by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
“At this point in my life, I am fully focused on living and giving back,” said Randy Travis, the seven-time GRAMMY award winning country singer who was honored at this year’s GRAMMYs on the Hill awards. “I’ve been part of the music community my whole life, professionally for 40 years. I am passionate about advocating to keep music an honest pursuit of art and human expression. While I remain excited about new, cutting-edge technologies, we must protect, and fairly compensate, the creative minds that give us the music—and art—that feeds our souls.”
Randy and Mary Travis
GRAMMYs on the Hill week has often been dubbed “music’s biggest week in Washington, DC” and it’s hard to argue with the sentiment. Year over year, The Recording Academy descends in DC with an army of creators and advocates who spread the gospel of music, artistry, and a protection of those who make it. This year was no different, with a healthy dose of AI added to the agenda.
Harvey Mason Jr, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Mary Travis, Randy Travis, Todd Dupler
The annual awards ceremony was glitzy and exciting, toasting the power of music and tipping a cap to a pair of lawmakers who are standing with the music industry, along with Travis. Travis himself has sold more than 23 million records in his career and earned numerous awards and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
Harvey Mason Jr, Rep. Linda Sánchez, Randy Travis and Todd Dupler
In 2013, Travis was hospitalized with a life changing stroke that has dulled his voice because of the aphasia that has been left behind as a side effect…but he won’t let it get him down. Randy has still stood side-by-side with new generations of artists and last year, used cutting edge AI technology to help him put out his first music in more than a decade, and his strength and efforts have become an example of the power of music and what ethical use of AI can do for the industry.
MŌRIAH
The ceremony on April 8th kicked off with a bold rendition of the National Anthem from Latin country artist, MŌRIAH. The bi-partisan room of attendees were palpably ready for a musical night to put down the tensions left behind by legislative and economic worries in DC.
From the Congressional side, this year’s honorees were Reps Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and Ron Estes (R-KS). Sanchez has been embraced by many for her leadership when it comes to music and copyright issues. “I’ve been a music supporter for many years,” she said, as she addressed the crowd. “In an increasingly polarized world there are still two things that bring people together…Sports and music.” Sanchez said she was also very pleased with the idea that music can also bring together Republicans and Democrats, but also the House and the Senate. Stating that her district is home to many creators, “I see how much richer our world is thanks to their talents.”
Rep. Sanchez
Sanchez also pledged her support for The HITS Act, which would allow an individual to fully expense the cost of new studio recordings on their taxes…an effort to help young and new creatives to financially bridge the early stages of breaking into the industry.
Rep. Ron Estes was not able to attend the event, but addressed the crowd by video, and echoed many of the sentiments of his co-honoree, while reinforcing that all creators deserve legal protection and fair compensation.
Harvey Mason Jr. and Rep. Linda Sánchez
Performances for the night also included an emotional anthem called “So Glad We Met” by DOE as well as Paul Overstreet and Meghan Linsey singing tributes to Travis. Overstreet, a renowned country songwriter sang “Forever and Ever, Amen” and Linsey took to the stage to sing “I Told You So.”
DOE
When Randy finally took the stage, supported by his wife Mary, the big message of thanks was to make sure every artist has a path forward in this world and industry. “It’s an ever-changing landscape and we need to get ahead of it and now we are almost behind it” said Mary about AI taking place in music. She (and Randy) remain hopeful though that the tool can be used for good, and not seen only as a threat to musicians.
Mary and Randy Travis
The evening concluded with a montage of Album of the Year songs as performed by the evening’s emcee, Scott Hoying.
Scott Hoying
