Meet Cydney Resk | Local musician manager and booking agent

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cydney Resk and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cydney, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am originally from a town in Northern California named Santa Rosa, right in the heart of Wine Country. Growing up, my dad was a musician and he and my aunt had a band called The Rusty Spurs that played together from the late 70’s into the 90’s. I grew up deep in the music scene, tagging along to gigs and hopping up on stage to sing along and every excuse to have a band party, we did. My family really instilled an intense love for music in me and just listening was never enough. I have been to over 250 concerts and met dozens of artists. Music is a part of who I am and has always been such a happy place for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I work in Information Technology for my career. I run a Network Operations Center for an eCommerce Software company, not quite as exciting as my side gig as a booking agent but I am definitely a nerd at heart! My husband, Andrew, my 2 sons Jordan and Jacob and I moved to Texas for a promotion in my career in July of 2017 and the first thing I realized was that I was in the music hub of the world! From a child I wanted to somehow be in the music scene, I could sing but that wasn’t it, I didn’t really need the spotlight, I just wanted to be someone who helped make the magic happen. I instantly started attending local music shows and and started making friends with the musicians. I became very close to who is now one of my best friends, Chris Cunningham. I was in awe of his talent and felt like so many more needed to hear his voice and extraordinary song writing abilities. Chris told me his story of how he started playing music at 15, he had some success, but life got in the way and he had put it down for the most part in order to be able to provide for his family, full time musician just wasn’t cutting it. I couldn’t have that, I told him that I would do my best to help however I could, promote, book shows, anything. I immediately went to work reaching out to venues, anywhere from far west DFW to far East. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but it must have worked because the shows started piling in. Word got out fast and next thing I know, Seth Jones, Michael Summers and Dakota Ritter reached out and asked if I wouldn’t mind helping them book some shows too. Many more followed suit. My husband came up with the idea to create a brand out of what I had been doing and suggested naming it Rusty Spurs Management. This brought me to tears, bringing my family legacy full circle was the most amazing thing I could do. Once I told the guys this, they immediately supported the idea and were more than happy to be a part of Rusty Spurs. Dakota Ritter helped with my logo and business cards, I made a Linktree account with links to my 4 artists and created social media handles. I booked my first show for Chris Cunningham in April, since then I have booked 156 shows, for 27 artists, totaling over $55k. My Linktree now has links for 12 artists but I still book for my list of 27 and have submissions from many more. It’s not an easy job and it doesn’t make me much money but the appreciation from my artists and helping them grow is absolutely worth it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First off, my friends LOVE visiting Texas, who wouldn’t? When they come, I always take them to some of my booked shows. I have residencies from Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Taco Dive Winnsboro and even up into Oklahoma at Mountain Fork Brewery that we frequent. The people I work with at these places are always so grateful and welcoming and they have become homes away from home. I also love taking my friends to many of the fun little downtown areas in DFW, some of my favorites are McKinney and Grapevine, where you can find great shopping, great food and a lots of delicious local wine and beer! Oh! And I absolutely cannot forget Fort Worth Stockyards, that’s always our go to for new visitors, you can’t leave Texas without a good longhorn cattle drive! Every time we go I make sure to stop at Chief Records to buy new vinyl for our record collection.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I most definitely owe my passion for music to my late father Lynn Nelson and my aunt Sandy Nelson, who is still rocking gigs out in the USVI. I inherited my drive and determination for success from my mother who also passed last June, she didn’t really get to see my music venture evolve but I know she is watching down with great pride. In addition to them, there are many of my friends and family who have encouraged and supported me in this journey. Most importantly, my amazing husband Andrew. He loves the music scene almost as much as I do and helps every way he can. He is always first to jump up and help the artists unload, set up, break down and load up equipment. He makes sure their drinks are full (the boys love their whiskey!) and they have everything they need for a successful show. My son, Jordan, is an amazing photographer and always captures phenomenal shots of the shows and creates awesome graphic flyers for me to use to promote gigs on our social media. At the end of the day though, I really do have to thank Chris Cunningham for believing in me and giving me a chance to help contribute to his success and opening the door for me to continue to do so for many, many more.

Website: https://linktr.ee/rustyspursmanagement

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rustyspursmanagementtx/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rustyspursmanagementtx

Image Credits
My son does all our professional photography. His name is Jordan Ancic