Pictured (L-R): Michael Passons (Avalon), Crystal Lewis, Jennifer Knapp, Nate Cole and Chanel Haynes. Photo: Chrissy Yoder

A new documentary, Safe for the Whole Family: How to Make a Christian Superstar, is spotlighting the untold story behind Nashville’s Contemporary Christian Music boom.

The new film examines the rise of CCM from a faith-based subgenre into a billion-dollar business, and the personal cost paid by many of the artists at the center of it. Directed by filmmaker Jason Ikeler in his feature directorial debut, the documentary is set to bring one of the music industry’s most complicated eras back into focus as it follows three CCM artists as they revisit the industry that launched and sometimes rejected them. Through first-hand accounts from Jennifer Knapp, Michael Passons (Avalon) and Nikki Leonti, the film explores how artists operating inside the Christian music system were often expected to embody strict evangelical ideals, both onstage and off.

Marketed throughout the 90’s and early 2000s as a “safe” alternative to mainstream pop, CCM became deeply intertwined with Nashville’s music business infrastructure, building a powerful ecosystem of labels, radio networks, bookstores, touring circuits, and media outlets. Safe for the Whole Family reveals what happened to the artists who stepped outside the industry’s strict moral expectations, whether they were deemed “sexually impure,” accused of living a “homosexual lifestyle,” spoke out politically, or questioned the systems around them.

The documentary includes interviews with CCM and faith-adjacent artists including Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer), Matt Thiessen (Relient K), Crystal Lewis, Derek Webb (Caedmon’s Call), Nate Cole (Plus One), Chanel Haynes (Trin-i-Tee 5:7) and Semler, whose stories trace the complicated legacy of an industry that helped define evangelical culture at the turn of the millennium.

“CCM wasn’t just a genre – it was an industry built largely out of Nashville,” says Ikeler. “The film looks at what happens when faith, fame, and commerce become inseparable, and what it costs the people inside that system.”

Randy Travis Cuts The Ribbon On His Newly-Dedicated Room At The Nashville Palace

Photo: Maddie Ormand / Warner Records Nashville

Randy Travis officially cut the ribbon on the newly dedicated Randy Travis Room at The Nashville Palace earlier this week at a celebration which also marked the 40th Anniversary of the release of his groundbreaking debut album, Storms of Life. The evening brought together longtime band members, rising country artists, and established performers who paid tribute to Travis by performing many of his greatest hits throughout the night.

The newly unveiled front room features photos spanning Travis’s legendary career alongside a one-of-a-kind large-format vinyl record artwork honoring his legacy. The space will serve as a lasting tribute to Travis and celebrate the bond between Randy and The Nashville Palace, where his journey to stardom first began. The evening marked a deeply full-circle moment for Randy, who had previously worked at the Nashville Place as a cook and dishwasher in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Randy Travis Honored With Randy Travis Day In Tennessee

Pictured (L-R): Kyle Lehning, Paul Overstreet, Tony Gottlieb and Randy Travis. Photo: Rick Murray

The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, the City of Hendersonville, and Sumner County Tourism unveiled a Tennessee Music Pathways Marker outside Moby Dicky’s Restaurant, the former site of Morningstar Sound Studio, honoring the studio’s contribution to Tennessee music history. June 2 marked 40 years to the day since Randy Travis’s debut album, Storms of Life, was recorded at Morningstar and released. To celebrate the occasion, Governor Bill Lee declared it Randy Travis Day, and the waterfront location was officially dedicated as Point Amen. The former recording studio served as the birthplace of 25 No. 1 hits and countless other recordings by some of country music’s most iconic artists, including Randy Travis, Dan Seals, Anne Murray, George Jones, and more, including “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Bop,” two of the most played songs of the 1980s.

