Tamara Saviano
Ringleader
tamara@ellis-creative.com
During the past two decades Tamara Saviano has established herself as a tireless promoter of American music and its artists. Saviano is a GRAMMY-winning producer, publicist, project manager, live concert producer, talent booker, and former music television producer and music journalist.
In 2002, Saviano formed the 501(c)3 nonprofit American Roots Publishing. As the founder and executive director, she created and implemented the business model and recruited a top notch board of directors including Apple Computers co-founder Steve Wozniak; singer/songwriter Emmylou Harris; New West Records president Cameron Strang; noted author and music critic Dave Marsh; music industry executives Tom Frouge, Kathi Whitley and Steve Fishell; publishing executive Steve Garvan; and actress/singer Bobbie Eakes.
In the first year, Saviano raised the funds for the debut CD Beautiful Dreamer: The Songs of Stephen Foster. She managed the project from the beginning, working with co-producers to recruit artists to perform, securing donated studio time and materials, managing the manufacturing and distribution process, creating and managing the marketing and publicity campaigns, and securing educational partners. Beautiful Dreamer was honored with a 2004 GRAMMY Award for Best Traditional Folk Album. The success of Beautiful Dreamer allowed Saviano and her team to fund the second chapter of the New American Songbook Series, The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson, which was released in June of 2006 and The Bluegrass Elvises, Volume One: Shawn Camp & Billy Burnette, scheduled for release in August, 2007.
In addition to managing American Roots Publishing, Saviano is an entrepreneur directing a full service PR and marketing company serving the music industry. Her clients have included Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark, Marty Stuart, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Gretchen Peters, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Radney Foster, Sweet Honey In The Rock, Todd Snider, Janis Ian, John Flynn and many others. As the creative force behind the company, Saviano writes media and marketing materials, recruits clients, manages budgets, creates and implements PR and marketing campaigns, and hires and manages staff.
Saviano has had the opportunity and pleasure to work as a publisher and/or editor for several magazines during her career. The first were regional magazines for the progressive Sundance Broadcasting (WMIL & WOKY) in southeastern Wisconsin. As editor and publisher of the magazines, Saviano was part of the team of innovators at the forefront of building non-traditional revenue streams in broadcasting. Long before the Internet, Sundance Broadcasting was creating groundbreaking programs in the form of magazines, interactive phone systems, database marketing programs and other non-spot revenue sources.
Saviano also contributed, as managing editor, to the revamping of a national magazine, Country Music, during its tenure with New York’s Sussex Publishers. After leaving Country Music, Saviano was hired to open and manage the Nashville office of Jones Media Networks/Great American Country (syndicated radio and cable television network) when the Denver headquarters decided to establish a Nashville presence.
Saviano is the current president and a four-year board member of the Americana Music Association. She has produced the annual Americana Honors & Awards at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium since 2005. The Honors & Awards have hosted appearances by artists as varied as Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Arlo Guthrie, Rodney Crowell, Kris Kristofferson, John Prine, Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, Allen Toussaint, Guy Clark, and many others.
Saviano continually explores the national, regional and local arts scene to encourage unique collaborations between exceptional artists in all genres of music and literature. She shares homes in Nashville, TN and Milwaukee, WI with her partner Paul and four neurotic cats: Gabe, Bear, Annie and Blade.