Famed country record label Lost Highway Records is officially coming back, Interscope Records announced on Tuesday, with CEO John Janick tapping Nashville veterans Robert Knotts and Jake Gear to take the reins. Knotts and Gear will both serve as executive vice presidents and co-heads of the new label.
Lost Highway was founded 25 years ago by former UMG Nashville CEO Luke Lewis, working with artists including Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello and Kacey Musgraves. Perhaps most famously, Lost Highway released the O, Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, which went 8-times platinum and is one of just four movie soundtracks to win the Grammy for album of the year. The label was absorbed into Mercury Nashville after Lewis stepped down in 2012.
“Lost Highway carved out a special place in the remarkable musical legacy of Nashville,” Janick said in a statement. “It was a left-of-center label with one-of-a-kind artists who, at their core, were great songwriters and moved culture. Similarly, Interscope has always been a beacon to artists who don’t fit into a box yet are destined to inspire what comes next. With this new chapter in Lost Highway’s history, we are devoted to empowering the next generation of trailblazers, both artists and executives.”
The newly formed Lost Highway will be based out of Nashville, though it will operate under the West Coast-based Interscope umbrella, the latest in the hot trend of coastal label presence in Nashville. Former UMG Nashville CEO Cindy Mabe had announced a Lost Highway revival alongside T Bone Burnett back in January, and the label released Ringo Starr’s country album Looking Up. (Mabe exited UMG Nashville in February, replaced by Mike Harris.) Burnett, Interscope said, will work with the label on several projects, including a 25th Anniversary edition of the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.
Knotts comes to Lost Highway from indie Nashville music company 30 Tigers, whose artists have included Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson and Turnpike Troubadours among others. Knotts most recently served as senior vice president of artist and label services at the label. Gear is jumping from sister company UMG Nashville, where he was vice president of A&R, signing Tucker Wetmore and working on music for Parker McCollum, Jordan Davis and Dierks Bentley among others.
“Over the course of my career, my goal has always been to operate in service to the artist’s vision while understanding the emotional connection to their art,” Knotts said in a statement. “It is with this same spirit that Lost Highway left a lasting impact on the Nashville community – providing a home for artists who aren’t defined by genre and recognizing that the artist’s vision ultimately shapes culture itself. I am honored to carry that approach forward alongside one of my closest friends, Jake Gear.”
As Gear added: “Lost Highway has a rich history. Many of these releases and artists were formative in developing my own appreciation of the craft of songwriting,” he said. “The label was a pioneer in taste, representing an ethos of artistry first, an openness to taking creative risks and shining a light on artists who drifted on the fringes of the major label defined ‘mainstream.’ Together with my friend, Robert, and with the backing of John Janick and Interscope, I look forward to curating the roster.”