In addition to Randy Travis and his wife Mary, Morningstar Sound Studio co-founders Kyle Lehning and Tony Gottlieb, members of the Dan Seals family, Warner Records Nashville Chair and President Cris Lacy, local and state government officials, tourism leaders, and members of the music community gathered for the celebration and dedication ceremony. Lauded songwriter Paul Overstreet performed the massive hit he co-wrote with the late Don Schlitz, which Travis made famous, “Forever and Ever, Amen.”

Priscilla Block Celebrates Wordle VIPs (Very Important Players) For Wordle’s 5th Birthday

To honor five years of Wordle, New York Times Games is bringing fans VIP (Very Important Player) access. New York Times Games and musicians on tour are offering VIP access to music fans nationwide with five summer concerts, in honor of five years by Priscilla Block, Nat and Alex Wolff, Young the Giant and Passion Pit, artists who have been solving alongside fans for the past five years.

Each artist is releasing a unique bonus Wordle puzzle (and hint) for fans using the Create Your Wordle Puzzle feature. Select solvers who submit their answers will receive VIP concert tickets, artist merch, and more at venues across the country. NYT Games is also launching two special anniversary badges, including the first-ever multi-day challenge badge which can be earned by solving five consecutive puzzles from June 15–19, in the lead-up to Wordle’s 5th birthday on June 19.

CRS360 Explores Why Human Connection Remains Country Radio’s Greatest Superpower

Country Radio Seminar’s CRS360 webinar series has released its latest installment, “The Human Connection: Country Radio’s Superpower,” now available on demand. Moderated by CRS Research Committee Co-Chairs Clay Hunnicutt and Justin Chase, the session features insights from Kevin Cassidy and Hal Rood of Strategic Solutions Research. Serving as a targeted follow-up to the perceptual study presented during CRS 2026 in March, the webinar dives deeper into country listeners’ passionate feelings surrounding the role of live, human on-air personalities in country radio. Findings reveal that relatability, companionship, and authenticity continue to resonate strongly with listeners, while AI-generated voices and music curation received significant pushback from the surveyed audience. The discussion will further explore why the human connection remains one of radio’s most powerful differentiators,  extending beyond air talent to playlist curation, imaging, and overall station identity.

“Country radio has always thrived on connection and companionship,” says RJ Curtis, CRS/CRB Executive Director. “This CRS360 conversation will reinforce just how important authentic human voices remain in building trust, loyalty, and emotional connection with listeners.”

Midland. Photo: Harper Smith

Midland and Blue Highway Records will celebrate the band’s upcoming album, Stages, with a rooftop takeover of Friends in Low Places today (June 5) from 3-6 p.m CT.

The event is free and open to the public for those 21 and over. The band will perform new songs from the project for the first time live, as well as host a post-show meet-and-greet and onsite experiences from Rancher Hat Bar, Ranger Station and Rusty Rag Vintage.

Stages will arrive next Friday (June 12) via Blue Highway Records. Previously released tunes off the project include “Marlboro Man,” “Shooting Memories With Tequila,” “Glass Half Empty,” “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey” and the Mackenzie Carpenter duet “I Wish You Would.”

Ken White.

Ken White has exited his position as Executive Director of The International Bluegrass Music Association.

“It has been a dream of a lifetime and a privilege beyond measure serving as the Executive Director of this organization,” White shares. “I gave my whole heart to this music that stole it sixty years ago in my home state of Kentucky. Perhaps I’m most proud of the formidable team I was fortunate to assemble – Elizabeth Dewey, Amy Combs, Maggie O’Connor, Haley Grimm and Amy Beth Hale. You are in good hands with these extraordinary folks. I was preaching the gospel of bluegrass music long before I came to Nashville, and I’ll be singing the tenor part and picking an old Martin forevermore. I continue to be a proud lifetime member of IBMA.”

“Ken is beloved within our family, and we appreciate his dedication to the IBMA. We wish him the very best,” adds Anna Frick, Chair of the IBMA Board of Directors.

Paul Schiminger will serve as Interim Executive Director. Additional information about the executive search process will be shared in the coming weeks.