Judges panel includes: Jamie Kent '09, Named by RollingStone.com as an “Artist You Need To Know”, and dubbed a “Must Watch Artist” by The Huffington Post, one might say the future of Jamie Kent looks quite promising. Drawing on influences from modern americana artists like Jason Isbell and Will Hoge, as well as paying tribute to classic greats like John Prine and Tom Petty, Kent is a “an important young voice with something to say” (Music City Roots). Kent has had no fear of hard work, playing 150+ shows a year including tours with Huey Lewis & The News, The Doobie Bros, America, Brothers Osborne, Brandy Clark, and Marc Broussard. His songs have been heard across major network television, from VH1 to NBC’s The Today Show and World Of Dance. His latest album “All American Mutt”, debuted at #16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart and #3 on the Heatseeker Charts. Kent was the only independent artist to break into the Top 20 at the time. Kerry O'Neil M'79, Kerry is a founding member of the entertainment consulting and business firm of O’Neil Hagaman, LLC. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this practice is focused solely on the entertainment industry and represents many significant artists, producers, independent publishers, writers, and executives. In 1998, Kerry and Carla Wallace co-founded Big Yellow Dog Music, an independent music publishing and artist development company. Over the company’s 20 years of experience, Big Yellow Dog Music has been recognized with such accolades as four Grammys (including all-genre Song of the Year “Need You Now”), thirty-six #1 songs, four Song of the Year awards (ACM, BMI, and two ASCAP), an ASCAP Global Award, five ASCAP/BMI Pop awards, and many more. Kerry was recently named one of Billboard’s 2019 Country Power Players and Top Business Managers.