Signing Stories: Luke PrestonDate Signed: September 2025Label: Big Loud PublishingType of Music: CountryPublicity: Corey Brewer and Rachel Heatherly / Big Loud, corey@bigloud.com, rachel@bigloud.comWeb: bigloud.com

When Luke Preston moved from Clearwater, FL to Nashville, TN in 2011, his mission was to earn a living in the music industry however possible. While working at a grocery store, a friend who was on a major label invited Preston to play bass for him. He said yes, even though he hadn’t touched the instrument since middle school. 

Preston then secured his first songwriting deal in September 2019 and began writing alongside a number of artists affiliated with Big Loud Records, the country music juggernaut founded by GRAMMY-winning songwriter Craig Wiseman. “I started working with Kashus Culpepper, who I’m a big fan of,” reports the tunesmith, whose other musical affiliations include The Lone Bellow, Corey Kent, and Kip Moore, plus Owen Riegling, another Big Loud musician. “The label has a bus they send out when their artists go on tour, so they can write while they’re on the road,” he goes on. “And I got asked to write with Kashus a few times.”

Adam Romaine, Big Loud Publishing’s Sr. Creative Director, loosely manages the bus, and Preston hit things off with the man colloquially known as Romie. Over the course of their time together, Romaine learned that Preston’s publishing deal was coming to an end. Notes Preston, “It was fortuitous timing.”

The rising songwriter had been meeting with other people around town, yet Preston felt a connection with the staff of Big Loud. On top of his friendships with Romaine and Culpepper, there was Sarah Knabe, who played a significant role in boosting the career of another musical buddy, Elvie Shane. Preston stresses how much he values her creative input. 

Preston also puts stock in the quality and nature of the artists on Big Loud. “They’re always pushing into new territory instead of chasing after what’s already successful,” he tells. “It feels like a good fit for me to get in the room and work with some of those people.” The post Signing Stories: Luke Preston first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.