Christi Thompson Joins Management Partnership with Arny Granat and Tony Conway for Country Music Trio, The Heels

Written By The Heels

Christi Thompson Joins Management Partnership with
Arny Granat and Tony Conway for Country Music Trio, The Heels

Pictured L to R: Brittni Dominelli, Bobbi Smith, Christi Thompson, Kyla Rawlins

(Nashville, Tennessee - July 29, 2024) Esteemed music manager Christi Thompson has partnered with industry veterans Arny Granat and Tony Conway to manage Canadian Country music trio, The Heels. 

Thompson, hailing from Vancouver, BC, Canada, brings a wealth of experience to this new partnership. Her global artist management career, including publishing and writer representation for film and TV, began during the Pacific Northwest grunge era, where she served as a publicist to some of the most well-known indie bands of that decade. She later handled a diverse roster of artists on various imprints with A&M Records, Maverick Records, 604 Records, Roadrunner, and Universal Music Group. Transitioning from label work to artist management, Thompson has represented chart-topping artists such as Matthew Good Band, Lillix, global touring artist Xavier Rudd, Wake Owl, author and writer Shane Koyczan, and partnered with Matthew McConaughey on artist Mishka. 

Christi Thompson notes, "I've been in the business my entire adult life, and just when you think you might have it dialed, and you've gained your more than 1,000,000 hours, an opportunity like this comes along with legends like Arny Granat and Tony Conway, and it gets remarkable again. The Heels are a grippingly talented songwriting trio; their vocals make you forget where you are, and you find yourself in their story. On first listen, they had my full attention. It’s an absolute pleasure to be welcomed into this collective of talent and a management team that has unparalleled success."

Arny Granat speaks about partnering with Thompson, saying, “Christi is the missing ingredient for The Heels. Her outstanding reputation and accomplishments will greatly assist the team. We are excited about her being a part of The Heels' present and future.”

Tony Conway adds, “Christi will be an invaluable asset to both Arny Granat and myself with The Heels. With her stellar reputation in management and marketing, she will take a hands-on approach with the trio and oversee the day-to-day operations.”

The Heels—Brittni, Bobbi, and Kyla—are a unique trio driven by empowerment, inspiration, positivity, and flair. Bonded by a desire to heal through music, they share messages of optimism set to sweet soundtracks and magnetic harmonies.

Having already performed at iconic Nashville venues like the legendary Bluebird Café and The Listening Room, The Heels are thrilled to collaborate with two esteemed music industry veterans. They are eager to bring their music to a broader audience and share their passion for pursuing their dreams, aiming to inspire others to do the same. In 2022, The Heels performed at the Grand Ole Opry House for The Josie Music Awards, where they were honored as Country Group of the Year.

Arny Granat said, "I have been around music my entire life, from promoting to marketing all genres of music in North America, and this group grabbed me like no other female group of songwriters and vocalists. I look forward to working with Tony Conway, a longtime friend."

Tony Conway stated, "When I heard this group and saw them in person, it convinced me to jump on board and help create another success story from the music and live performance areas I have been blessed with in the past. Working directly on a project with Arny, whom I have known for over 40 years, will be exciting."

About Arny Granat: Arny Granat, CEO of Grand Slam Productions, co-founded Jam Productions LTD in Chicago in 1971, leading to 45 years of promoting concerts and events with the biggest artists in the world, including The Rolling Stones, Madonna, and Frank Sinatra. He helped produce the first Willie Nelson Farm Aid and events such as the grand opening of Millennium Park in Chicago. Granat has expanded his entertainment range into the theatrical world through Jam Theatrical, producing plays in 27 markets in the US and Canada. He has won several Tony Awards as a producer on Broadway and has been named Pollstar’s Talent Buyer of the Year and Performance Magazine’s Promoter of the Year.

About Tony Conway: Tony Conway started with Buddy Lee Attractions in 1976 as an agent and worked his way up to VP, President, CEO, and Co-Owner of one of the world’s largest country music talent agencies. During his career, he has represented top artists such as Alabama, Garth Brooks, George Strait, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, and Red Clay Strays. In 2009, Conway sold his interest in the agency and opened Ontourage Management, continuing to represent iconic and new talent for management worldwide.

