West Virginia University’s new independent, student-run record label – Mon Hills Records – is up and running and has already signed three artists whose albums are in production at the Creative Arts Center.

Mon Hills Records and its artists – Steve Smith, The High Street Jazz Band and the WVU Bluegrass Band – will be introduced to the public during a special event at 4 p.m. in the Bloch Learning and Performance Hall at the CAC on Monday, March 9. The artists will be on hand to perform.

The new record label is a professional component of the WVU School of Music’s new Master of Arts degree in Music Industry, a completely online program designed for those who wish to learn how to build a career in the music business or for working professionals who want to advance their career.

Darko Velichkovski, the director of the new Music Industry program, is a Juilliard School graduate who has been in the music business for more than 20 years as a businessman, executive producer, and a classical and jazz clarinetist. He said a record label has always been an essential part of the new program.

“Ever since I came to WVU in the fall of 2013 to create and implement the program in Music Industry, I have planned to organize a student-run music label as a practical component of the program,” he said.

“Not only is such a record label needed in order to enable WVU students to actively participate and gain practical experience in commercial music production, promotion, organization and management, but it is also crucial in preserving and strengthening the art of music and its industry, both locally and regionally.”

Cody Kerns is the student general manager of Mon Hills Records, and his management team is made up of approximately 20 other WVU students who run the record label’s various departments, including Artists and Repertoire, Recording Production, Marketing and Public Relations and Art and Graphic Design.

The students are from different schools within the University, and are able to bring their various backgrounds to the business.

The three artists signed to Mon Hills Records this spring include:

  • Steve Smith, a country music performer who is often heard on the Wheeling Jamboree. He has opened for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Darryl Worley, Lee Brice, David Nail and David Allan Coe. Steve is a banjo player and also a banjo builder. His song “Wishing Well” spent three weeks at #1 on the Indie Charts, while another original song, “Another Beer,” was #12 in Australia in 2012.
  • The High Street Jazz Band is a high-energy group made up of members and former members of the WVU Marching Band. The band originally started playing on Friday nights on High Street in downtown Morgantown, putting on hats and using empty instrument cases to collect donations for various causes. Eventually they went on the road to perform benefit concerts. The band performs New Orleans-style music, as well as jazz and rock genres.
  • The WVU Bluegrass Band, directed by WVU music professor Travis Stimeling, is a new group at WVU that is working to uphold this vibrant musical tradition in the Mountain State. The band will be going on tour during March 11-14, 2015 in central West Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle, visiting schools and playing a gig at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas on March 12. Dr. Stimeling hopes to take the band to all 55 counties in West Virginia during the next few years.

All three of the bands are currently recording albums at the WVU Creative Arts Center that will be released during the spring of 2015.

“We are looking forward to introducing the exceptional music and artistry of these acts to the public, as well as working on expanding their musical reach and growing their audiences and fans,” Velichkovski said.

“As part of our mission, we aim to be artist-centered and artist-friendly, above all. We also want to enrich the cultural strength and well-being of the communities across our state, through the art of music, its creation, production and performance.”

For more information about Mon Hills Records, contact Velichkovski at Darko.Velichkovski@mail.wvu.edu, or phone: 601-310-2262.

-WVU-

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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