NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 10, 2014) – One of the most buzzed-about new artists on the country music scene is Georgia native Sam Hunt. Hunt, a successful songwriter in his own right, recently signed his first record deal with MCA Records Nashville, joining fellow artists Gary Allan, Vince Gill, Kip Moore, David Nail, George Strait and Josh Turner.

UMG Nashville Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan shares, “Rarely have I met a new artist who felt so ‘ready to go,’ and yet our early efforts to take him to the market are yielding responses that are wildly beyond any expectations. We are jacked!”

Hunt and MCA are releasing new single “Leave the Night On” to country radio on June 16.  “Leave the Night On” is part of Clear Channel’s “On the Verge” program and follows Hunt’s previous radio success with his Sirius XM hit, “Raised On It.”

Hunt was named one of Rolling Stone Country’s “10 New Artists You Need to Know: Summer 2014” and played two raucous, fan-filled shows at his first CMA Music Fest.

Hailing from rural Cedartown, Georgia, Hunt is quickly establishing a name for himself and becoming one of Nashville’s most talked about young talents.  Hunt’s eclectic style owes its roots to country music with influences in pop, folk and R&B. Since arriving in Nashville, Hunt has garnered cuts with some of country music’s biggest stars including Kenny Chesney’s No. 1 smash “Come Over,” Billy Currington’s latest “We Are Tonight” and Keith Urban’s Top 10 “Cop Car.”

For music, images, tour dates and more on Sam Hunt, visit www.SamHunt.com.

Photo ID:
Front Row (L-R): UMG Nashville Chairman & CEO Mike Dungan, MCA Nashville artist Sam Hunt, UMG Nashville A&R Sr. Director Stephanie Wright

Back Row (L-R): Triple 8 Management’s Brad Belanger, UMG Nashville Sr. VP & COO Tom Becci, UMG Nashville Sr. VP Promotion Royce Risser, Triple 8 Management Partner Bruce Kalmick, Triple 8 Management Partner George Couri, UMG Nashville A&R Sr. VP Brian Wright, UMG Nashville Sr. VP Marketing Cindy Mabe, UMG Nashville VP Business & Legal Affairs Rob Femia

Photo Credit: Alan Poizner

Sam Hunt (signing record deal) OC: …make this work. :55
“As I met with different potential partners, I sort of in my heart knew this was the right place from the beginning, even before entertaining any other options. To see that work out that way was really cool and sort of confirmed that original notion that I had, and I think it was just a matter of solidifying that relationship and then looking forward and starting to work, work, work. A lot of times, a record deal seems like the ultimate achievement, but that’s just the beginning. So, once we solidified that partnership, I just turned my focus on to the music and getting the record done, and I knew I could count on everybody. After meeting everybody over here at the label, I knew how confident, how awesome everybody was, so I knew I could count on them to do all the great things that we are gonna do and they are gonna do and that they are doing now. So, I just turned and started to focus on the music, and it just took a load off knowing that all those folks were pulling for me, working hard to make this work.”
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