Furthering the agency’s expansion, Reliant Talent has announced the addition of Jon Pleeter and Rush Davenport to the team and promotion of Ellen Larson to agent. Jon Pleeter joins Reliant Talent Agency as a Senior Vice President and heads up the agency’s K-pop division.
Pleeter represents Puddle of Mudd, Kings of Chaos, Scott Stapp, Richie Sambora, Orianthi, AleXa, Momoland, T1419, and Slaves To Humanity. Most recently serving as Vice President of Concerts at ICM Partners, Pleeter comes to Reliant Talent Agency with ten years under his belt at ICM Partners and decades of experience as a Senior Agent.
Before this experience, he worked at ARTISTdirect, CAA, and started as an agent trainee for Triad Artists and William Morris Agency.Steve Lassiter, Reliant Talent President, comments about Pleeter joining the company, saying, “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.”
Pleeter adds, “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.”
Former WME agent Rush Davenport also joins Reliant Talent Agency. In his previous role, Rush administered daily touring, television, literary, and sponsorship for several artists. Artists he’s worked with include Steelism, Paul Cauthen, Lillie Mae, Black Stone Cherry, Jackson Michelson, Leaving Austin, and more. Rush worked across the roster, booking concerts in clubs, colleges, theaters, and casinos on the West Coast and Midwest.
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).
Lassiter remarks, “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.”
Reliant Talent Agency has also announced its promotion of Ellen Larson to agent. Larson will handle West Coast club and theater bookings for Reliant’s roster and represent Saxsquatch, Alicia Witt, and Jeremy McComb. Larson began her agency career in APA’s mailroom.
As an assistant, she worked in the Country, Contemporary, and Adult Contemporary music departments, developing her understanding of live touring from different perspectives. She eventually left APA at the end of 2020 to help form Reliant Talent Agency, where she played a critical role in developing the company’s operational framework and procedures.
Larson previously served on the Society Of Leaders In Development (SOLID) board for two years as Music Market Chair (2019) and Community Outreach Chair (2020).“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.”