Show Dog Nashville is an American independent

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

specializing in

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...

. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until it was re-activated in late 2015. Currently, it is distributed by

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

History

Universal South Records was started in 2001 under

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

s Tony Brown and

Tim DuBois James Timothy DuBois (born May 4, 1948 is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Nashville-based songwriter and recording industry executive who has headed both Arista Records (Nashville Division) and Universal South Records. As a songwrit ...

. The label specialized in

artists, including

Joe Nichols Joseph Edward Nichols (born November 26, 1976) is an American country music artist. Between 1996 and 2001, he held recording contracts with the Intersound and Giant labels. In 2002, he signed with Universal South Records, now known as Show Dog-U ...

Randy Houser Shawn Randolph Houser (born December 18, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2008, he charted the single "Anything Goes". It was a top 20 hit on the '' Billboard'' country singles chart a ...

Phil Vassar Phillip George Vassar Jr. (born May 28, 1962) is an American country music artist. Vassar made his debut on the country music scene in the late 1990s, co-writing singles for several country artists, including Tim McGraw ("For a Little While", ...

and

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before beginning work as a ...

, as well as

alternative country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...

acts

Shooter Jennings Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings (born May 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He is the only son of country singers Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter. In a career spanning over two decades, Shooter Jenn ...

and

Cross Canadian Ragweed Cross Canadian Ragweed was an American rock band formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994. The band consisted of Cody Canada (lead guitar/vocals), Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Jeremy Plato (bass guitar). The group released five s ...

. In 2005 it partnered with the talent show ''

Nashville Star ''Nashville Star'' is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the l ...

'', offering a recording contract to Season 3 winner Erika Jo. George Canyon, another ''Nashville Star'' contestant, also recorded for the label. Brown and DuBois stepped down from Universal South in 2006, with Mark Wright, also a record producer, taking their place as label president. Show Dog Nashville was formed in 2005 by

shortly after the dissolution of

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label operated until 200 ...

, the label to which he was signed at the time. DreamWorks executive

Scott Borchetta Scott Borchetta (born July 3, 1962) is an American record executive and founder of the Big Machine Label Group. He started the label in 2005 with 13 employees, as its president/CEO and encompasses four imprints: Big Machine Records, BMLG Recor ...

was its CEO, and his own

Big Machine Records Big Machine Records is an American independent record label, distributed by Universal Music Group. Specializing in country and pop artists, Big Machine is based on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded in September 2005 by fo ...

label originally shared much of its staff. In March 2006, Show Dog and Big Machine split into separately staffed labels, although Keith retained his financial stake in Big Machine. Acts releasing works for Show Dog included

Carter's Chord Carter's Chord was an American country music group composed of sisters Becky Scott, Emily Fortney, and Joanna Ott, all of whom are singer-songwriters and vocalists. They are also the three daughters of Barny and Carter Roberston, both of whom pla ...

Trailer Choir Trailer Choir was an American country music group composed of vocalists Marc "Butter" Fortney, Crystal Hoyt, and Vincent "Big Vinny" Hickerson. The trio was signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by Toby Keith, in 2007. After recording the s ...

Mica Roberts Mica Roberts (born in Locust Grove, Oklahoma) is an American country music artist signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by country singer Toby Keith. In 2008, she released her debut single, "Things a Mama Don't Know", a duet with Toby K ...

Lindsey Haun Lindsey Haun (born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, singer, and director. She is known for her role as Hadley on the HBO television series ''True Blood''. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her role in the 2000 Disney Cha ...

and Martin Johnson. In December 2009, Show Dog Records and Universal South merged to form Show Dog-Universal Music. One month later

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

left

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

Nashville (which later became part of UMG's Nashville unit after UMG bought

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

in 2012) to become the first post-merger signee to the label, and the label's roster was announced. Singer-songwriter Josh Thompson, previously with

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as Ch ...

, joined the roster in September 2012. By the summer of 2015,

and his daughter

Krystal Keith Krystal Ladawn Covel Sandubrae, known professionally as Krystal Keith (born September 30, 1985) is an American country music singer. She is the second daughter of Toby Keith and Tricia Covel (née Lucus). She is the sister of Stelen Keith Covel, ...

had become the only artists signed to the label, but more recently Clay Walker, Waterloo Revival, and Lance Carpenter joined the label.

Acts on Show Dog Nashville

* Kimberly Kelly *

Clay Walker Ernest Clayton Walker Jr. (born August 19, 1969) is an American country music artist. He made his debut in 1993 with the single " What's It to You", which reached Number One on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Son ...

