AUBURN, Ala. — Lucky Man Studios and Auburn University presented the Clayton Recording Arts Honors Finals on Saturday night at Lucky Man Studio in Goodwin Hall, marking the inaugural presentation of the award and drawing a packed audience of family and friends.
Guitars lined the walls of the stage under a soft purple sidelight with a spotlight trained on each performer as the six finalists took to presenting their original songs along with covers. The finalists were Jack Sears, Walter Lloyd, Anna Colson, Syler Stone, Emma Kennedy and Luke Potter, selected from a pool of demo recordings submitted earlier this year. Submissions were open to any Auburn student, regardless of major, though five of the six finalists were music majors.
The judging panel included Diane Durrett, Harper Grae and LaMont VanHook. Durrett is a singer, songwriter and producer who was elected President of the Recording Academy's Atlanta Chapter, best known for the GRAMMY awards. Grae is a singer-songwriter, producer and executive with a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group, alongside being an Auburn Alumni. VanHook is a vocalist who has toured with artists including Elton John and Queen. Durrett and Grae were unable to attend in person due to weather-related travel issues and observed the competition via Zoom, while VanHook flew in from LA and joined the panel on site.
After extended deliberation, the judges named Sears the winner of the competition. Lloyd, Colson and Stone were announced as runners-up. Although the competition was initially structured to recognize two runners-up, the judges added a third slot following a comment from the judge that they will cover the cost of the added runner-up.
The award was created with support from Alexander Clayton, who made Lucky Man Studio possible and sought to extend its impact beyond recording services. At the start of the evening, a video message from Clayton and his wife, filmed at a sunny villa in Angola, played for the audience as they shared their excitement for the finalists and the future of the program. Clayton said he envisioned the project producing major-label style releases comparable to those from established studios such as Sony.
The winner will receive three commercial song releases along with a full suite of marketing and promotion, while each runner-up will receive one commercial song release. All releases will be produced in collaboration with Auburn’s first student-run record label, which will oversee production, marketing and distribution through Lucky Man Studio. The label is staffed by students from Auburn’s music business, marketing and related programs and is led by Jenny Bohler.
The student leadership team includes Director of Artist Strategy and Operations Emma Claflin, Director of Marketing and Audience Growth Callan Elkins, Director of Public Relations and Communications Ariel Wright and Director of Creative Strategy and Artist Development Kathryn Danley. Auburn’s music business program has previously been recognized by Billboard as one of the top music business majors in the country. According to Wright, the student-run label is scheduled to officially launch in mid-April with a release party.
In addition to recording and marketing support, the winners will collaborate with Auburn graphic design students led by Professor David Smith, with further details forthcoming. An unnamed fashion design student will also create custom clothing for the winner.
The Clayton Recording Arts Honors Finals concluded with sustained applause from the crowd, signaling a strong debut for an award organizers hope will become a lasting part of Auburn’s creative community.
