Zac Brown is breaking ground once again, this time with his own record label. Southern Ground Artists, Inc. is the name of the Grammy winner's new business venture, and he already has a roster of five artists: Sonia Leigh, the Wood Brothers, Blackberry Smoke, Levi Lowrey and Nic Cowan.

"I'd like to think there's a movement coming out of Atlanta that's like [Memphis-based soul label] Stax was, back in the '60s," Zac tells Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. "The Wood Brothers are one of the best live bands you'll ever see, and we just got Sonia Leigh's record finished, and I'm super proud of it. There's Blackberry Smoke coming onboard, and Nic Cowan and Levi Lowrey, and all the people that love our music will love their music, too, I feel confident."

The Wood Brothers, Levi and Nic will all have new albums out this summer, followed by Sonia's debut album in September. Blackberry Smoke, who were previously with Stroudavarious Records, will begin work on a new album this summer.

Zac himself is very hands-on with his artists, all of with whom he and his Zac Brown Band partners have personal ties. Zac co-wrote and lends guest vocals to Sonia's song, 'Roaming.' Levi is the co-writer of Zac Brown Band's huge hit, 'Colder Weather.' Blackberry Smoke are on the road with ZBB this summer. And ZBB multi-instrumentalist Clay Cook is featured in the Wood Brothers' video for 'Shoofly Pie.' Hear samples of all Southern Ground Artists' music here.

Southern Ground Artists actually got its start last year with the Zac Brown Band's Letters for Lyrics campaign. The label was the force behind the 11-track compilation CD that was given to fans who wrote letters to American servicemen and women. Learn more about Letters for Lyrics here.

As for Zac Brown Band's next project, it will not be under the Southern Ground Artists label, as they are still under contract with Atlantic Records. %VIRTUAL-globalVideoEmbed-{"videoIds":"517721657","width":"476","height":"357"}%

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