moving to the States and pursuing music in the best city for it. McMillan has been living in Nashville for the last couple of years co-writing, gigging, and overall just trying to continue getting her name out there. She hasn’t had too much trouble doing so either seeing as her sound is similar to some insanely relevant Nashville Country artists such as maybe Miranda Lambert or Carrie Underwood.

McMillan does attribute some of her influence to these ladies, but she’s also a sucker for some classic rock. We’re talking the Dixie Chicks, ACDC, John Cougar, and the like. Growing up, she was surrounded by music listeners, but not so many musicians. She was born with it. Her mom even brags, saying that she could “hum and sing before she could talk”. She started writing shortly after that and played rodeos and festivals near her hometown of Stony Plain, AB, but she decided to take it more seriously in 2008 after she won a CMT Karaoke Star competition and got to sing on live television at the finale in Toronto. I probably would have, too.

It was right around that time when she began wanting to move down here to Nashville.

Her and her mom visited when she was 21, and she came back and forth from Alberta to Music City more and more frequently until she finally just moved down for her music. Since then she’s played the Tin Roof, the Bluebird Café, The Listening Room, the CMA Office, and Margaritaville weekly. To add to that, she’s also constantly co-writing around town, so she’ll get together with one or two other songwriters and see what comes out of it. According to her, life in Nashville isn’t that different culturally from life

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in Canada, except her toques are our beanies and her parcels are our packages.

McMillan seems to have no complaints about Nash. 2015 has been good to her. The feedback she’s been getting through all her shows in town has been great. People have called her music “sassy and heartfelt” and said “the performance feels genuine”. She was also able to open up for Maggie Rose in Kentucky and for Craig Campbell in Minnesota, so it’s good to see her gaining a bit of a buzz all over. In 2016, she plans to record more tunes, play more shows, work on her social media, and aim towards more sponsorships. She is a proud supporter of Love Your Melon’s headwear. She just wants to make sure everything is falling right into place.

Suzanne Skinner, and image coach on Music Row, said a little something that she wanted to pass on: “I want everything I’m supposed to have when I’m supposed to have it.” What “Mama Sue” means by this is this you need to have faith in timing, which is something I’m sure Mandy will be taking with her as the new year comes around. As far as advice she can give, Mandy believes an open mind and a willingness to evolve is the most important thing.

If you’d like to practice that open-mindedness, you can go give Mandy’s Facebook page a like or check her out on Apple Music. Or you can catch her at Margaritaville or Tin Roof sometime!

STORY BY AL GRUENEWALD PHOTO BY ACACIA EVANS

Cimorelli

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PHOTO BY ACACIA EVANS

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2015 has been a rollercoaster to say the least when it comes to Cimorelli, the six piece sister group made up of Christina, Katherine, Lisa, Amy, Lauren, and Dani Cimorelli. The NorCal natives turned into Nashville locals this April, after hitting an identity crisis in Los Angeles. The move to Tennessee proved to be the right decision, as Katherine exclaimed in our interview, “We all feel like creatively and personally we’re all flourishing a lot more than we were in Southern California.” After realizing the direction for the band, the sisters couldn’t be more excited to share what is coming up in 2016.

Since starting the band in 2007, a lot has changed for the six sisters. Getting their start in music with their mother’s influence as a classical pianist, the girls sang together all the time due to their passion for it and because they were homeschooled, Christina joked. Their YouTube channel blossomed by 2008 when they decided to do cover songs of popular music. Fast-forward two years to 2010, and they were signed with Universal. Lisa gave us a break down of how each song is chosen to cover: “We usually look at what’s popular and try to find something that works for us and makes sense for us to sing. Then we split them [the songs] up based on range since we all have really different vocal ranges.” Cimorelli still puts up cover songs on their channel, but have also made the move into original music.

what our style was, but it started changing a lot. It started being very contrived and not what we wanted. We don’t know what we’re doingwe don’t know who we are.” They decided to pack up and head across the country because they knew it was a great place for musicians as well as families. Now Cimorelli are completely funding their projects themselves in Nashville.

They feel their music is more them than ever, even including that they are planning to release more original songs in 2016 than ever before.

More original songs are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of upcoming projects for the band. They included that they’ve already filmed four original music videos to release next year, with more in the works. A tour in South America has already been announced, and they promised much more touring in addition. They even slipped they’re working on some possible “film and video related things,” so I’ll let your imagination wander on that one.

The Cimorelli sisters are more than just talent; they are also consistently positive role models towards girls of all ages. Being in the spotlight constantly can be challenging, but the girls handle themselves just fine. Ranging from ages fifteen to twenty-five years, Cimorelli encourages all women to feel beautiful and comfortable with themselves. “(Their fans) literally have so much potential, love, and joy that may be dormant or untapped in their hearts,” says Amy. Dani adds, “We want you all to believe that you are good and love yourselves because you deserve it, thank you so much.” Cimorelli are more than appreciative for their fans. They have stuck with the sisters through their ups and downs and will continue through the rest of their career.

Be sure to catch them on their South American tour in April along with more originals and covers throughout the year. We can’t wait to see what these girls have in store!

Since there are six members of the band, we asked about the writing process for their songs.

