Willis, VA -- Mountain Fever Records is elated to announce the addition of songwriter, producer, and guitar player Thomm Jutz to the label. The artist's debut album for the label, Crazy If You Let It, will be released this fall with the title track and first single dropping to radio August 29th.
It's difficult to speak about Thomm Jutz without coming across as a major name dropper. When you've written songs, played guitar, or produced records for so many well-known artists, that's just the way it is. Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Mac Wiseman, Balsam Range, Marty Stuart, Otis Gibbs: the list continues on. But as the recent Prine-delivered song says, "It ain't braggin' if you've done it," and Jutz has certainly done it all quite successfully.
Jutz moved to Nashville just over 15 years ago and immediately began networking and performing, because "music is all I have ever wanted to do and all I have ever done." Last year, he teamed up with his friend Peter Cooper and Country Music Hall of Famer Mac Wiseman for a musical memoir recounting Wiseman's life through 10 carefully crafted songs for what has become one of 2017's most lauded albums, Mac Wiseman - I Sang The Song. Not only has the album been recognized with three nominations by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), but it was also listed among Nashville's Top Albums of 2017 by USA Today. Did we mention the album was recorded at his Nashville-based studio? Yes, he runs a successful recording studio, as well. It was this album, released by Mountain Fever Records, that first provided the opportunity for Jutz and label owner Mark Hodges to work together.
Mountain Fever Records Announces the Addition of Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, and IBMA Songwriter of the Year Nominee Thomm Jutz to the Label
"Thomm and Peter approached me with the idea for the Mac Wiseman album and after a very short conversation, it wasn't hard to see that this was going to be a fantastic project. After just a little research, I discovered that both Thomm and Peter were extremely talented and very well-respected in Nashville," says Hodges. "Our working relationship quickly morphed into a friendship, more like family really, and the thought occurred to me to continue working together if at all possible." That opportunity presented itself over time as Thomm expressed interest in recording another solo record. "Thomm is so very easy to work with and that's important," continues Hodges, "But when I heard Thomm's delivery of these incredible songs he'd written, I really wanted to sign him and start getting his music in the hands of radio."
Bluegrass fans already know Jutz's music through the many hit songs he's written for other artists such as Balsam Range, Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, Irene Kelley, Terry Baucom and the Dukes of Drive, and many others. In 2016, Jutz was the co-writer of Bluegrass Today's #1 and #2 most played songs of the year, "Around The Corner" (recorded by Terry Baucom & The Dukes of Drive) and "Carolina Wind" (recorded by Irene Kelley) respectively. And in the last 18 months he's celebrated 13 Top 20 songs including five that have reached #1. As a result, Jutz was just named one of this year's IBMA Songwriter of the Year nominees. "With that kind of writing success and that many established artists turning to Thomm for songs," says Hodges, "People need the opportunity to hear him perform his own music."
"Crazy If You Let It" is the first single and title track from the new album and will be released August 29th to radio. Co-written with Andrea Zonn and Bill Lloyd, "Crazy If You Let It" sets the tone for the entire project. Opening with the incredible guitar mastery of Jutz, the song flows flawlessly into the stripped down, solo vocal of a man who is an open book with his heart and soul through his songwriting, and the tenderness of Zonn's harmony vocal lends a just-right sweetness to the track. Jutz's writing niche is made clear here, but Crazy If You Let It gives the audience the opportunity to enjoy an authentic interpretation of songs that as the writer, only Jutz himself can truly deliver.
For more information on Thomm Jutz and his debut album with Mountain Fever Records, please visit www.ThommJutz.com and www.MountainFever.com.