Nashville natives Jaren Johnston and Neil Mason (two-thirds of acclaimed Nashville trio The Cadillac Three) have entered into a joint venture partnership with Warner Records for their newly created, Nashville-based label War Buddha Records.
The first artist signed to the venture is West Virginia-raised, Los Angeles-based vocalist and songwriter Rett Madison. Described by American Songwriter as “somewhere between the raw lyricism of Phoebe Bridgers and the powerful production of Hozier” and “the perfect storm of intriguing yet relatable,” Madison’s sound and ethos embodies the War Buddha philosophy. Fresh from a run of shows with St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Madison is currently on tour and will play a run of shows at SXSW 2023, including March 14 at Mala Vida, followed by the Quinnstorm/C3 Presents party at Lambert’s and the SXSW showcase at Cooper’s BBQ on March 15 and March 18 at The Stay Put for the SXSW/Gigmor Showcase—more info is below.
Johnston and Mason are Nashville natives, longtime friends and founding members of The Cadillac Three, with whom they’ve put out five much-lauded albums on Big Machine Records and earned multiple ACM nominations. In addition to their work in the band, both are GRAMMY-nominated songwriters. Johnston has nine country radio #1 singles with writing and production credits for Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Eric Church and many more. Mason has penned songs for Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Billy Gibbons and a host of others.
