Impact NextGen: Lolo McClusky

For Lolo McClusky, it’s tough to nail down an exact number of years she’s been in the industry because she’s “always been working on some kind of music project, from managing friends’ bands to starting [Lollapalooza Aftershow] Nelarusky.” She explains that growing up as the daughter of industry veteran Jeff McClusky (founder of independent radio promotion and artist consultation company Jeff McClusky & Associates) played a big part in inspiring her to work in the business.

McClusky began to promote her own events in high school and at age 16 she and some friends put together a battle of the bands style concert at Chicago’s 1,100-capacity Metro to raise money for the Special Olympics.

“In the first year, we sold 800 tickets to peers and students and raised over $10,000,” she says. “That show (named Nelarusky™) continued annually for 15 years, becoming an official Lollapalooza Aftershow shortly after I graduated high school and raising over $500,000 for the Special Olympics. If [Chicago independent promoter] Joe Shanahan hadn’t given me a discounted room rental fee that Sunday in 2007 and [C3 Presents promoter] Huston Powell hadn’t brought Nelarusky into the Lolla mix a few years later, who knows where I would be today!”

Now working as a Music Brand Partnerships Agent at UTA, McClusky says that recent highlights include “watching Austin Millz’s career skyrocket and kicking off the year with his Abercrombie and McLaren partnership in New York [and] working on JVKE’s song license in the new Buick Envision commercial as it was one of my goals to work on a TV placement this year.”

McClusky praises Emily Wright (also a brand agent at UTA) for being her biggest cheerleader. McClusky says, “She helped me discover my passion for the brand partnerships space while working for her at CAA and I happily went to work for her again at UTA. She let me join every call and meeting with her from the start, which was a great way to learn quickly. She continues to be an incredible mentor.” McClusky noted that UTA’s Scott Clayton “is also a big part of the reason I’m here. He said something to me at Bonnaroo eight years ago that inspired me to move to Nashville and begin my agency journey.”

McClusky adds, “My dad taught me the importance of relationships and the art of a thank-you note. I grew up writing thank-you notes almost every time I was given tickets to a concert (that’s a lot of thank you notes) and it’s the little things like that that go a long way.”