Morris Higham President and Partner Clint Higham has always been a man who prefers to remain in the background, but that doesn’t mean that the Central Californian isn’t on the frontlines when it comes to his clients. Monday night at Marathon Music Works, Higham won the Country Music Association’s coveted Manager of the Year award at the organization’s annual ceremony to recognize the very best of the touring industry.

Having built his own career while building Kenny Chesney’s stadium-sized four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year career, Higham has applied a hard work, hands-on diligence to those artists who have defined Morris Higham Management in the 21st Century. Whether Chesney’s meteoric success, 7-consecutive-time CMA Group of the Year Old Dominion or Country Music Hall of Fame icon Barbara Mandrell, Higham has sought to create moments and opportunities that reflect each artist’s strengths and music.

“I’ve been blessed in my life to meet so many astonishing people — artists and Presidents — I shake my head thinking about it, and Clint is among the top. I love him more than I can find the words. Clint’s love of the business and the music is unlike anyone else’s,” says longtime friend and client Barbara Mandrell. “I met him when he was in the 6th grade, and yet he already knew he wanted to be on the business side of this business. He knows country’s history, but he’s also someone who’s always kept an eye on the future. To see the way Clint brings those things together, you know why artists trust him with their dreams. Congratulations on this recognition, Clint.”

“You can’t do this job for awards,” says Higham. “To me, it’s about the bridges you build between artists and their fans, or the communities that they work with – whether it’s radio, promoters, agents or songwriters and publishers. It’s seeing the pieces coming together, those moments where something incredible happens and the journey to get there.”

While earning his degrees from Belmont University’s Music Business program, Higham went to work at Dale Morris & Associates. Booking dates for a young hat act named Kenny Chesney, Higham demonstrated a dexterity for different rooms and the ability to negotiate creatively for a developing artist. That acumen led to groundbreaking moments in a singular career, whether playing major stadium tours, beginning in 2003, four CMA Entertainer of the Year wins, the success of Blue Chair Bay® Rum or being the first country artist to headline Sphere in Las Vegas.

“Clint understood my dream and knew how to use his dream to make the unthinkable happen,” Chesney says. “When you take two young guys who are on fire with creativity, the business and chasing what people say can’t be done, pretty incredible things can – and did – happen.”

Higham’s love of building those dreams from the ground up remains strong. Aligning with Old Dominion, a collective of hit songwriters whose deepest desire was to be a band, he helped guide the nine-time chart-toppers from rock clubs to major arenas and headlining festivals around the country. Demurring, Higham offers, “Recognizing what sets a band or solo artist apart means understanding their strengths, then playing to that. Beyond the obvious musicianship and songwriting, OD loves the fans and being on that stage. All we had to do was get them in front of people to win, and Matt, Brad, Trevor, Geoff and Whit were willing to do the work.”

Beyond the estate work for legends Kris Kristofferson and Roger Miller, the next generation of MHM artists is already rising. Bryce Leatherwood, bluegrass sensations Dailey & Vincent, Greylan James, Johnny Dailey and Kinsley are all part of the storied management company’s future.

“When I was a kid,” Higham concludes, “I was obsessed with how the business works. I would research managers like George Richey when Tammy Wynette played near us and find a way in just to ask a lot of questions. I was on fire with it, how deals were done, what makes sense for a superstar. That I was able to make a life this way, well, that’s the greatest honor of my career.”