Tag: McKamey legacy

Holding to Truth: McKamey Legacy Revives Southern Gospel Sound

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (June 17, 2025) — Few tasks are more difficult in the world of music than striking the right balance between embracing the legacy of a great artist and using it as the foundation for a new generation of music. Summoned into a musical ministry by their own devotion to the canon of Southern Gospel’s beloved McKameys, McKamey Legacy â€” Ruben and Peg McKamey Bean’s daughter, Connie Fortner, her husband Roger and son Eli â€” first drew praise for their ability to blend the old and new in 2022 with their self-titled debut for Horizon Records. Now the trio announces with Holding to Truth, another offering that both extends and renews the familiar McKameys sound.

The album is now available for pre-save/add ahead of its August 1 release.

With homespun yet well-crafted backing on guitars, bass and drums by Roger and Eli, supplemented with just a few additional touches from pianists Jeff Collins and Tyler Vestal, Josh Swift (dobro), acclaimed fiddler Andy Leftwich and legendary multi-instrumentalist David Johnson, Holding to Truth keeps its focus squarely on the signature blend of voices and the enduring Gospel messages they deliver. Indeed, from the opening “To God It’s Nothing New” and its assertive vocal, upbeat energy and powerful theme:

We are always in God’s protection, even in the darkest night
Just when everything goes wrong, He can make it right
Though the winds of the world blow strong and clouds obstruct our view
We are safe in His shelter, to God it’s nothing new 

it’s clear that Holding to Truth is perfectly named.

“We are so excited for our new project to be released,” the trio enthuses. “We believe we have a great variety of songs that will help and encourage all who listen. The songs are brand new, with only a couple of older McKamey songs. The styles range from upbeat, to ballad—to even some bluegrass—but they all have a message of Hope for today.  

“We were also blessed to bring the rest of the original group back (The McKameys) to record a song with us. In reminiscing on God’s goodness through the years, we were reminded we are not home yet and there is still work to do…go tell the Gospel story and carry on. We pray that McKamey Legacy continues doing this in this project and in our ministry and that you will be encouraged and blessed.”Pre-save/add Holding to Truth HERE.

About McKamey Legacy
McKamey Legacy is a family trio from Clinton, Tennessee that came to be after 39 years of full-time touring with the rest of their family, The McKameys. After that group retired in 2019, and after much prayer, group members Connie Fortner (Ruben and Peg’s daughter), her husband, Roger Fortner and their son, Elijah Fortner felt the call from God to continue the legacy of their family and they began traveling and singing again in 2021 as McKamey Legacy. The group will be touring on a part-time basis, performing songs that were loved and most requested from their McKamey days as well as some new songs that fit their message. Sharing the Gospel in song to a lost world and sharing the message of hope to discouraged Christians is their goal, following God in everything that they do and bringing Glory to God in all things done by them.

The Inspirations, McKamey Legacywin Singing News Fan Awards

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SPECIAL CROSSROADS RECORDS

Arden, North Carolina (October 5, 2022) — Horizon Records artists The Inspirations and McKamey Legacy are winners of Singing News Fan Awards this year. The awards were presented last week at the National Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

The Inspirations’ album, What A Wonderful Time LIVE, was named Favorite Album of the year. The album — recorded at NQC in 2020 â€” highlights the newest generation of members, Roland Kesterson, lead vocal; Isaac Moore, tenor vocal; Wyatt Austin, bass vocal; and Luke Vaught, baritone vocal and keyboard; and captures the energy they bring to the stage. 

“We are honored that our fans voted our album the favorite of the year. This album will always be special to us as being our first with this lineup, and for it to go down in history as winning album of the year is just confirmation that we are doing what God wants as well as what our fans want,” says Kesterson. “It’s our prayer that we be better servants than better singers. Thank you so much to all who support us in what we do as we continue to promote the gospel to this world that we live in.”

Bass singer Wyatt Austin received further honors as he was named Favorite Young Artist. “To say I was surprised is an understatement,” he says. “I am extremely honored for the support that you all have shown me and I love each and every one of you! This is a memory I will never forget, thank you!”

McKamey Legacy, who released their self-titled album earlier this year, was voted Favorite New Artist. The group picked up where Southern Gospel legends The McKameys left off and is composed of Ruben and Peg McKamey’s daughter, Connie Fortner, her husband, Roger, and their son, Elijah, who were already integral contributors to The McKameys’ sound.

“We are truly honored by the love and support from each and everyone who voted for McKamey Legacy in the Singing News Fan Awards for Favorite New Artist,” they say. “We were surprised, but pleasantly surprised by this honor and we pray that we will continue to carry the gospel in song that is pleasing to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!”

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McKamey Legacy carries on tradition on new album

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Arden, North Carolina (April 11, 2022) — Like a picture, a well-chosen name for a music group can be worth a thousand words — and to prove the point, one need look no farther than McKamey Legacy.  In its simplicity, the name announces that the great Southern Gospel heritage of The McKameys, one of the music’s most beloved artists, is in the hands of a new generation, committed to honoring that legacy while carrying it forward into the future. And now, both the fidelity and creativity embodied in that commitment is fully revealed with the release of McKamey Legacy’s debut album for Horizon Records â€” the label which served as home to The McKameys for the last half of their decades-long recording career. The self-titled album is now available for pre-save, add or order ahead of its May 27 release. 

Not surprisingly, McKamey Legacy starts off by immersing the listener in the new group’s approach to The McKameys’ voluminous song catalog. Indeed, the very opening notes to the first song, “The Message,” faithfully echo those of the original version, even as the new group recasts it as a female lead that features Connie Fortner, Ruben and Peg McKamey Bean’s daughter. Fittingly, the song is one of many written for The McKameys by Fortner’s sister, Sheryl Farris, as are the next two — “Always” and “I Will Trust You Lord.” Yet McKamey Legacy also serve notice that the trio — Connie, husband Roger and their son, Eli—are not content to recreate the past. Indeed, new songs lie at the heart of McKamey Legacy, with its interior half given over to fresh material, including the first single, “Still” â€” appropriately enough, a brand new song from Farris. The project closes by returning to The McKameys’ songbook with two old favorites, 1991’s “The Rising of the Son” and 1984’s “Dust On The Altar.”  

To those familiar with The McKameys, McKamey Legacy’s simple, sturdy arrangements will sound immediately familiar — as they should, given the many years that Roger and Eli, who are responsible for most of the instrumental work here, spent with the group. Once again, though, a deeper listen reveals that the classic sound is being tastefully and reverently updated for modern ears, with subtle touches that underline McKamey Legacy’s determination to go beyond easy recapitulation. From start to finish, McKamey Legacy is a project that wraps its timeless gospel messages in a powerful blend of old and new.  

“We are so excited about the release of our first project,” the group enthuses. “This project has a blend of old McKamey favorites, as well as a few new songs that have never been recorded before. We hope and pray that each song on this project brings comfort, peace and hope to each and everyone who listens to it, and we pray that every part of it brings glory to God, for He is the one who put this ‘legacy’ together.”

Pre-order, add or save McKamey Legacy HERE.