Owensboro-based band Sons of Habit has taken another major step in its fast-moving rise, officially signing with global talent agency WME and landing a record deal with Republic Records.
“It’s been a crazy year,” said frontman Mitchell Douglas. “We’ve been together just about a year now on the dot. WME is a booking agency that serves professional athletes, models, and a lot of musicians; they had reached out to us via Instagram.”
Evan Miller was working for WME at the time and arranged the meeting. Douglas said the rest was history.
The band finalized the deal this summer, joining a roster that Douglas said includes Chris Stapleton, Garth Brooks, Luke Combs, Adele, Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, and Nicki Minaj. He added that the partnership has already opened doors across the country.
“They do so much for us. They book us all over the country, and we made it finally official, signed in writing,” Douglas said. “It’s been amazing.”
WME agent Adam Fisher now oversees the band’s bookings, while Miller left the agency to become Sons of Habit’s day-to-day manager.
Guitarist Hagan Edge said the support from WME has been instrumental.
“They’ve been great to us,” Edge said. “They were one of the first members to join our team, and they’ve been unreal. Our agent over there, Adam Fisher, has been scrambling left and right to get us shows, so we can’t thank him enough for his work, and he’s just been an absolute beast. Janelle Flint has been awesome, too. We can’t thank the WME team enough because they’ve been just so good to us.”
Patrick, who plays banjo and rhythm guitar, said the deal gives the group new reach.
“It’s very cool to be a part of WME, getting to chase my dream, and having people in our corner like them is really a big help to our band. This means that we are able to be booked at a global level, and they can help us get more big-time shows,” he said.
Alongside their booking deal, Sons of Habit has also signed with Republic Records under the MCA Nashville branch. Douglas said their first single under the label, Fool’s Gold, was released last week.
“Fool’s Gold … was our first release with the label, which has done just amazing so far,” Douglas said. “It’s gotten playlisted on several different services — I think it’s been in 15 playlists in the first week, which is just crazy throughout Spotify and Apple Music and different platforms.”
The signing builds on the band’s breakout momentum since releasing Madeline in 2024. They followed with a debut EP, “Nostalgia,” in January, and recently performed a hometown show at the Owensboro Sportscenter, opening for country star Ernest.
“We were fired up to play a hometown show,” Edge said. “All of us grew up going there for basketball games and all sorts of stuff. So playing with a name like Ernest, I mean, it was unreal. We were fired up about it, and we had a good crowd. So it was a fun time.”
Douglas said the band remains grateful for their Owensboro roots.
“Owensboro just has so many talented musicians, and it’s just the best place to be raised from and to learn from so many people, and just get us in the position we are now,” he said. “We’re all still in Owensboro, which is amazing. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Sons of Habit includes Douglas, Edge, Patrick, Dalton Daniels (lead guitar), and Jeffrey Parrish (drums).
