"Bruce Kalmick is the CEO and Founder of WHY&HOW. Bruce first embraced his entrepreneurial spirit during his childhood in Charleston, SC. “At 10 years old, I had my own little lawn mowing company,” he recalls. “I’d go door to door to sign clients, and I was eventually making 500 bucks a month. My passion was for music though. By the time I got to high school, I wasn’t the kid playing guitar in a local indie band. Instead, I was the guy offering to do the band’s marketing.”
Bruce graduated from Texas State University. In 2005, Bruce founded the booking agency, KB Talent, employing seven agents and a digital department working a 50-act client roster including Whiskey Myers. The year 2008 saw him sell KB Talent and segue into artist management. Bruce founded Ambiance Artists, which merged with Triple 8 Management in 2012 and quickly grew his Nashville footprint, signing Chase Rice and opening an office on Music Row. In addition, his first move into Alternative came with the signing of Grammy-nominated Icelandic rock band KALEO in 2014.
Bruce was instrumental in Triple 8 Management's expansion into a major powerhouse of a 42-person staff across management, radio, tour marketing, marketing, branding, merchandising, and digital strategy with offices in Nashville and Austin. While at Triple 8, Bruce initiated the acquisition of Good Time, Inc., adding Judah & The Lion to the Triple 8 Management roster and welcoming seven managers.
In 2017, Bruce forged an alliance between Triple 8 Management, Thirty Tigers, and Sony Music and ignited the launch of Triple Tigers—home to breakout star Russell Dickerson, among others. Simultaneously, Bruce co-founded Hazel Street Records; a second joint venture with Bruce and Sony/Orchard.
Bruce was a Billboard Power Player in 2018 and 2019 and has been featured in Billboard’s “40 Under 40.” Pollstar nominated Bruce for “Manager of the Year” in 2014.
In 2020, Bruce parted ways with Triple 8 to start his own company called WHY&HOW, joined by 11 former Triple 8 clients, 7 former Triple 8 staffers and 6 new hires. WHY&HOW represents 15 artist clients and has team members based in major cities across the United States.
Since 2012, Bruce has invested, led rounds, and sat on boards for RBI BASEBALL, The Recording Academy, Mizzen and Main, CANTEEN, Treaty Oak, Waterloo #9, Aba Austin, Nevr-Nevr Nashville, Julius Son Gin and more.
Outside of business, Bruce spends the bulk of his time with his wife and two children at their home in Austin, TX. “The “WHY” and the “HOW” have always been the first steps to every partnership in this business,” shared Kalmick upon the company’s launch, adding “W (Wyatt) & H (Hazel) are two very adorable redheads that call me Dad; so, it’s a perfect name for this important and timely next step.”
