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Skyline Artists to Close After 35 Years in Business
December5
Independent US agency Skyline Artists has announced it will cease operations after more than three decades in the live music industry.
Founded in the late 1980s, Skyline built its early reputation representing acts such as Foghat, The Outlaws, Johnny Winter and Rick Danko. Over the years, the agency expanded to an eclectic roster including George Winston, Solomon Burke, The Von Trapps and Merl Saunders.
“We knew after the pandemic that it was time to wind things down,” said Skyline founder and president Bruce Houghton. “But I wanted to do it the right way and that took time.”
Americana became one of Skyline’s strongest niches, working with legacy artists like Roger McGuinn and Tom Rush as well as contemporary acts including Darlingside and Gangstagrass.
Many artists — among them Pure Prairie League, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Firefall, Orleans and The Machine — worked with Houghton for more than 20 years.
On the agency side, Andrea Sabata and Mark Lourie were part of Skyline from the beginning, while James Leslie, Ben Rossman, Casey Bonilla and Katy Cates each spent more than a decade at the company. All have moved on to new roles over the past several years.
“Rather than selling the company, it was important that the team and artists who made Skyline successful landed well,” said Houghton. “I think we achieved that.” Sabata is now at The Kurland Agency, Lourie at Madison House, and Leslie and Rossman joined Dynamic. Bonilla has opened a bakery and Cates has retired.
Following the closure, Houghton will remain active as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown, contributor to Hypebot — the industry blog he founded 20 years ago — a professor for Berklee Online, and a volunteer with the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO).
“For a music lover who had never worked at a major agency, Skyline had an incredible run,” Houghton concluded. “I couldn’t have asked for more.”
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