Nan Warshaw: Celebs Rumors

Mark Guarino Chicago’s Bloodshot Records was a powerful and pioneering force in the alt-country movement of the 1990s and beyond, defining the genre with a roster of breakthrough artists including the Robbie Fulks, Old 97s, Alejandro Escovedo, the Waco Brothers, Neko Case, Justin Townes Earle, and the Bottle Rockets. In 2021, 27 years after its first release, label co-founders Nan Warshaw and Rob Miller sold Bloodshot to Exceleration Music, a global investment group that either owns the catalogs of or has strategic partnerships with other legacy labels like Alligator Records and Kill Rock Stars. At the time, Exceleration said it planned to largely manage and monetize Bloodshot’s back catalog. But this month it is releasing “Music Man,” a new album by Layng Martine Jr., a veteran Nashville songwriter who has written hits for legends like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Trisha Yearwood, Reba McEntire, and the Pointer Sisters, among many others. It is one of five new albums Bloodshot is set to release this year, said Dave Hansen, an Exeleration principal.

In March 2019, Bloodshot Records co-founder Nan Warshaw announced her resignation from the Chicago-based independent country label after Bloodshot artist Lydia Loveless accused Warshaw's partner of sexual misconduct. The plan was for co-founder Rob Miller to buy Warshaw's 50% share in the company. But more than a year later, artists and staff members at Bloodshot, home to acts like Jason Hawk Harris and ROOKIE, say the label's issues are far