The pride of Sylva, North Carolina, bluegrass group Mountain Faith, releases BLUE, their debut project on Mountain Fever Records today. Their first single from the album, "Feelin' Blue," hit radio recently, showcasing the groups singing, playing and instrumental prowess to a national audience.
BLUE offers more insight into the band's unique style and spotlights their ability to combine both traditional and contemporary bluegrass, classic and modern country, folk, acoustic, and contemporary gospel with a touch of rhythm and blues. As a result, the music is pure, fresh and upbeat in a presentation all their own, and recognizable as theirs rather than a formulaic presentation of something that is already out there.
This is also the first album featuring songs written by lead singer Summer McMahan and is the first showing a cross between secular and gospel. BLUE was recorded and produced by Aaron Ramsey.
Mountain Faith is winning fans inside the industry including Knee Deep in Bluegrass radio host Cindy Baucom who said, "After spending 30 years in radio and a lifetime around Bluegrass music, Mountain Faith is the kind of group I love to see emerge. I choose songs for radio based on performance quality, production quality and how it fits the genre……and I have no problem including Mountain Faith because they have all those things going for them. I think singer/fiddler, Summer McMahan is poised to take her music as far as she wants to …..and I will gladly be in her corner every step of the way!”
The release of the album comes on the heels of their recent performance on RFDTV's “Larry’s Country Diner” last month where they fit right into the network's desire to offer viewers wholesome, down-home, family oriented entertainment for their nationally-broadcasted variety show, known for its spontaneity, impromptu dialogue and live-to-tape performances by the best country music artists of yesterday and today.
Longtime performers at Dollywood, the group displays talent beyond their years with impressive chops both instrumentally and vocally, that has kept them performing at the popular entertainment park on a regular basis for much of their 14 years together.
Band members include Sam McMahan on bass, Luke Dotson on guitar along with lead and harmony vocals, new member Cory Piatt on mandolin, Summer McMahan on fiddle along with lead and harmony vocals, and Brayden McMahan on banjo and harmony vocals. Summer's strong vocals are a hallmark of the band, putting her squarely in the middle of some of today's powerhouse young female bluegrass vocalists on the rise. The band raised eyebrows at the last SPBGMA awards as the only band to have all members but one nominated for instrumental awards.
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