Page 66 - ION Indie Magazine JulyAugust 2020

Webster grew up in Arizona listening to the Buck Owens’ owned country music radio station, KNIX. Phoenix, Arizona,
was and still is a major market for country music, which means many top acts route their touring through the area. As
an early fan of country music, he would drive to the venues early in the afternoon, walk through the backstage door,
then sit and watch the artists do their soundchecks, and ultimately meet them in person. Since he was still a minor
and would not be allowed admission to the shows, this was a way he could still see the stars. On one occasion, Dottie
West came to town and the air conditioner had broken down on her bus. Kirt knew a neighbor that repaired A/C
systems, so he went to a payphone and called his neighbor to ask him for help in fixing the unit (Phoenix is brutally hot
in those summer months). As fate would have it, Dottie and her crew drove the bus to Kirt’s parents’ house and had
tea and visited with his mom while the neighbor completed the work. Impressed with her industrious young fan, Dottie
asked him if he was planning to attend her show that night. Explaining he couldn't get access due to his being a minor,
Dottie gave him his own personal backstage pass so he could come as her guest. Kirt had a revelation after that! For
any artist coming to town, he would go buy their cassette, take out the insert, laminate it, punch a hole at the top, and
hang it around his neck! What happened next? He was backstage at almost every show that came to town. As time
went by, many of the artists would give Kirt a legitimate pass and as he collected those, artists would see him wearing
them and figure he was of some importance. So, they too would give him a pass. It was the fledging birth of a Nashville
dream.

Turning 20, Kirt had by this time saved up enough money to move to Nashville. He announced to his surprised mom
that he was going to move to Nashville and go work for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Armed with no college
education, no degrees, no job prospects, he drove 28 hours straight from Phoenix to Nashville with the intent to set
up shop. Shortly after arriving Nashville in January 1996, Webster attended the Country Radio Seminar, where he
revisited with hitmaker Clay Walker. Clint immediately offered him a job handling merchandise sales on the road,
which he gladly accepted and did for a year while touring the U.S. and Canada. But this venture wasn’t really what he
aspired to. His desire was to work behind-the-scenes on artists’ careers. Thus, as Clay’s Summer/Winter tour was
coming to an end, Kirt took the bold leap of faith in launching Webster Public Relations. It all started by making cold
calls to rustle artist business. In quick order, he succeeded in signing Janie Fricke, Carl Perkins, and Freddy Fender to
his new PR firm…all in the same day!

Under Kirt's career guidance, Fender would subsequently win 2 Grammy Awards, thanks in great part to Webster PR’s
imaginative publicity plan. With loyalty as his hallmark, Kirt worked for both Freddy Fender and Carl Perkins until their
passing, and to this day, continues to oversee career strategy for Janie Fricke’s amazing career. It’s worth noting that
with Carl Perkins’ passing in January 1998, Kirt succeeded in orchestrating many of the top names in music, including
such names as the late-Beatles’ member George Harrison, Ricky Skaggs, Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna. He capped the line-
up with former Beatle Paul McCartney on video and coordinated this gathering of music powerhouses in Jackson,
Tennessee, in order to celebrate the beloved legend in a Carl Perkins star-studded final tribute.

From there, Kirt set his sights on several major artists, including Hank Williams Jr., who was rumored to be looking for
new publicity representation. Setting a meeting with Hank's personal manager, Merle Kilgore, Kirt went confidentially
into the conversation with a pre-developed career plan to be Hank's new publicist. It worked! The meeting turned into
dinner at a restaurant. Kilgore invited Webster to the Kentucky State Fair, where both Toby Keith and Montgomery
Gentry were opening for Hank. On the bus, Merle introduced Kirt to Jr. as “his new publicist.” Hank said, "Well, what
does he do?" Merle said, "He gets you in the paper and things." To which Hank replied, "Oh.” And that was it! The deal
was sealed! Merle said to Kirt, "Send me a statement…you start today.” Thus, was the successful beginning of a stellar
17-year relationship.

With the signing of Hank Jr., Webster PR gained a lot of attention and notoriety for presenting an artist of that
magnitude on his roster. Shortly after, he began working with Kid Rock and still remains a very close friend. Kilgore’s
trust for Webster was so strong that an introduction to Johnny Cash’s longtime manager, Lou Robin, was made for
Webster to handle projects for Cash. Webster worked closely with Robin during Cash’s last public appearance at the
IEBA conference and subsequently, both funeral and memorials for June Carter and Johnny Cash. Webster’s work was
noted in the book, “The Man Called Cash,” which chronicled how Kirt developed a valued and personal friendship with
Johnny and June.