Austin Jenkins has been promoted to Vice President, A&R, at Island Records.

He played a key role in signing and developing country-rock singer Wyatt Flores, whose “Please Don’t Go” has tallied 120m+ streams on Spotify, and alt-country singer Medium Build, who has toured with Lewis Capaldi and FINNEAS.

Before joining Island in 2023, Jenkins was a guitarist and songwriter in White Denim, a psychedelic garage-rock band based in Austin, Texas. The band’s fourth album, D, was called “a masterpiece” by AllMusic and a “joyous rampage” by the British magazine Q.

In 2014 Jenkins left the band and co-founded Niles City Sound, a Fort Worth recording studio, with Josh Block and Chris Vivion. Jenkins, Block and Vivion produced Leon Bridges’ Grammy-nominated debut album, Coming Home, and, with Bridges, co-wrote all the songs on the platinum-certified record.

“Austin’s love of music and the creative community is infectious,” said Justin Eshak and Imran Majid, co-CEOs of Island Records, in a joint statement. “He’s a magnet for artists and his presence is critical to the label’s culture and future.”

“Justin and Imran have architected an environment where true artistry flourishes and risk-taking isn’t just encouraged, it’s championed,” said Jenkins. “We have the latitude to really make some noise and amplify the voices of incredible and innovative artists.”