Acclaimed bluegrass group Balsam Range has reliably featured gospel
songs on each of their nine albums, making them an integral part of the
band’s sound and a reflection of the members’ personal faith. Now,
they’ve released The Gospel Collection, an album that features the very best of those recordings released in just over a decade.
Twice named IBMA Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range has built their reputation not only on stellar live performances, but on countless #1 radio singles and albums. And throughout their ascent in the genre, gospel music has been not just a staple, but an essential thread running through the quintet’s entire catalog.
The Gospel Collection includes songs
that range from the traditional to the original, emerging over time to
create a special collection that is both nostalgic and progressive. This
album harkens back to familiar paths, yet also keeps pace with the
times.
Included are songs familiar to the canon like “The Boat of Love,” “Cryin’ Holy Unto the Lord” and “I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling.” But it is Balsam Range’s knack for bringing fresh music to bluegrass that has propelled their careers, and their choices in recording gospel music are no exception. The result is the inclusion of “Wide River to Cross,” “Rise and Shine,” “Row by Row” and the awarded a capella “Stacking Up the Rocks.” They even cross genres to include the Southern Gospel hit, “Wish You Were Here.”
About Balsam Range
The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the
Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning
acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on
the heels of 8 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left
audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from
coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple
appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band collaborated with the
Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which,
Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and
the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Their previous outing, Mountain
Voodoo, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and
remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album
reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including “Blue Collar Dreams,”
which spent three consecutive months at the top. The band most recently
claimed the #1 radio chart spot with their single “The Girl Who
Invented The Wheel.” In addition to winning Entertainer of the Year,
Balsam Range vocalist Buddy Melton won IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year
and bass player Tim Surrett won IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year in 2018.