Christina revealed that it could be different every time. “Sometimes one of us will write a lot of a song and email it to me, and then I’ll go through it and change a little bit of it. Then I put it all together like a puzzle. I’m always the one putting it together in the end.” Although Christina makes the finished product, the sisters all agreed that they have a bit of telepathy with each other both on stage and off. Lauren added, “Being so close, it’s easier to communicate but also, since we’re family, personal lives get a little hard sometimes. But, I definitely think it’s easier STORY BY ANNA KAPLAN being family than not.”

PHOTOS BY ACACIA EVANS The sisters then shared that deciding to move was a long time coming. In Los Angeles the sisters felt they were trying to be something they weren’t, as Christina explained, “We didn’t know

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Innovo Music Management

INNOVO

M U S I C MANAGEMENT

interview by acacia evans, story by stephanie lesher photo by marisa boras “Innovo has provided us with opportunities to share our music with not only our friends and peers, but also with people who have never come in contact with our music before (which is a priceless thing). We have sincerely enjoyed working with the guys from Innovo.

Their passion, professionalism and honesty have made our experiences working with them a pleasure.�

-John Tyler of Auction The Secret

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S

am Saideman and Ian Rodriquez are the brains behind one of Nashville’s top up and coming companies, Innovo Management. Founded in 2014, Innovo is a constantly evolving management and booking company focused on putting musicians first. Prior to fall of 2014, Sam and Ian had never met. They both transferred into Belmont University that semester and were assigned to be roommates. Despite some hesitations and disinterest in each other in the beginning, they quickly hit it off both personally and professionally. This developed a whole new chapter in life for the both of them.

Sam and Ian got started working together shortly after when local musician Kevin Valentine told Ian he was looking for a manager. “I woke up in the morning with an album and a business card sitting on my desk; there was no talk or anything.

I just put it in my computer, listened to it, and a few weeks later I met with Kevin and the rest was history. Innovo started,” said Sam. Though it started primarily as a management company, Innovo quickly got involved in booking and promoting shows.

Their big break came in March when they were asked to promote a show for local bands Auction the Secret, Us & Them, Mr. B, and Royal Hoax. They sold out the show, their reputation skyrocketed, and since then they have been more focused on booking and promoting shows rather than managing.

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“It’s been a pleasure getting to work with a company and individuals that not only get the job done, but also go above and beyond to make sure the artists are taken care of. ‘Musicians First’ is more than just a slogan; it’s something that the Innovo team actually takes heed in following. I’m forever grateful for their contribution to Phase 1; it wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

-David Dennis

Don’t get us wrong, their management sector is going to explode in 2016.

Sam and Ian run Innovo in a unique way, focusing more on working as a team than establishing a hierarchy where they are in charge. Every show is put to a group discussion before they take it on and they work hard to make sure all of their team members are engaged and interested in the work they’re doing. Sam and Ian take their relationships with their team members very seriously. Being open and honest with their staff, in their opinion, is one of the more successful ways to run a company. With this being said, they’re all about collaboration within their company, with other companies, and even with their friendly competition.

As Sam puts it, “You can only accomplish so much if you don’t collaborate. The second you put more heads on things and everyone comes from a different background, has a unique set of skills, has different connections to things, you put that all together and it’s ten times what it was if it was just you.” It is definitely this positive attitude along with Sam and Ian’s chemistry that make them such a successful team. They understand that it’s the combination of Sam’s “stay out of my way or get run over” attitude and Ian’s creativity and ability to relate to people that has lead them to become such effective partners. While their personalities are different, their mission is the same: putting musicians first. This is what has motivated them from the beginning and what they want to continue to focus on in their busy future.

Look for big things coming from Sam, Ian, and the Innovo squad in the next few months. They’ll be putting on a lot of shows early 2016, putting a heavy focus on EP and album releases, and celebrating the artists they work with. Ian put it best with his simple statement, “We really do care about the musicians. They’re the reasons why we do what we do.”

“Innovo has been an invaluable asset to me as an artist. Because Sam and the rest of his Innovo team manage me, it takes a lot of pressure off of what I do. Knowing I have such a competant team behind me every step of the way, I am able to focus my efforts into progressing as an artist.”

-James Ross Innovo Music Management

INNOVO

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Breaking Benjamin

PHOTOS BY EVAN DAVIES

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sevendust

PHOTOS BY EVAN DAVIES

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shinedown

PHOTOS BY EVAN DAVIES

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the BIG TICKET

jacksonville photo by miranda eliot

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twenty one pilots

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the neighbourhood

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robert delong

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andrew mcahon in

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the wilderness

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mutemath

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of monsters

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and men

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pvris

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walk the moon

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CIRCA SURVIVE

PHOTOS BY NOLAN KNIGHT

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VH1 you oughta know concert

BIG CITY THOUGHTS | 48

BIG CITY THOUGHTS | 49

Elle King

Tori Kelly BIG CITY THOUGHTS | 50

Miguel

Mel B BIG CITY THOUGHTS | 51

PHOTOS BY ACACIA EVANS

BIG CITY THOUGHTS | 52

BIG CITY THOUGHTS - 1