Originally founded to serve the writing and artist careers for Collin Brace and Troy Akers, Brakers Ent. now provides a wide variety of services encompassing all ventures in the entertainment industry. is currently the management firm for the popular band "The CO"
Friends Collin Brace, Troy Akers and Nate Fleming make up the Nashville-based alternative collective The CO. Right away, it’s perfectly clear how passionate and soulful these guys are about the music they make. “Music is so much of a love to us, because we realize it’s one of the only ways universally that you can connect to somebody,” Akers says. “You can reach into their heart and see what they’re about.” Throughout the past six years, The CO have experienced the highs and lows of the industry, but their ultimate goal has never wavered: to create music that calls people to action. Though Akers is the only Nashville native in the bunch, the trio met at Belmont. Brace migrated from Missouri and Fleming from Indiana. Brace and Akers met during their freshman year and then met Fleming shortly after. The friends soon decided to take their common musical appreciation a step further and start making music together as a band. Akers and Brace officially started the band in 2004, and others began to join them in 2007.
“We had the same vision of wanting to create a form of music that was big in a way that allowed us to have a voice for what we believe in and care about,” Akers says. Brace adds, “We want people to leave our concert and physically do something or believe in something, or have people say, ‘I’m going to tell this person I love them,’ or, ‘I’m going to tell this person their life needs to be changed.’”
The CO consists of Brace on lead vocals, Akers on keys and vocals and Fleming on drums, along with help from Will Harrison on guitar and Jordan Hester on bass. The CO released their self-titled debut album in January, and they say they couldn’t have been happier with the end result. “We’re the most proud of this than anything we’ve ever worked on,” Akers says. “These songs have all of our blood on them.”
With eight titles like, “Keep It Together,” “Hold On” and “Before Tomorrow Comes,” the album was written with hopes of touching hearts with its buoyant lyrics. Brace says The CO learned much about who they are as a band by writing songs that speak truth and connect with audiences. They write about daily challenges and about learning to cope in everyday life. With one album under their belt, the band says they’re eager to get back into the studio to begin work on their sophomore project. Though they don’t have a set start date for recording, they have been writing all summer for the next album. The CO seem to be riding a high wave of their career, but their future didn’t always look so bright. From the very beginning, the band had to put their noses to the grindstone to make progress. They remember being surrounded by people who didn’t seem to want to expend the energy necessary to make music a career. “There are so many people just trying to find the shortcuts,” Fleming says. Akers agrees. “We said, ‘Let’s stick to what we know, stick to who we are and maybe it’s going to take 10 years, but we’re going to stay true to ourselves.”
In addition to outside pressure, The CO had to battle their own internal feelings of doubt, the sneaking question that continually nagged at them, asking whether their dream was even worth chasing. At one point, when things didn’t seem to be progressing, The CO thought about giving up and leaving Nashville behind. In the end, however, the band was able to get past those doubts, and once they decided to stay, they dove in with a drastically clearer vision.
“We’re realizing that, no matter what point in life or in your career you are, you have to be content, but also purposeful,” Akers suggests. “You can never be looking ahead for the next thing. You just have to keep digging.” Brace adds, “You can’t ever feel like you’re entitled to anything.”
One thing that gets The CO through difficult times is playing live. “It’s a rush of adrenaline,” Brace describes. “Having fans sing back to you is like being rescued from everything—from the day, from the work, from the stresses—from everything.” Akers agrees. “You always remember when you’re on stage why you do music,” he says. “When you’re on stage, it’s where you belong, and that’s who you are.”
Having partnered with Brite Revolution, a community of artists working with non-profits, The CO support the Dalit Freedom Network, a human rights non-government organization that seeks to end trafficking and slavery among the Dalit people, or the “untouchables” of India. This is just one way in which The CO calls people to act. They also have hopes of planning a trip to India in the near future to actually meet the people they support. After weathering their own doubts and overcoming them, the guys in The CO seem to be confident in who they are and what they hope for. They are forging ever ahead as an independent band, and they’re learning lessons all along the way. “God has showed us we need to concentrate on the little things,” Brace says. “You can’t touch someone’s life if you don’t get it. We believe in a source of love that’s going to change people’s lives, because it’s changed ours.”
