Today’s Music City is more diverse musically than it was 10 years ago, and will be even more diverse 10 years from now. Our country music friends have done an amazing job of telling their stories and building their community, and they will continue to do so. But, there is a glaring lack of a gathering point for those of us that don’t fit into that community. This includes creators and industry professionals in the city’s Pop, Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Soul, Emo, Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz, Orchestral, Electronic, and Christian music scenes. The Other Nashville Society was created to be our gathering point.

In many ways, TONS was born out of frustration. The five co-founders each had their own difficult experiences trying to navigate the often fragmented non-country music communities in Nashville. Why was there not one clear organization for everyone else? Why were there not events where we could all come together? Why is it only country artists are over the loudspeakers welcoming us to the Nashville International Airport?

So, one evening in February 2017, Josh Collum and Ally Venable talked about those questions and their possible solutions over drinks. Within a week, Ally had introduced Josh to Katie Fagan, who had just moved from LA to open Prescription Songs’ Nashville office, and Mark Abramowitz, who had moved from NYC a year earlier to be Sony ATV’s Pop A&R in town. Josh brought singer/songwriter Holley Maher into the fold to add a creator’s perspective. In March of 2017, the five soon-to-be co-founders met together for the first time at a coffee shop, and within two months, The Other Nashville Society was born.

Today, TONS has over 1,500 members.