Former artists

Joel Crouse Joel Thomas Crouse (born June 14, 1992) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He released his most recent EP, wasteLAnd on his label, Hum Records in August 2020. Early life Joel Crouse grew up in Holland, Massachusetts. He attend ...

Scotty Emerick Walter Scott Emerick (born July 11, 1973, in Hollywood, Florida) is an American country music artist, known primarily for his work with Toby Keith. In addition to penning several of Keith's singles, Emerick has also written for Sawyer Brown, ...

* Rose Falcon * Flynnville Train *

JT Hodges Justin Taylor Hodges (born July 6, 1977) is an American country music singer and actor. In 2011, he signed to Show Dog-Universal Music and released one album, which has produced three charting singles on the Hot Country Songs chart. Early life ...

Rebecca Lynn Howard Rebecca Lynn Howard (born April 24, 1979) is an American country music artist. She has charted seven singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, and has released three studio albums. Her highest-charting single, "Forgive", peaked at ...

Jessie James Jessica Rose James Decker (born April 12, 1988) is an American country pop singer. At age 15, after auditioning for and being rejected by most of the country labels in Nashville, Tennessee, Decker began working with Carla Wallace of Big Yello ...

Sarah Johns Sarah Johns (born 1979) is an American country music artist. Signed to BNA Records in 2006, she released her debut album ''Big Love in a Small Town'', which accounted for two charting singles on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts, inclu ...

* Native Run *

* Rushlow Harris * Josh Thompson *

* Waterloo Revival

Acts formerly signed to Universal South

* Baylie Brown * Bering Strait * George Canyon *

Kevin Costner and Modern West Kevin Costner & Modern West is an American country rock band founded and fronted by actor Kevin Costner. He began a worldwide tour with the band in October 2007, which included shows in Istanbul and Rome. It also performed at NASCAR Sprint Cup Se ...

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

Katrina Elam Katrina Ruth Elam (born December 12, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Universal South Records in 2004, she released her self-titled debut album that year, charting in the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & ...

Eli Young Band Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (dru ...

* The Elms *

Andy Gibson Albert "Andy" Gibson (November 6, 1913 – February 11, 1961) was an American jazz trumpeter, arranger, and composer. Career Gibson played violin early on before settling on trumpet. Although he played professionally in many orchestras, he did ...

Regie Hamm Regie Hamm (born May 1, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. He has multiple credits as a songwriter, producer, musician (keys, drums, vocals), and artist. Early and personal life His father was a traveling Pentecostal minister. Regie play ...

Jennifer Hanson Jennifer Kathleen Hanson (born August 10, 1973) is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “ Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hi ...

Matt Jenkins Matt Jenkins (born in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American country music artist. Signed to Universal South Records in 2003, he released two singles in 2005, including "King of the Castle", which reached number 51 on the Hot Country Songs charts, bu ...

* Erika Jo *

Holly Lamar Mary "Holly" Holladay Lamar (born 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Lamar co-wrote " Breathe", a number one country and adult contemporary single by Faith Hill. Holly Lamarat ''Allmusic'' Her songs have als ...

* Rockie Lynne *

Pat Green Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA. Fifteen of his s ...

McHayes McHayes was an American country music duo established in 2003 by Wade Hayes (guitar, vocals) and Mark McClurg (fiddle, vocals). Prior to the duo's foundation, Hayes was a solo artist, and McClurg was a member of Alan Jackson's road band, The Strayh ...

* Dean Miller *

Allison Moorer Allison Moorer (born June 21, 1972) is an American singer/songwriter. She signed with MCA Nashville in 1997 and made her debut on the U.S. Billboard Country Chart with the release of her debut single, “A Soft Place To Fall,” which she co-wr ...

The Notorious Cherry Bombs The Notorious Cherry Bombs, originally called The Cherry Bombs, was an American country music supergroup founded by singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell in 1980. A former member of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band, Crowell picked several former Hot Band membe ...

Lee Roy Parnell Lee Roy Parnell (born December 21, 1956) is an American country music and blues artist, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Active since 1990, he has recorded eight studio albums, and has charted more than twenty singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot C ...

* Jonathan Singleton * Sons of Sylvia *

Judson Spence Judson Spence (born 29 April 1965, Pascagoula, Mississippi) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist based in Nashville, Tennessee. He originally gained fame when he released his eponymously titled debut solo effort on ...

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs " More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nom ...

* Amanda Wilkinson * Holly Williams

Notes

{{Authority control Record labels based in Nashville, Tennessee American country music record labels Record labels established in 2009 American independent record labels