Essential Records is a

contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

record label based in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

. It is a division of the major label

Sony Music Nashville Sony Music Nashville is the country music branch of the Sony Music Group. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Sony Music Nashville includes its three country recording labels Arista Nashville, Columbia Nashville, and RCA Nashville, as well as Ch ...

History

It was established in 1992 and acquired by Brentwood Music in 1993. The label's first big hit release was "

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

" by Jars of Clay in 1996. The song was a hit on mainstream radio before hitting on Christian formats; it hit No. 12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and appeared in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Today it is part of the

, a division of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Artists

Current

The current roster of artists: * Branan Murphy *

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They lat ...

* Elle Limebear * Jamie Kimmett * KB (Essential Sound/ Provident) * Land of Color *

Matt Maher Matthew Guion Maher (born November 10, 1974) is a Canadian contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 ...

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs " More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nom ...

One Sonic Society One Sonic Society is a contemporary worship music collective from around the globe. That collective is composed of songwriter Jason Ingram on vocals, guitar and piano, Delirious? lead guitarist Stu G, Stuart Garrard on guitar and vocals, List of ...

* Red Rocks Worship *

Rhett Walker Rhett Walker Band is a Southern rock and Christian rock band from Nashville. The band released their debut studio album under the Essential Records label on July 10, 2012 called '' Come to the River.'' The band's debut single, "When Mercy Found M ...

Tauren Wells Tauren Gabriel Wells is an American singer, songwriter, and multi instrumentalist from Houston, Texas who is known for making contemporary Christian music. Biography Wells was a founding member of Royal Tailor along with DJ Cox and Blake Hubba ...

Elevation Worship Elevation Worship is a contemporary worship music collective from Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. The collective leads worship in weekend church services at Elevation Church, as well as performing concerts and tours around the U ...

Vertical Worship Vertical Worship, previously known as Vertical Church Band, is a contemporary Christian and worship band from Chicago, Illinois as part of the Harvest Bible Chapel. They are signed to Provident Label Group and have released seven albums through ...

* Zach Williams

Former

* Warren Barfield *

Brooke Barrettsmith Brooke BarrettsmithBrooke Barrettsmith Discography
Jesus Freak Hideou ...

(active) *

Caedmon's Call Caedmon's Call is a contemporary Christian band which fused traditional folk with world music and alternative rock. They were composed of Cliff Young (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Danielle Young (vocals), Garett Buell (percussion), Jeff Mi ...

(disbanded, formerly with

Fair Trade Services Fair Trade Services, formerly known as INO Records, is an American record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, specializing in Contemporary Christian music (CCM). History The label was founded in 1999 as INO Records, a division of M2 Communi ...

) *

Andy Cherry Andrew Paul Cherry (born March 16, 1986, in Bloomington, Indiana) is an American contemporary Christian singer-songwriter raised in Bloomington, Indiana and Charlotte, North Carolina. In 2012 Cherry released the album entitled '' Nothing Left to ...

(active) * Day of Fire (inactive)Jesusfreakhideout.com: Day Of Fire Discography, Day Of Fire Artist Database, Day Of Fire Lyrics
jesusfreakhideout.com. Retrieved April 29, 2011. * FFH (inactive) *

Mia Fieldes Mia Leanne Cherie Fieldes (born 29 January 1983), is an Australian Christian musician. Her first album, ''There's a Reason'', was released by herself in 2009. She signed with Provident Label Group, where their imprint Essential Worship, release ...

Fireflight Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida in 1999. The band was signed by Flicker Records. The band currently consists of Dawn Michele, Glenn and Wendy Drennen and Justin Cox (who left in 2013 but rejoined in 201 ...

(active, with RockFest Records) * Brian Goodell * Grey Holiday (disbanded) * Jars of Clay (active, with Gray Matters) * J Monty (active, independent) *

KJ-52 Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino (born June 26, 1975), better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac,"

(active, with

BEC Records BEC (Brandon Ebel Company) Recordings is a Christian rock record label that is an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. The label was formed in 1997 in partnership with the EMI Christian Music Group. The label promotes bands with more adult Christ ...

) * Los Caminos (inactive) * Leeland (active, with Integrity Music) *

Krystal Meyers Krystal Nicole Meyers is an American Christian rock and contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian singer, songwriter and musician. She released three albums under Essential Records (Christian), Essential Records: ''Krystal Meyers (a ...

(inactive) *

The Neverclaim The Neverclaim is a Christian contemporary Christian music band from Portland, Oregon. They are on the Essential Records label, which they released their first studio album on September 24, 2013, entitled '' The Neverclaim''. Their second album, ...

Bebo Norman Jeffery Stephen "Bebo" Norman (born May 29, 1973) is a former contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, US. His most successful album to date is ''Myself When I Am Real'', which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Fall ...

(active, with

) * Paul Colman Trio (solo act/disbanded) * Chuckie Perez (active, independent) * Andrew Peterson (active, with

Centricity Music Centricity Music is an American contemporary Christian music record label that was founded in Washington. The label's roster includes artists such as Lauren Daigle, Jordan Feliz, Jason Gray, North Point Worship, Andrew Peterson and NEEDTOBREAT ...

) *

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

(active) *

Plumb Plumb may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Plumb'', a 1995 album by Jonatha Brooke & The Story * ''Plumb'' (Plumb album), 1997 * ''Plumb'' (Field Music album), 2012 * , by Romanian poet George Bacovia People * Plumb (surname) * ...

(active, with

Curb Records Curb Records (also known as Asylum-Curb and formerly known as MCG Curb) is an American record label started by Mike Curb, originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963. From 1969 to 1973, Curb merged with MGM Records where Curb served as President of ...

) *

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

(active, independent) * Revive (disbanded) *

Kerrie Roberts Kerrie Roberts (born November 14, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian artist. She has released two albums and one EP under Reunion Records. She has also released a standalone single in 2005. Several songs from her self-titled major labe ...

(active, with Reunion Records) *

The Royal Royal The Royal Royal is a Canadian Christian contemporary worship music duo originating from Ontario, Canada. It is made up of two brothers, Gabriel and Nathan Finochio. The duo was active as of 2011 and is with Essential Records (Christian), Essential ...

(active) *

Royal Tailor Royal Tailor was an American Christian pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2015. History Royal Tailor was started by Tauren Wells, DJ Cox, Jeremy Guzman, and Blake Hubbard while they were attending Indiana Bible College in 2004. Jarrod Ingram ...

(disbanded) * Tal & Acacia (active) *

Tenth Avenue North Tenth Avenue North was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) band from West Palm Beach, Florida that was active from 2000 to 2021. The group was formed while its founding members attended Palm Beach Atlantic University took its name ...

(disbanded) *

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...

(disbanded) * True Vibe (disbanded) * V*Enna (disbanded) *

Rhett Walker Band Rhett Walker Band is a Southern rock and Christian rock band from Nashville. The band released their debut studio album under the Essential Records label on July 10, 2012 called '' Come to the River.'' The band's debut single, "When Mercy Found M ...

(disbanded) * I Am They(Big Future Music Group/Truss Records)

References

External links

* {{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1992 Christian record labels Sony Music