KNOTTS, GEAR TO STEER LOST HIGHWAY AS PART OF IGA FLEET

After more than a decade of dormancy, Nashville-based Lost Highway Records is being revived under the umbrella of Interscope Geffen A&M and will be led by EVP/co-heads Robert Knotts and Jake Gear.

Founded by Luke Lewis in 2000 and absorbed into Mercury Nashville when he retired in 2012, the label has released music by such renowned artists as Willie Nelson, Kacey Musgraves, Elvis Costello and Drive-By Truckers.

“Lost Highway carved out a special place in the remarkable musical legacy of Nashville," said Interscope honcho John Janick. "It was a left-of-center label with one-of-a-kind artists who, at their core, were great songwriters who moved the culture. Similarly, Interscope has always been a beacon to artists who don’t fit into a box yet are destined to inspire what comes next. With this new chapter in Lost Highway’s history, we are devoted to empowering the next generation of trailblazers, both artists and executives.”

To that end, Janick is said to have handpicked Knotts and Gear to run the imprint, the first release from which was Look Up, Ringo Starr's T Bone Burnett-produced country album, which arrived on 1/10.

Knotts spent 12 years at Thirty Tigers, where he was most recently SVP of artist and label services. He worked there with such acts as Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Lucinda Williams.

"Over the course of my career, my goal has always been to operate in service to the artist’s vision while understanding the emotional connection to their art," Knotts said. "It is with this same spirit that Lost Highway left a lasting impact on the Nashville community—providing a home for artists who aren't defined by genre. I'm honored to carry that approach forward alongside one of my closest friends, Jake Gear."

Gear shifts from UMG Nashville, where he was VP of A&R, signing rising star Tucker Wetmore and working on projects by Dierks Bentley, Sam Hunt, Brothers Osborne and Brad Paisley. A Music City publishing veteran, he's also helped foster hits by Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Eric Church.

Lost Highway "was a pioneer in taste, representing an ethos of artistry first, an openness to taking creative risks and shining a light on artists who drifted on the fringes of the major label-defined 'mainstream,'" said Gear, who is also partners with songwriter Hillary Lindsey and Concord Music on the Hang Your Hat Music publishing venture. "Together with my friend Robert and with the backing of John Janick and Interscope, I look forward to curating the roster."

Meanwhile, Burnett is at work on a 25th anniversary edition of Lost Highway's octuple-platinum O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, a release date for which has yet to be announced. An Americana sensation that broke wide, O Brother was deemed Album of the Year in 2001 at the Grammys, CMAs and ACMs.

HITS' banjo-and-washboard demos have already been summarily rejected for release in any form.