#alum

Mar 25, 2022
4 min

Belmont graduates, faculty among Grammy nominees

With all the glitz and glamor of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in Las Vegas, it’s easy to forget that many of the nominees share a connection that’s a little closer to home. The list of award nods for the April 3 show includes current and former Belmont students, as well as faculty in both the university’s school of music and Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. And while the nominations highlight different accomplishments — from songwriting to production to perf

Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood share songs and stories at Q&A event

Anna Jackson

Mar 8, 2022
4 min

Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood share songs and stories at Q&A event

One of the bestselling solo artists of the century paid a visit to the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday night. With nine diamond-certified records, two Grammy Awards and a music career spanning almost four decades, Garth Brooks has no shortage of music industry advice — and neither does his wife, three-time Grammy winner and Belmont alumna Trisha Yearwood. The country-star couple took the stage for an intimate night of Q&A and song requests from Belmont stud

Russell Dickerson receives 2022 Curtain Call Award

Sarah Maninger

Feb 9, 2022
3 min

Russell Dickerson receives 2022 Curtain Call Award

Russell Dickerson may be a chart-topping, multi-platinum country artist, but he hasn’t forgotten where his story began. “I still wear my Bruin flag with pride,” said Dickerson. The 2011 alumna was welcomed back to Belmont with a standing ovation on Tuesday night to receive the Curtain Call Award and perform for adoring fans in the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. Dickerson studied commercial music and music business at Belmont and encouraged aspiring artists in the crow

VIDEO: Alumni exhibition featured in Leu Art Gallery

Jordan Shatto

Feb 8, 2022
1 min

VIDEO: Alumni exhibition featured in Leu Art Gallery

VNN’s Chandler Maynard gives us an inside look at Among the Beyond, the alumni exhibition featured in the Leu Art Gallery until February 25th. — This video was posted by Jordan Shatto. #alum #amongthebeyond #watkins #video #Artist #WatkinsCollegeofArt #LeuCenterfortheVisualArts #studentvoices #visualart

Alum Kayla Becker breaks barriers broadcasting with WWE

Gus Sneh

Jan 22, 2022
3 min

Alum Kayla Becker breaks barriers broadcasting with WWE

Not a lot of Belmont alumni have their avatar in a video game. But wrestling fans will soon be able to play as Kayla Becker — known professionally as Kayla Braxton — in “WWE 2K22.” Players can watch her interview wrestling superstars like she does on WWE Network’s “Friday Night SmackDown,” “Talking Smack” and “The Bump.” Or they can play as her in the ring, she said. But long before making her video game debut, Becker started her broadcasting career with little experience and

'The bigger the better' for Jake Wesley Rogers: the man, the myth, the moment

Anna Jackson

Dec 10, 2021
8 min

'The bigger the better' for Jake Wesley Rogers: the man, the myth, the moment

There’s thunder in his lungs and lightning in his limbs. When he pinwheels to center stage, bell sleeves flying, to sit at his little white piano, his legs are too long to fold up underneath, so he falls to the stool in a graceful, split-legged lunge, or otherwise he stands to play. He pounds at the keys like he wants answers from them. At his sold-out show at The Basement East in Nashville, the largest he’s ever headlined, Jake Wesley Rogers is 6 feet, 4 inches of glitter an

Star alum Brad Paisley talks college days and COVID days in a night of songs and stories

Sarah Maninger

Nov 5, 2021
3 min

Star alum Brad Paisley talks college days and COVID days in a night of songs and stories

In his time at Belmont, Brad Paisley skipped classes, pulled all-nighters in the studio and graduated with a 2.3 GPA — but that’s all you need, he said. The country hitmaker and 1995 Belmont alumnus visited his alma mater Thursday for a night of conversation and acoustic interludes, hosted by Nashville news anchor Harry Chapman. Paisley and Chapman dove deep on Paisley’s university years, his creative process during the COVID-19 pandemic, his philanthropic efforts with his wi

Songwriting senior Jules Paymer will open for Jake Wesley Rogers at one-night-only Nashville show

Maddie Buchman

Oct 25, 2021
3 min

Songwriting senior Jules Paymer will open for Jake Wesley Rogers at one-night-only Nashville show

Jules Paymer was driving to get a haircut when the phone call came. It was an unassuming number from New York. When Paymer picked up, the manager for international indie-pop sensation Jake Wesley Rogers answered to relay some major news. Paymer had won the contest to be Rogers’ opening act at his sold-out Nashville show. Soon after the news was delivered, Rogers got on the call to congratulate the artist himself. “It was like a dream,” Paymer, who uses they/she pronouns, said

Golf alum Brenton Flynn returns to Belmont as assistant coach

AJ Wuest

Oct 19, 2021
3 min

Golf alum Brenton Flynn returns to Belmont as assistant coach

Former Bruin Brenton Flynn made his mark on the men’s golf program over 15 years ago, and he continues to put in the work as the team’s newest assistant coach. While playing for the university from 2002 to 2006, Flynn competed in 110 rounds and recorded a career average of 75.4 during his four years as a student-athlete. “It’s been fun to get re-engaged with the golf team. I see myself in a lot of the guys on our team and it’s been fun to try to share some of the wisdom I’ve

Student and alumni films shine on the silver screen at Nashville Film Festival, hosted on campus Mon

Sarah Maninger

Oct 5, 2021
3 min

Student and alumni films shine on the silver screen at Nashville Film Festival, hosted on campus Mon

Belmont welcomed the 52nd Nashville Film Festival to campus and saw some familiar faces on the red carpet. The Johnson theaters, the second venue of four in the traveling festival, played host to filmmakers and fans alike. Part of the program — NashFilm’s “NextGen Mixtape” — showcased 10 short films on a variety of subjects, from the daily life of women in 1980s South Africa to a story about a 12-year-old rugby fan stuck between her life in America and her New Zealand roots.

Belmont alums of Hot Poppy delivery service help local businesses blossom

Melody Scott

Sep 23, 2021
3 min

Belmont alums of Hot Poppy delivery service help local businesses blossom

Visitors at Sevier Park’s weekly Tuesday farmer’s market can stop by the table manned by the Belmont alumni behind Hot Poppy — Nashville’s newest delivery service. Hot Poppy is an Instacart for local goods, said co-founder Vinny Maniscalco. Like a farmer’s market in an app, the company partners with small Nashville businesses and helps them grow their base by delivering local products straight to customers’ doorsteps. “You’re supporting what’s really impacting these people ra

Men’s soccer starts conference play on a winning streak with alumni night victory

Finn Birnie

Sep 20, 2021
3 min

Men’s soccer starts conference play on a winning streak with alumni night victory

The men’s soccer team made program history with four consecutive home victories, banking a 1-0 home-field win against East Tennessee University in the Bruins’ first Southern Conference game Saturday. Coming out undefeated in its last five fixtures, most notably a 1-1 draw against No. 22 ranked rivals Lipscomb University, the Bruins are showing confidence and consistency in their season so far. “We talk all the time about creating good habits and eliminating bad ones and the r

Swet Studio is one Belmont alum’s path to success

Vivi Smiligius

Mar 9, 2021
2 min

Swet Studio is one Belmont alum’s path to success

Swet Studio owner and 2018 Belmont alumna Shelby Vandenbergh says customers often leave her studio too sweaty to slip back into their leggings. Contrary to how it may sound, Swet Studio in Bowling Green, Kentucky, isn’t a gym. It’s probably one of the only places you can burn hundreds of calories without moving a muscle — a sauna studio. “Swet Studio is an infrared sauna studio. Once you’re checked in, we take you back to your room, where there’s an infrared sauna bed,” Vande