Balsam Range Releases New Album THE GOSPEL COLLECTION

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."

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.

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