East Music Row Records emerged from the minds of Robkin, Johnny Gates, and Austin Luther, the latter two of whom cut their teeth as Nashville songwriters, artists, and producers, with a goal of blending the hip, innovative sides of Nashville’s new indie rock and alt-country music with the musicianship, professionalism, and ingenuity of Music Row classists. East Music Row has already signed its first artist, Nashville-based Australian alt-pop artist, Felicity. 

The idea for East Music Row was nothing more than a coincidence, with Gates being in the right place at the right time. Shortly after he returned to Nashville in 2019 after a stint in L.A. on The Voice, he ran into an old friend at a restaurant, who happened to be having lunch with an A&R rep from Deluge Music. “She remembered my old band, Runaway Saints,” Gates explains. “She brought me in for a meeting with David, Mark Friedman (with Deluge Music’s LA office), and the company, and they set me up on a few sessions. Then I played my own stuff for David, and we started working together.” Both were looking for a home where they could honor Nashville’s tradition while relentlessly pushing it forward, in new and exciting places.