Orangehaus artist Jon McLaughlin will release a new album entitled “Jon McLaughlin” on September 21, 2004. McLaughlin was the first student to sign with Orangehaus Records, Anderson University’s record label. The album will be featured at a release event, September 21, at 8 p.m. in the lobby of Reardon Auditorium on the Anderson University campus. The release event is $5 for the public. One year in the making, Jon’s album brings a pop-rock, jazz and funk groove to the industry, infusing various styles of music together in new and different ways. With piano as its backbone, McLaughlin blends lyrics, life stories, and his longing for future days into a collaboration of 10 unique songs.

Jon McLaughlin, a native of Anderson, Ind., began playing the piano at age 5. Always attracted to music, Jon began to develop his song writing talents during high school and continued through college. He is currently a senior at AU and is majoring in music business.

Orangehaus Records provides an environment where students are developed and empowered to gain experience in the recording industry. Anderson University students influence every aspect of Orangehaus Records, such as developing, promoting, marketing and booking student musicians. Although Orangehaus Records provides students the experience of working with an actual record label, the process is viewed as an academic experience. Orangehaus Records is one of only a few professional record labels affiliated with a university in the United States.

Funding for Orangehaus Records was made possible through a $25,000 campus grant established by Dr. Glenn Falls, professor emeritus of Business and Economics, which annually awards a departmental initiative designed to make a specific program more distinctive. The Anderson University music business major includes more than 59 students and is the largest major in the Department of Music. Now, two years later, Orangehaus is preparing to launch an accomplished artist, and another fellow student, into the main stream music industry. Artist Jon McLaughlin’s self-titled album is set to be released in September with marketing, production, and distribution support by the label’s working staff of students.