NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess) — As part of their continued expansion, Reliant Talent announced a round of hires and promotions that includes industry veteran John Pleeter, and Rush Davenport, as well as the promotion of Ellen Larson to the role of agent at the company.
Pleeter joins Reliant as Senior Vice President and will helm the agency’s growing K-pop division along with continuing to represent his current roster, which includes Puddle of Mudd, Kings of Chaos, Scott Stapp, Richie Sambora, Orianthi, AleXa, Momoland, T1419, and Slaves To Humanity.
Pleeter joins Reliant from ICM Partners, where he spent more than a decade, most recently as the agency’s Vice President of Concerts. His resume also includes tenures at Creative Artists Agency, the William Morris Agency, Triad Artists, and ARTISTSDirect.
“We’re very excited and grateful that Jon Pleeter made the decision to call Reliant Talent home, as we realize an agent of Jon’s caliber had many options in front of him. With Jon’s tenacity, vision, and leadership skills, we can see a larger and global landscape for the company. We’re extremely fortunate to have him join our team,” said Steve Lassiter, Reliant Talent President.
“I could not be more inspired to join the team at Reliant. It’s really quite simple; the mission statement at Reliant is hyper-focused client servicing. I am excited to help Steve, Heath, and Matt grow this company, especially at a time when the reliance on agents is more important than ever,” added Pleeter.
Former WME agent Rush Davenport has also joined the Reliant Talent Agency team. Before making the jump to Reliant, Davenport handled booking for clubs, colleges, theaters, and casinos on the West Coast and Midwest for WME and represented a roster that includes Steelism, Paul Cauthen, Lillie Mae, Black Stone Cherry, Jackson Michelson, Leaving Austin, and more.
Outside of his agency work, Rush has been involved with Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital and the Nashville Food Project. He also serves as a member of the following associations: CMA (Country Music Association), ACM (Academy of Country Music), IEBA (International Entertainment Buyers Association).
“His years of experience as an agent at WME gives us an edge along with his hustle and mentoring skills with the younger agents. With Rush’s reputation as a hard worker and eye for great talent, we knew he’d be a great fit in our culture. So glad that Rush agreed to join our Reliant Team,” Lassiter said.
Reliant also announced the promotion of Ellen Larson to the role of agent. In her new gig at Reliant, Larson will handle West Coast club and theater bookings for Reliant’s roster and represent Saxsquatch, Alicia Witt, and Jeremy McComb.
Larsen began her career in APA’s mailroom but left the agency in late 2020 to help launch Reliant.
“We’re very proud of Ellen’s recent promotion to agent,” Lassiter acknowledges. “Ellen has played a key role in the launch of the company, and she’s always been more than just an assistant. She’s a solid, loyal team player with a significantly high work ethic and drive. Her promotion was well deserved and certainly long overdue. We look forward to her continued growth as an agent.”