 

  CONTACT:

Christy Walker-Watkins – AristoPR – 615-269-7071– christy@aristomedia.com


The Heels

There’s a sound that isn’t heard enough on Country radio—the sound of organic, three-part female harmonies, offering stories that speak the language of modern women everywhere. Add in some good-natured brash and sassy attitude and you’ve got Canada’s pop-country queens, The Heels.

That title is now undisputed with the release of the trio’s sophomore album I Am, the follow-up to their warmly received 2018 debut, Love, Heels. Although Bobbi Smith, Brittni Dominelli and Kyla Rawlins have spent much of these past three years winning over audiences with a dynamic live show that showcases each of their distinctive voices and personalities, they also found time to write over 100 songs during several trips to Nashville—and at their home base in Vancouver—from which I Am’s 16 tracks were chosen.

Even pandemic restrictions couldn’t slow them down; most of the recording was completed by producer Anthony Fiddler at his Fiddler Productions Vancouver studio, with The Heels’s trusty band contributing their parts remotely. Given such unexpected circumstances, the double meaning of the group’s name took on sharper focus as the process went on.

“Being in a band has been so healing in itself,” Brittni says. “Learning the ins and outs of the music industry and everything it takes physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to be a part of it has given our goals and dreams a whole new meaning and healed parts of me I didn’t even know existed. Since we released our first album, we’ve learned so many new things about how to work as a team, and how to share space in all ways with each other on the road. It’s the most vulnerable and valuable experience I could have imagined and I’m so grateful every day.”

That all shines through in the songs on I Am, perhaps especially on the title track, which was actually conceived in the immediate aftermath of the tragic 2017 Las Vegas country music festival shooting. However, the song’s message of hope and recovery seemed even more appropriate in 2020, prompting The Heels to make “I Am” the new album’s centrepiece, with the aim to raise a listener’s “love frequency” to the highest level, and create a ripple effect with those vibrations.

Other themes of empowerment are shared on the standout tracks “High Heels On,” “Fools Gold” and the playfully sexy “Hush Money,” while the ups and downs of love are explored on “Symptoms,” “Happy After You,” and “Fixer Upper.” As Bobbi explains, “We like to be bold and outspoken, and for this album it was important to us that we share more love songs of all tempos and feels. We recognize each other’s inner child; we know what it’s like to want the same dreams. This is a musical sisterhood. We came together all in need of some self-care, and harmonies eventually healed us.”

The Heels’s story began at a North Vancouver café co-owned by Kyla, and where Brittni worked behind the counter. Bobbi was a regular customer, and the three soon decided it would be more rewarding artistically and emotionally to join forces rather than pursue individual solo careers. Momentum steadily built from there with their debut single “Come Around” hitting radio in 2017 and performances at the Calgary Stampede and the Sunfest Country Music Festival further raising their profile in western Canada. It all propelled Love, Heels to garner six B.C. Country Music Award nominations in 2018, with an additional slew of nominations coming the following year.

But rather than coast on that success, The Heels took it as an opportunity to expand their sound by incorporating influences that ranged from classic country, gospel and Motown, through to powerful contemporary female artists such as Sheryl Crow, Carrie Underwood and Whitney Houston. Add to that a growing attention to detail in the studio, and the end result of I Am is an album that, although it may be categorized as country, displays a unique musical vision that transcends the genre.

As Kyla says, “I am inspired by people and music that make me feel good, and I want to do the same for others. I need to feel that I am getting better, stronger, healthier, happier and more vivacious day by day, and that’s what I get from being in this incredible group. Every morning I wake up thinking, ‘What are we going to create or accomplish today?’ or ‘Who are we going to inspire today?’ Being in The Heels makes me truly feel like I won the life lottery.”

Bobbi, Brittni and Kyla still get a kick whenever someone assumes they’re sisters. They know it’s not just because of their seamless “family blend” harmony, but because of the obvious personal chemistry they share. And when that chemistry comes down to spreading positive energy, as they do unabashedly with I Am, there is just no limit to how high The Heels will lift us.

http://www.theheelsmusic.com
Next

A match made in harmony