Tag: reviews

Something’s Goin’ On: Anthem Edition finds its voice in faith and harmony

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AMY TURNER

There comes a time in every gospel quartet’s evolution when the songs stop being just songs and start being confessions. For Anthem Edition, that moment arrived while they were combing through material for their upcoming Sonlite Records EP, Something’s Goin’ On, out August 28.

“When we started searching for songs to record, each member of the group had songs that truly spoke to where they are in life right now,” says Tim Rackley, the group’s founder and a member since its earliest days as The Old Paths back in 2003. “We knew, if the songs moved us in a powerful way, they would move the listeners as well.”

That’s not marketing language; it’s a philosophy Rackley has clearly built a career on. “You cannot deliver a song fully if you don’t feel it yourself,” he says, and it shows in how the seven-track collection comes together. Three songs have already made their way into the world, including “He Is Who He Is,” which is climbing the charts as we speak. The other four are new, and together the whole project moves like a conversation, up-tempo celebration giving way to something quieter, then rising again.

The EP opens and closes on its most joyful notes, bookended by “He Is Who He Is” and the title track, but the real emotional center lives somewhere in the middle. “He Still Washed His Feet” pulls the group into something intimate and reflective. “Land Of Joy Untold” leans into a relaxed, country-inflected groove. “I’m Another Lazarus” plays like a testimony shouted from the rooftops. It’s a group finding range, not just repeating a formula.

I am saved, I’m a living testimony of His grace
I’m the evidence of what the Blood can change
That sins can be erased
And it’s all because of mercy I am saved
I am saved

Then there’s “I Am Saved,” the project’s focus track and, by Rackley’s account, its clearest statement of purpose. Producer Roger Talley brought contemporary textures into the arrangement without losing what makes a quartet chorus hit the way it does. The lyrics don’t dress up the message:

“Filled with strong songs, great harmonies, and messages that point people to Christ, this project blends the best of Southern Gospel tradition with a fresh sound for today’s listeners,” Rackley says. “From start to finish, these songs encourage, inspire, and remind us of God’s faithfulness. Something’s Goin’ On shows just how far this lineup has come.”

That distance is worth sitting with. What began in 2003 as a trio called The Old Paths, founded by Roark and Rackley, grew into a quartet and eventually national recognition. Signing with Crossroad Music’s Sonlite Records in 2012 led to the breakout album Right Now, two number one hits, and a Singing News Fan Award for Favorite New Quartet. There was a hiatus in 2015, a return to the road in 2017, and then, in late 2022, a full rebrand: The Old Paths became Anthem Edition, with Andrew Utech stepping in on bass. Cameron Edens joined as tenor in the fall of 2023, filling out the lineup that now sings these songs like they mean them, because, according to Rackley, they do.

Something’s Goin’ On is available for pre-save now, ahead of its August 28 release on Sonlite Records.

Steve Ladd on the mend after hip surgery, eager to get back to what he calls his calling

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AMY TURNER

Steve Ladd has spent his life singing about redemption, and this summer, he’s living out a smaller version of that story: recovery.

The artist, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and was once nominated for New Artist of the Year by the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, underwent a full hip replacement at the end of June. It wasn’t a routine procedure. Ladd had surgery on the same hip as a child, and the old complications resurfaced on the operating table. According to a Facebook post by his wife, Meagan, the surgery ran about an hour longer than doctors had planned.

Still, Ladd came through it, and by all accounts, he’s bouncing back fast. He’s already deep into physical therapy, and the reports have been encouraging. On Monday, he shared the news himself in a Facebook post that read like classic Ladd: equal parts gratitude and gospel fire.

“Therapist just left. He said everything looked great and that I’m doing good (movement wise),” he wrote. “I’m ready to get back to doing what I love to do and what I’m called to do… SING! Maybe this new hip will help me sing better?!”

That sense of calling has defined Ladd’s career for years. His music has always leaned into themes of faith and restoration, and his latest single, “Mercy Seat,” carries that same thread forward, exploring spiritual redemption, forgiveness, and what Ladd describes as unconditional freedom found through Jesus.

For an artist whose whole catalogue circles back to grace and second chances, a hip that’s giving him a second chance of its own feels almost fitting. Fans who’ve followed Ladd’s journey through the Gospel Music world will recognize the tone: humour, humility, and an eagerness to get back to the stage.

For now, Ladd is focused on healing. But if his Facebook post is any indication, it won’t be long before he’s back on the road, mic in hand, doing the thing he’s always said he was made to do.

The King James Boys release new bluegrass gospel single “Everything Heaven Won’t Be”

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Some songs bring comfort, the kind that comes from a song that doesn’t pretend life is easy, but reminds you that none of it lasts forever. That’s the territory The King James Boys are working in with their new single, “Everything Heaven Won’t Be,” the latest cut to be pulled from their celebrated record Get A Transfer.

The band, lineup intact since their 1994 formation in upstate South Carolina, isn’t chasing trends. Randy Spencer handles guitar and lead vocals, his brother Cole Spencer rounds out the harmonies on bass, Curtis Lewis carries the banjo work, and Will Hart fills in mandolin and harmony. More than three decades in, they’ve built their reputation on a simple premise: stay rooted in traditional bluegrass, stay rooted in faith, and let the songs do the convincing.

