Reach Music, which represents the catalogs of clients in all genres including Zac Brown, Chuck D, Common, Lisa Loeb, John Mayer, Lindsey Stirling and Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton, has opened its Nashville office.

Reach purchased a two-story townhouse near Music Row on 18th Avenue South at the end of 2021. The new office represents a natural growth for the company and an opportunity to be more front and center as a publisher in the Nashville community.

Reach Music, founded by Michael Closter, originally opened in New York City almost 30 years ago, eventually establishing an office over 10 years ago in Burbank, California.

Reach has also appointed its first Nashville employee, Sarah Feldman, as Director of Creative. She will be involved in all creative matters, including A&R and songwriter collaborations, and will serve as a member of the synch team. Feldman will be working closely with Reach’s newest signings and local writers, including Sierra Hull, Cindy Morgan, Aric Damm of The Brevet and The Lighthouse and the Whaler.

“We initially worked with Sarah Feldman as a local consultant and she did an impressive job supporting our clients and copyrights in all creative matters,” Closter notes. “Once we had set up an office in Nashville, it was a natural progression and perfect scenario to be able to offer Sarah this full-time position.”

Reach’s Nashville office is located at 1028A 18th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212. Feldman can be contacted at sarah@reachmusic.com.

Phil Thornton has been appointed Senior Vice President of Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG).

In his newly created position, Thornton will focus on new business development, signing talent, the development of the label, and media and touring partnerships on behalf of Capitol CMG artists. Thornton assumes his new position on May 3, and will be based at Capitol CMG’s headquarters in Nashville.

Prior to joining Capitol CMG, Thornton was Senior Vice President/General Manager of RCA Inspiration—the Nashville-based gospel music label that operates under Sony Music’s Provident Music Group. Among his recent accomplishments at that label, he signed a deal with Mariah Carey to release a new Christmas song, “Fall In Love At Christmas” featuring Khalid and Kirk Franklin, via her MARIAH imprint; he paired H.E.R. and Tauren Wells for the Grammy-nominated collaboration, “Hold Us Together (Hope Mix);” collaborated with The Orchard to sign Tribl Records, home to genre superstars Maverick City Music; worked with Republic Records and Quality Control Music/Motown for the recording and launch of Lil Baby’s and Kirk Franklin’s “We Win (Space Jam: A New Legacy);” and partnered with Pharrell Williams for his Voices Of Fire choir, which was chronicled in a Netflix documentary series.

Previously, Thornton served as Vice President and General Manager of Urban Inspirational at eOne Music from 2012 through 2016, where he oversaw a diversified list of gospel and R&B artists, including Erica Campbell, Shirley Caesar, Jonathan McReynolds, Tweet and Lalah Hathaway whose album Lalah Hathaway Live held the No. 1 spot on the R&B radio chart for nine weeks and won three Grammy awards.

In 2007, Thornton settled in Los Angeles and partnered with Marcus Spence and Paul Coy Allen to form Ten2One Entertainment, a multimedia, television production, and artist management company. While there, he led the management team and guided the careers of Michael B. Jordan, Faith Evans, Michelle Williams, Kenny Lattimore, and Mack Wilds.

“We are thrilled to welcome Phil to the Capitol CMG team. He has an amazing track record for finding, developing and breaking artists and an entrepreneurial approach that we know will benefit our entire roster,” note the company’s co-presidents, Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy. “We couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead for all of us.”

CMG Chair & CEO Michelle Jubelirer adds, “I’ve known Phil almost since he started in our business, and I’ve watched him channel his ideas, abilities and energies into a great career as a music executive. I’m thrilled that he’s joined Capitol CMG as its Senior Vice President, and I know that his contributions will make the best company in faith-based music an even better one. I look forward to working closely with him, Brad and Hudson in the years ahead.”

“I want to thank Brad, Hudson and Michelle for this incredible opportunity to work at a label group that is the undisputed leader in faith-based music,” Thornton adds. “Joining the Capitol CMG/CMG family, I’ll be working with an amazing array of forward-thinking artists and partners, and drawing upon all of my experience, to create opportunities that will continue to grow our market and impact culture on a global scale. I can’t wait to get started.”

Randy Travis, Warner Music Nashville, and YouTube have teamed up to bring Travis’ More Life documentary to the platform in a seven-part series rolling out every two weeks until July 7. The first episode is available to stream now.

The documentary, which originally premiered on Circle Network, began as an intimate concert special in 2011 to honor the 25th anniversary of Travis’ iconic debut album Storms of Life. As the film was being finalized in 2013, Travis unexpectedly fell ill and suffered a massive stroke, leaving him unable to perform and severely limiting his speech due to aphasia.

The film touches on his storied career, envelopes the final filmed live performance from the legend, and inspires audiences with his story of healing, redemption and faith. It was directed and produced by Shaun Silva and Tacklebox Films with WMN’s Shane Tarleton and Mike Dupree serving as executive producers.

More Life YouTube Release Schedule:
Episode 1 – April 14
Episode 2 – April 28
Episode 3 – May 12
Episode 4 – May 26
Episode 5 – June 9
Episode 6 – June 23
Episode 7 – July 7

Chuck Wicks has delivered his newest project Started in a Bar, a 5-song EP of love songs released through Verge Records.

Four of the five songs on Started in a Bar, which was produced by 20-year Nashville veteran Jimmy Ritchey, were either written or co-written by Wicks and essentially serve as love letters to his wife Kasi.

“This EP speaks to the songwriter side of me and the type of songs I love to write—story songs; real songs; songs that make you think,” Wicks says. “Every single word [of Started in a Bar] is from my life,” he adds. “I’ll never forget when Kasi walked into the same bar as me on a Sunday afternoon in downtown Nashville. We immediately found ourselves in conversation, and the rest was history.”

From paying homage to young love and idyllic hometowns in the south on “Small Towns Do,” to promising his wife to love her like they do in old country songs in “Solid Gold,” Wicks rounds out the EP with a duet featuring rising country superstar Jimmie Allen on the bittersweet classic “On and On,” written by singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop for his 1976 debut album, Careless.

Wicks, whose debut single “Stealing Cinderella” earned him 2007’s highest chart debut for a new country artist, has since found success in numerous segments of the entertainment industry, including as a songwriter, radio show host, and television personality, including a guest appearance on Nashville and as a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Started in a Bar Track List:
Solid Gold (Chuck Wicks)
Small Towns Do (Chuck Wicks)
Started in a Bar (Chuck Wicks)
Old With You (Chuck Wicks)
On and On (Stephen Bishop)

Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley has notched his 21st career No. 1 as “Beers On Me,” featuring Breland and Hardy, hits the top of the Mediabase/Country Aircheck Singles chart and Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart.

“From start to finish this song was a true collaboration, and to do it with Breland and Hardy really means a lot,” Bentley shares. “They both bring something that’s so needed in country music right now and can’t thank the fans and country radio enough for embracing this one. I’m lucky to have gotten a chance to work with these two and it’s cool to be able to celebrate Breland’s first number one song–as an artist and songwriter-with him.”

The single hit the peak of the MusicRow CountryBreakout Radio Chart earlier this year on Feb. 11.

Bentley will launch his 31-city “Beers On Me Tour” with special guests Ashley McBryde and Travis Denning on June 3 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Additionally, his “Seven Peaks Music Festival” will once again return this Labor Day Weekend (Sept. 2-4) in San Luis Valley in Villa Grove, Colorado. Passes go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 22) at 12 p.m. CT.