On May 1, songplugging group Chicks With Hits will celebrate 20 years with a party at BMI’s Nashville office.

Mighty Kimmy Jo Music’s Kim Jones and Wrensong/Rezonant Publishing’s Abbe Nameche founded the group two decades ago, as a way for female independent music publishers to gain the same attention as larger music publishers from producers, A&R executives and artists.

The group’s lineup has included publishing powerhouses such as co-founders Nameche and Jones, as well as Celia Froehlig, Courtney Crist, Debbie Zavitson, Diana Maher, Janie West, Jewel Coburn, Judy Harris, Leslie T. DiPiero, Lisa Johnson, Melanie Howard, Ree Guyer, Robin Palmer, Stephanie Cox, Tracy Gershon, Lisa Ramsey-Perkins, Katherine B. Church, Karen Conrad, Shawn Heflin, and Whitney Daane.

“We came up with the idea of doing a whole woman’s group,” recalls Jones. “Whitney’s catalog was very contemporary, mine was very contemporary and we were in a meeting at Sony and they wanted to hear some really country songs. Neither of us really had really country songs in our catalogs at the time, so after the meeting, we thought we should ask [Harlan Howard Songs’] Melanie Howard. So that’s how we started getting into gear to find catalogs that represented more country material, and from that point, the idea grew.”

“Hatched,” supplied Daane.

Together, the women created a song pitching “one-stop shop,” where a group of female song pluggers from different organizations pitch songs for a particular artist’s project in one pitch meeting.

Among the hits that these Chicks With Hits sessions have produced include Jo Dee Messina’s “Bring on the Rain,” Joe Nichols’ “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” Martina McBride’s “In My Daughter’s Eyes,” and more.

Over the past two decades, the group has gone to some memorable lengths to gain attention in Nashville’s close-knit music industry, including holding an Easter Parade down the streets of Music Row, complete with a trailer, hay bales and two people dressed as chickens. Other times, they would welcome all the female A&R executives out for a boat party and song pitching event.

“We did a CD of drinking songs for St. Patrick’s Day, and a collection called ‘Songs You’re Afraid To Cut’ for Halloween,” recalls Nameche.

“Whatever we could do to get their attention, we would do,” said Daane. “We did a drinking game. If a producer kept a song he had to do a shot, and if he passed on a song, all the Chicks [members] had to do a shot. Another time, we did a cattle call of producers at BMI’s conference room. If they kept a song, they had to make a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank. Everybody was so generous.”

In our first 10 years, we basically did whatever we needed to do to be able to get our songs heard. Everyone, Garth, Tim McGraw, Dixie Chicks, Reba, Keith Urban, would meet,” Jones says. They mentioned a recent meeting with Trisha Yearwood, who is back in the studio working on new music.

The members of the group are as deeply devoted to their fellow members as they are competitive with their songs—and often, that means championing songs from other Chicks With Hits members.

“I played ‘Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off’ for [producer and label exec] Tony Brown to pitch to Brooks & Dunn,” recalls Judy Harris. Brown, who was with Universal South at the time, didn’t feel the song fit the duo, but he felt it was a good match for Joe Nichols. The song would go on to be a No. 1 hit.

The Chicks With Hits members say that in addition to the chart-topping successes they’ve had over the past two decades, perhaps an even bigger success has come personally.

“We have been there for so many events in each others’ lives,” says Jones. “We’ve supported each other through family members dying, divorces, illnesses, career changes, kids. It’s great to have a group of women who support you professionally and personally.”

At 6 p.m. on May 1, immediately following the 20th anniversary celebration, Change The Conversation will be hosting a Chicks With Hits panel to discuss the state of songwriting and publishing.  To RSVP, email officialchangetheconvo@gmail.com.

The 49th annual Nashville Film Festival has added five new film screenings to the lineup, including a showing of All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records.

The documentary, directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Sean M. Stuart, follows the rise and fall of former retail giant Tower Records. Founded by Russ Solomon in a small town drugstore in 1960, Tower Records would become a retail industry powerhouse with more than 200 stores in 30 countries. In 1999, Tower Records made $1 billion. Less than a decade later, the company filed for bankruptcy. While most attribute the retail store’s fall to the rise of music downloads and later streaming, the documentary explores deeper reasons for the company’s closure.

The opening night for this year’s Nashville Film Festival will also include the musical documentary Out On A Limb, a behind-the-scenes look at rock star Steven Tyler, told through interviews, first-person narrative, and a live performance at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

 

The Nashville Film Festival runs May 10-19 at Regal Hollywood Stadium 27. For more, visit nashvillefilmfestival.org

Dierks Bentley brought The Mountain to Music Row on Wednesday morning, April 25.

At what was billed as an “intimate album preview” held at Southern Ground Studio, the country star talked about his latest project and aired its tracks over the facility’s speakers. The Mountain was largely written and recorded in Telluride, Colorado. Wednesday’s brunch event marked its Nashville debut.

“This whole experience was transformative for me,” said Bentley of making The Mountain. “I felt like we’d gone as far as we could go with Black [his previous album]. So we brought in Jon Randall. He added some really cool elements. We went out to Telluride to write songs and make a record….It was a magical experience.

“I feel like there’s a theme through the album of gratitude and celebration. Being out in the mountains was freeing for me.”

In addition to the celebratory single “Woman Amen,” the collection includes such feel-good tracks as “Living,” “You Can’t Bring Me Down” and “Stranger to Myself.”

“Son of the Sun” is a rambling-man groover with swirling guitar figures. “The Mountain” addresses personal struggles that end in triumph. “Nothing On But the Stars” is a romance, while “Goodbye in Telluride” is about the end of romance. “One Way” is at once breezy and wistful.

Brothers Osborne are his guests on the dynamic, churning rocker “Burning Man,” the likely second single. Brandi Carlile joins him on vocals in the joyous, bluegrass-y “Travelin’ Light,” which also features Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien and Jerry Douglas.

The latter two reappear, providing poetic instrumental backup on the ballad “My Religion.” It is one of three tunes on the collection that Bentley did not co-write. The others are “Burning Man” and the album-closing “How I’m Going Out,” which bids farewell to youth and fame.

Randall and his wife Jessi Alexander co-wrote that finale track. He co-produced the album with Ross Copperman, and the two of them provide instrumental support on many tracks, as does Bush.

The Mountain is slated for release on June 8.

Consignment luxury retailer The RealReal is boosting their presence in Nashville with the listing of hundreds of items straight off the set of Nashville. The flash sale, which began Tuesday, April 24, includes a wardrobe collection compiled since the first days of the drama on ABC.

The RealReal Luxury managers in Nashville Megan Eustis and Lauren Patterson work with local clients who want to consign items from their closet through The RealReal’s white glove service. This exclusive TV project, though, began after the last episode aired on CMT July 26 with RealReal reps sifting through rare finds from Lionsgate.

The offerings include nearly 1,000 women’s items, and 200 mens items, also including jewelry and children’s clothing. The one-of-a-kind pieces will not last long.

Visit TheRealReal.com to browse the flash sale.