Reno Gabriel

Some people choose music – in Reno Gabriel’s case, however, it’s probably more accurate to say that music chose him.


He was happily warbling the songs of his future idols before he’d even learned to speak, ­and the small town boy was playing self-written songs at concerts with his band in his early teens. After several years in more hardcore bands, Reno Gabriel took up the acoustic guitar.

He began to write softer songs and discovered a completely new approach to music. After accidentally catching a country music award show on TV, his fate was sealed. He dedicated himself completely to country pop, performed at various concerts in the scene and – after ­learning his craft in different lineups – launched his solo career.

The story of his debut record, however, sounds almost too good to be true. Although he had years of experience as a musician, the young singer was an unknown quantity when he contacted the producer Reto Burrell in the faint hope of a collaboration. The young songwriter could hardly have dreamed that this would result in an entire album, recorded by top Nashville session musicians, who have played on gold records and worked with greats like Keith Urban, Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood.

And so, one of the first and most authentic country pop albums from Switzerland was created in just two short years. “Heart Wide Open” is more than a debut: it is the beliefs of a young artist who dreams of singing his own songs straight from the heart and into the world. With his extremely intimate songs, Reno Gabriel is now setting out to conquer venues both large and small, baring his heart all the while.