ERIN SALLEY Susan Marquez
The Lady On The Front Row Erin Salley has it down pat in the stand-by-yourman world of country and bluegrass music. She’s a wife, manager, merchandiser, salesperson, scheduler, publicist, and more for her husband, Jerry Salley. Married six years, Erin says she was quickly indoctrinated into the music world, much different from the world she knew before meeting the talented singer/ songwriter. Erin grew up in Thomasville, Georgia, just above the FloridaGeorgia line. She attended the University of Georgia, where she got a degree in landscape architecture. While living in Florida, a friend invited her to participate in the Blast on the Bay Songwriters Festival in Port St. Joe, Florida. “I saw Jerry perform and was really impressed,” Erin recalls. “The next day, my friend was supposed to go to a songwriting workshop, and she got cold feet. I told her I would sit with her. Jerry was on the panel, and we met afterward. I had never known anyone like him. Jerry can really craft a song.” Jerry Salley has been writing and singing in 8
Nashville since 1982. A native of the southern Ohio town of Chillicothe, Jerry has had a wildly successful songwriting career, winning multiple awards, including IBMA Songwriter of the Year in 2018 and 2019 and SESAC Country Music Songwriter of the Year in 2003. He was nominated in 2019 for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and a GRAMMY award. He has had multiple DOVE award nominations and won the DOVE award for the Inspirational Song of the Year in 1990. During their first few years of marriage, Erin felt she was on the sidelines with no musical background or knowledge of the music industry. “There are so many moving parts. I stayed confused for a while. Jerry is so knowledgeable, and in time, I learned all I could about the music industry so I could be supportive of him.” While Erin has always been a music lover, she didn’t know much about bluegrass music. “I have always loved country music and pop, but I think bluegrass is the kind of music that people need to
