Harvey Mason jr. and Brandi Carlile
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. and Grammy-winning artist Brandi Carlile will kick off the AmericanaFest Business and Educational Conference in Nashville on Sept. 10. The conference kicks off at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Nashville Downtown with an fireside chat between the pair to discuss insights on innovation, activism and more.
A multi-Grammy and Emmy-nominated songwriter and producer, and CEO of the Recording Academy and MusiCares, Mason is an industry trailblazer whose influence spans music, film/TV and advocacy. At the Academy, he has spearheaded initiatives including the Songwriters & Composers Wing, the Black Music Collective, Academy Proud and The Gold Alliance, while also strengthening advocacy efforts federally and locally.
Mason has crafted iconic hits for Whitney Houston, Elton John, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and more. In the film world, he has shaped the music of Bob Marley: One Love, Dreamgirls, Pitch Perfect (1,2,3), Respect, SING (1,2,3), and Straight Outta Compton, among many others.
He has been recognized with the Spirit of Excellence Award from the T.J. Martell Foundation and supports organizations such as the Ronald McDonald House, the American Cancer Society and Los Angeles Children’s Hospital.
Carlile is an Oscar-nominated, 11-time Grammy Award-winning and six-time Americana Award-winning singer, songwriter, performer and producer, two-time Emmy Award-winning composer, lyricist and writer and No. 1 New York Times Bestselling author and activist. Throughout her acclaimed career, Carlile has released eight studio albums, including her most recent, Who Believes in Angels?, the collaborative album Elton John, which debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. and top 10 in the U.S.
Additionally, Carlile continues her work as a renowned producer with recent Grammy Award-winning projects from Joni Mitchell and Brandy Clark. She also produced and recorded a rendition of Indigo Girls’ “Closer To Fine” with her wife, Catherine, which was included on Barbie The Album as well as a version of “Home,” which was featured in the final season of Ted Lasso. She received her first Oscar nomination in the Original Song category in January 2025 for “Never Too Late,” a track written alongside Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt for the Disney+ documentary of the same name, on Elton’s life and career.
Carlile has collaborated with artists such as The Highwomen, Alicia Keys, Soundgarden, Hozier, Noah Kahan, Jacob Collier, P!nk and Dolly Parton. Carlile was named OUT Magazine’s 2023 Icon of the Year, awarded Billboard’s Women In Music Trailblazer Award, CMT’s Next Women of Country Impact Award and NMPA’s 2023 Songwriter Icon Award.
On top of being a musician and writer, Carlile is a founder of the Looking Out Foundation, which has raised over $6 million for grassroots causes to date.
Lauryn Sink is a staff writer at MusicRow Magazine. Hailing from Lexington, North Carolina, Lauryn is a 2025 graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