This one was written by Daryl Mosley, a four-time Songwriter of the Year, who says he never expected to hear his own words come back to him in The King James Boys’ voice. “I’ve been a fan of The King James Boys for a long time, so I’m especially excited that a song I wrote has found its way into their repertoire,” Mosley says. “They absolutely made this song their own! I’m grateful they liked the song and their recording truly knocks it out of the park!”

The song itself plays a clever trick. It runs through the everyday jobs and worries that eat up people’s attention, the deadlines, the anxieties, the noise, and then quietly sets all of it against the backdrop of eternity, where none of that weight exists. It’s not a heavy-handed sermon; it’s more of an invitation, nudging listeners toward what Mosley and the band clearly believe sticks around: faith, relationships, and the long view.

“Everything Heaven Won’t Be” doesn’t arrive in a vacuum. It follows a run of singles from Get A Transfer that have already found an audience, including “Glory Ride,” “Ready and Waiting,” “The News That Never Changes,” “The Best Selling Book Of All Time,” and “Power of Prayer.” The album as a whole has quietly become one of the most decorated of the group’s career, landing multiple No. 1 spots on both the Roots Music Report Charts and the Bluegrass Today Gospel Weekly Airplay Chart. “The Best Selling Book Of All Time,” written by Christopher Burton, has gone further still, advancing to the second round of voting on the IBMA Awards ballot.

For a band thirty years into its run, that kind of momentum isn’t an accident. It’s the product of consistency: the same lineup, the same convictions, and a catalogue that keeps finding new listeners without ever needing to chase them.

Anthem Edition turns up the tempo with country-tinged gospel release

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Anthem Edition has released a new single that marks a noticeable shift in tone from the group’s previous work, trading reverence for momentum and leaning into country instrumentation to carry its message.

The track, “Something’s Going On ‘Round Here,” follows “In Christ Alone,” a more stately and reflective release. Where that song settled into solemnity, the new single opens with a guitar lick and builds through three verses, passing the vocal lead between members as the energy climbs.

The song is built around the figure of Jesus moving through Galilee, rendered not as a theological treatise but as word-of-mouth excitement, the kind of talk that spreads through a town before anyone fully understands what they are witnessing. Its chorus lands somewhere between storytelling and invitation: Something’s going, going on ’round here / Folks are gatherin’ in from far and near.

Much of the track’s texture comes from studio musician David Johnson, who plays both resonator guitar and fiddle. The instrumentation gives the song a country flavour that sets it apart from the smoother production often associated with Southern Gospel, and reportedly gives it a different kind of life in live performance. Tim Rackley, one of the group’s founding members, has said the song has already begun building energy at concerts where it has been tested.

The single was written by Kenna Turner West, Jason Cox, and Belinda Smith, three writers with established records in Gospel music. The song is available in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music, and TIDAL.

Anthem Edition has a longer history than its current name suggests. The group formed in 2003 as The Old Paths, founded by Rackley and Doug Roark. It operated as a trio before expanding to a quartet, eventually signing with Sonlite Records in 2012. That period produced two number-one hits and a Singing News Fan Award for Favourite New Quartet.

The group went on hiatus in 2015 and returned to touring in 2017. In late 2022, it rebranded as Anthem Edition and brought on Andrew Utech as bass vocalist. Tenor Cameron Edens joined in the fall of 2023, completing the current lineup.

Lauren Talley releases “Mercy” from Elevation Worship’s Grammy-winning album

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Lauren Talley has released a new single, “Mercy,” taken from Elevation Worship’s GRAMMY- and Dove Award-winning album Old Church Basement. The release follows last month’s “Walls,” her first new music for Horizon Records since A Lauren Talley Christmas in 2024.

The recording was produced by Jason Webb. Talley’s version keeps the keyboard-driven feel of the original but pulls back on its larger sound, holding instead to the quieter, confessional tone of the song’s opening. Even as Webb brings in a supporting vocal chorus, the arrangement keeps the listener close to the words, a lyric that speaks plainly about personal redemption and the grace of God.

Talley has said the song became personal to her long after she first heard it. She recalls being asked by a young woman at her church to play piano while the woman sang it. “I loved the song then,” Talley said, “but I didn’t live it until later.” Now, she says, the song belongs to her in a different way. “When you live a song, you have to sing it. It’s my story; it’s everyone’s story of redemption.”

Talley is no newcomer to Gospel music. Born into a musical family, she sang her first solo at age two, stepping onto the stage during a family concert. She went on to become a member of the family group The Talleys, contributing lead vocals to eleven number one hits. In 2015, The Talleys received a Dove Award for their song “Hidden Heroes.”

Her solo career has been equally productive. She has recorded seven solo albums, including a 2019 release of two albums at the same time — Glorious God: Songs of Worship and Wonder and Loudest Praise: Hymns of Mercy, Love and Grace. Her 2017 album The Gospel reached number one on Billboard’s Southern Gospel chart. She is also the author of Songs in the Night, a devotional book connected to her 2010 album of the same name. In 2014, she received an honorary doctorate in Worship Arts from John Wesley University.

Beyond her own recording work, Talley is well known to audiences through her appearances on Gaither Homecoming videos and concerts, RFD-TV’s The Music City Show, and In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley. She also performs at women’s conferences and events across the country, both as a singer and a speaker.