Personal Managers Hall Of Fame
Celebrating Illustrious Careers in Entertainment, Music, and Talent Management.
Tony Conway, a native of Bardstown, KY, was drawn to the world of entertainment from his earliest years. After graduating from Northwood University in West Baden, IN, Tony opened his first talent agency in Lexington, KY. In 1975, he moved to Nashville, TN, and soon met renowned talent agent, Buddy Lee. Lee quickly took notice of the energetic and driven young Conway and asked him to come to work for him at Buddy Lee Attractions.
Tony Conway
Inducted 2025
In 1987, Conway was named President of Buddy Lee Attractions, and he eventually became CEO and co-owner of the company in 1998. During his tenure at BLA, Conway represented some of music’s most beloved and legendary artists, including Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, The Highwaymen (Willie, Johnny, Kris, and Waylon), Bill Monroe, The Dixie Chicks, Roy Orbison, George Strait, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Ronnie Milsap and Emmylou Harris. Tony has helped guide the successful careers of some of Country Music’s biggest stars, such as Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Tracy Lawrence, Jason Aldean, Lorrie Morgan, Sawyer Brown, Miranda Lambert, Jamey Johnson, Ricky Van Shelton, and John Michael Montgomery among others. Some major successful tours booked by Conway include The Highwaymen Featuring Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings; Neil Young & Crazy Horse; Garth Brooks’ World Tour; and The Dixie Chicks World Tour.
Tony Conway is widely recognized as a leader in the production area of live entertainment. The coordinator of the very first FarmAid show, held in 1985, Conway has worked closely with many of those shows since. He was also Executive Producer for the annual CMA Music Festival (formerly Fan Fair) for eleven years and was instrumental in moving the festival from the old Nashville Fairgrounds to its current downtown Nashville campus.
The recipient of numerous industry awards, Conway has been honored with the following: two-time CMA-SRO Agent of the Year, Performance Magazine Agent of the Year, four-time Nominee for Pollstar/Third Coast Agent of the Year, and both the Hubert Long Lifetime Achievement Award from the NATD as well as the Colonel Tom Parker Lifetime Achievement Award. He also received the IEBA Talent Agent of the Year
Award and was a 2017 inductee into the IEBA Hall of Fame. Tony was recognized as Volunteer of the Year by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and also was a recipient of the CMA President’s Award for leading the redesign and transformation of Fan Fair to the CMA Music Festival. Tony received the CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
In 2010, Tony took his 35 years of experience and industry contacts and formed Conway Entertainment Group/Ontourage Management. With this new venture, Conway draws upon his past as he embraces a future that fully utilizes his strengths in artist touring, personal management and live event production. While
Conway Entertainment Group functions as a boutique agency, Tony and Ontourage Management currently manage ALABAMA, Lorrie Morgan, Randy Travis, Exile, The Heels and The Red Clay Strays.
Current Board and Organization Memberships: Academy of Country Music (ACM), Country Music Association (CMA) (Past President and Chairman of the Board), International Association of Fairs and Expositions (IAFE), International Entertainment Buyers Association (IEBA), Leadership Music, Leadership Nashville, MusiCares (Nashville Board of Directors), Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce (Former Chair Music, Arts and Entertainment), Nashville Association of Talent Directors (NATD) (Past President), National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), T.J.Martell Foundation (Past President), and W.O. Smith School of Music (Board and Past President).
Source: Conway Entertainment Group