In his 40 years in music, 20 of which he’s spent at the helm of BMLG as Founder, Chairman & CEO of Big Machine Label Group (BMLG) Scott Borchetta has made an immense impact on not only Nashville’s music industry, but the entire music industry with a special focus on the Music City community at large. Borchetta has continuously invested in the future of music by contributing to music education programs nationwide, bolstering Nashville’s tourism and sports industry via the annual Big Machine Music City Grand Prix and growing its spirits industry with Big Machine Distillery. 

On Monday, March 10th, Borchetta was honored with the highly revered Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award for his dedication to the music community and the city during an emotional ceremony that included fellow industry execs and the BMLG artists. The award was created ten years ago to honor the career of veteran country radio broadcaster Bob Kingsley, and this year’s ceremony raised 3.5x more than ceremonies past.

View photos from the evening, here: app.box.com/s/a7j8d4piq1vfiqhm9frwu90bqqvaj77i

“I am so grateful to receive the Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award,” says Borchetta. “To be considered among the ranks of this award’s past recipients, including Bob himself, is an honor. Each surprise performance blew me away, and the kind and congratulatory words from so many people I cherish was a walk down memory lane that I will never forget. I am thankful to my wife Sandi, Nan Kingsley, event producers John Zarling, Maurice Minor, Heather McBee, and Marcel Pariseau, as well as the Grand Ole Opry team, and so many of my Industry peers. They not only executed an epic surprise, but pulled together an incredible evening that raised a record-breaking amount for a worthy cause.”

The admiration for Borchetta was palpable in the room with tributes and performances from artists and executives. The night kicked off with a special performance of Tom Petty’s “Running Down A Dream” from Marty Stuart, who highlighted his and Borchetta’s respect for the heartland rock icon — a respect shown via the latter’s work compiling the Petty Country tribute album last year. Other performers included Terri Clark, Jessica Andrews, Jimmy Wayne, Tracy Lawrence, Jack Ingram, Justin Moore, The Band Perry, Jackson Dean, Preston Cooper, Brett Young, and an incredible lights-out performance by Wynonna Judd preceded with a heartwarming speech about Borchetta’s presence throughout her career. Rutherford County’s Riverdale High School Marching Band also performed a tribute to Borchetta’s work with Toby Keith, with a rousing performance of “How Do You Like Me Now”, introduced by Toby’s long-time manager, TK Kimbrell. The night was also filled with special speeches from Randy Travis, Carly Pearce, Robert Deaton, Erik Logan, and Ray Pronto.

Borchetta was honored with video tributes from his parents, Mike and Shari Borchetta; artists and songwriters including Mark Chesnutt, Mark Collie, Vince Gill, Emerson Drive, Scotty Emerick, Laura Veltz, Ryan Hurd, Jessie Jo Dillon, Julian Raymond, Lady A, Rascal Flatts, Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee and John 5, Cheap Trick, Midland, Thomas Rhett, Conner Smith, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood; fellow industry execs Bruce Hinton, Chris Nilsson, Diane Pearson, Scooter Braun, Andrew Kautz, Mike Rittberg, Megan Joyce, Jimmy Harnen, George Briner, Allison Jones, Mike Molinar, Heather Luke-Husong, Kris Lamb, wife and colleague Sandi Borchetta; Newman and Johnathan Arndt of Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels; and racing professionals Zak Brown, Parker Kligerman, Nick Sanchez and Colton Herta.

Among all of these artists’ moving messages discussing Borchetta’s impact on the music scene, one word stood out as a true descriptor — “visionary.” 

The night wrapped with a heartwarming speech from Wynonna about Borchetta’s presence throughout her career before she treated him to a performance of her 1992 hit “No One Else On Earth.”

Big Machine has a massive 2025 planned and will celebrate its 20th anniversary this September. To stay up-to-date, visit bigmachinelabelgroup.com.