Keith Case To Be Honored Posthumously At The 9th Annual NATD Honors Gala And Emcees

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (November 1, 2019) – The board of the Nashville Association of Talent Directors (NATD) has chosen to honor Keith Case, posthumously, at their 9th Annual NATD Honors Gala on November 19 at the Hermitage Hotel. Case was renowned for his work with Bluegrass and Americana artists. He has represented countless acts and started his own booking agency, Keith Case and Associates, one of the most influential agencies in Bluegrass and Americana music. Keith passed away on September 3, 2019. Tickets for the Gala can be purchased here.

Additionally, NATD announced Stephanie Langston from Nashville’s WKRN and Shawn Parr from Cumulus’ “Nash Nights Live” as this year’s emcees. Stephanie is an Emmy-nominated TV journalist, who has covered most of Nashville’s star studded events. Shawn has been the voice of country music for over 30 years as well as being the voice for the The Academy of Country Music Awards, The Golden Globes and American Music Awards.

Honorees being awarded for their accomplishments and service to the Nashville entertainment industry include: (In-Memoriam) Former CEO of Capitol Christian Music Group Bill Hearn, publishing and radio legend fondly nick-named “the Mayor of Music Row” Charlie Monk, recently retired GM of the Nashville Municipal Auditorium Bob Skoney, head of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp since 1991 Butch Spyridon, receiving the “Colonel Tom Parker Award” legendary music agent Bonnie Sugarman, Premier Global Productions and Country Thunder’s Troy Vollhoffer and the best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist of all time CeCe Winans.

The Gala will begin with a reception at 6:00 P.M., followed by dinner and awards ceremony. For tickets and sponsorship information, visit nashvilletalentdirectors.com.

Keith Case was a famed restauranteur and Chef before inadvertently starting his music career. Opening the Café York in Denver in 1965 a spot where soon booking agents were stopping in to seek his venue for their artists to play. Keith added a stage and sound system and the venue became a coveted spot for traveling artists such as John Harford, Ian & Sylvia, Steve Goodman, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. He started booking the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and went to work full time as an agent for Athena, booking the Dirt Band, John Hartford, Earl Scruggs The Flying Burrito Brothers & Randy Newman. In the early ‘70’s Keith partnered with Lance Smith, co-founding Stone County. During these years the Dirt Band release their landmark triple album Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Keith forged a close bond with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival that lasted for the duration of his career. In 1982, Keith moved to Nashville and opened Keith Case & Associates and later KCA Artists where he represented, among many others, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Gillian Welch and Peter Rowan. He was a force in founding the Int. Bluegrass Music Assn. and his efforts to bring bluegrass music to the world was rewarded in 2013 with the IBMA’s Distinguished Service Achievement Award. Many of his artists provided music for the Coen Brothers film and soundtrack album O Brother, Where Art Thou?, an album that has sold more than eight million copies world-wide and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Artists on his roster earned countless IBMA, Grammy and CMA Awards over the years. Keith served as a mentor not only to artists, but also to young hopefuls wanting to find a place in the music business. Many of his former staff members launched music careers under his watchful eye. Keith passed away on September 3, 2019 at the age of 79.

As a Nashville native, Stephanie Langston has been working on and off at WKRN for more than a decade holding positions as an Associate Producer, Entertainment Reporter, Video Journalist and morning Anchor. Stephanie is an Emmy nominated TV journalist who has covered nearly every star-studded event in Music City. Stephanie has been voted “Best of Nashville” TV personalities in the Nashville Scene and nominated among the Best TV Anchor/Reporters in the Tennesseans Toast of Music City. You may also recognize her from the big screen, as Stephanie played a Reporter in the movies Country Strong, Furious 7, Logan Lucky and the TV series Nashville.

Shawn Parr has been the voice of Country Music for almost 30 years. Born and raised in Southern California he now resides in Nashville Tennessee and is currently hosting the Nationally Syndicated Radio show “Nash Nights Live with Shawn Parr” for Cumulus Broadcasting heard on over 100 stations nationwide. Shawn is the voice for The Academy of Country Music Awards, The Golden Globes, American Music Awards, and has also been featured on numerous nationwide specials. Shawn has not only succeeded in the world of hosting, voice-over, and radio, he has also made the transition into acting on television and in movies. Shawn has recently had TV roles on ABC’s Nashville and played a detective on NBC’s Heist. Shawn’s movie roles include Curtis Hanson’s Lucky You with Drew Barrymore, Robert Duvall & Eric Bana, Waist Deep starring Tyrese Gibson and Death and Texas starring Steve Harris, Andy Richter, & Charles Durning. As a scratch golfer, Shawn has hosted his own charity golf tournament for the John Tracy Clinic for hearing-impaired children and has helped raise over 1 million dollars for the clinic. Shawn has served on the Board of Directors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for over 20 years and also serves on the Board of Directors for Nashville’s T.J. Martell Foundation.  Shawn has also donated time, money, and effort to numerous charities throughout Southern California and the country. On his show Nash Nights Live the theme is to “#GiveBack” and as long as Shawn has a voice the word NO will not be a part of his vocabulary.

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