I am trying to remember the exact moment that I met Wyatt Easterling. Hazy details: it was Nashville in the late 90's. There was a studio involved, and there was Paul Thorn music playing, as Wyatt produced his first A&M CD Hammer and Nail. Wyatt has had an incredible ride, as head of A&R for Atlantic Records, and then as Miles Copeland's partner for the Nashville division of Bugle Music Publishing and Firstars Management. As Director of Operations there he spear headed the Printemps de Troubadours songwriter's retreat held twice a year at the Chateau de Mourette in France, a lauded trip which is still going on today. Wyatt remains on the cutting edge as CEO of High Horse Records, stepping out to embrace the new model for record labels in these ever shifting times for the music biz.
In my mind, I am revisiting Folk Alliance in Memphis this past February. Watching the procession of artists come to our bus, seeming to gather more friends along the way, to bring them aboard for accompaniment as they walked through the lobby of the Memphis Marriott Hotel. The deal is, when we plan our shoots, we try to get as much info from the artists as possible so we are prepared. But some things have a life of their own, and this was one of those sessions. We were transfixed by the beauty of the harmonies and artistry when the Rhythm Angels and Wyatt Easterling came aboard. The Angels were up first, and then sat in on Wyatt's set. From his second album Where This River Goes, released in 2009, here is "Anymore."
- Jessie Scott
