Tag: reviews

Michael Booth steps forward with new solo album, “This is now”

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Gospel music lovers have another reason to celebrate. StowTown Records has announced the release of “This Is Now,” a new solo album from Michael Booth, longtime member of the Booth Brothers.

For Booth, the project represents a milestone in self-discovery as a solo artist. “After doing the solo thing for a number of years, I think I’ve finally found my voice; what works and what is effective for me as an individual,” he shares. “It took some time to figure that out, because it’s so different than the trio, but I’ve found the dynamics and lyrical content that I’m looking for.”

Among the album’s highlights are two songs penned by acclaimed songwriter Josh Wilson: “Dream Small” and “That Was Then, This Is Now.” Booth doesn’t hide his admiration for Wilson’s writing. “I could’ve done a whole tribute album to Josh Wilson,” he says. “He’s an incredible artist and writer. It’s like he gets in my head, pulls out my own thoughts, and turns them into songs. I really love these two songs in particular.”

Another standout track, “If Not Today,” carries a special personal history. Originally recorded by the Travelers Quartet, the song was brought back to Booth’s attention by his own father just before a tracking session. Booth then reached out to Charlie Waller, the man who helped introduce the Booth family to audiences years ago, to secure a copy and give the song new life for today’s listeners.

Booth took the reins on production for this album, working alongside Steve Mauldin, with Darrell Toney helping shape the musical vision. “It was a fun experience for me to take control of the whole thing and do exactly what I wanted,” Booth says.

StowTown’s Director of A&R, Mary Alice Lovelace, points to the project as a reflection of Booth’s lifelong calling. “Michael has spent decades developing his ability to connect with people through music and testimony, and this album captures that gift in a very personal way,” she says. “‘This Is Now’ showcases Michael’s distinctive voice and heart for ministry, and we’re honored to share it with listeners.”

Booth’s story in gospel music stretches back to childhood, starting behind a drum kit before he began singing alongside his father, Ron Sr., and brother Ronnie. That path led him to the Booth Brothers, where he’s performed on stages around the world and earned GRAMMY nominations, GMA Dove Awards, and Singing News Fan Awards, among other honors. Now, “This Is Now” gives listeners a closer look at Booth as an individual artist and communicator, carrying that same legacy forward.

“This Is Now” is available now worldwide on digital and streaming platforms.

Autumn Nelon Streetman signs songwriting deal with Daywind Publishing

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

AMY TURNER

Autumn Nelon Streetman, a member of the celebrated Nelon family and a rising voice in Southern Gospel and Christian music, has signed an exclusive songwriting contract with Daywind Publishing, marking a new chapter in her creative career.

The partnership brings Streetman into the Daywind family as a staff writer, a role that will see her crafting new music alongside some of the genre’s most respected voices. For an artist whose roots run deep in gospel music tradition, the signing feels less like a business deal and more like a homecoming.

“Signing with Daywind Publishing feels like coming home,” Streetman said. “You know, they’ve always been family to me, and I’m just so grateful to step into this new season of writing and creating music with people who believe in the songs that God has placed on my heart.”

The announcement comes on the heels of Streetman’s latest single, “I’ll Find You,” released in July. The song was co-written with Joseph Habedank and Kenna Turner West, two established names in the Southern Gospel songwriting community, and reflects the kind of collaborative, faith-driven songwriting Streetman hopes to continue through her new publishing home.

As part of the Nelon family, one of the most enduring names in Southern Gospel music, Streetman carries a musical legacy that spans generations.

Daryl Mosley sings about sobriety and faith on new single “I Won’t Drink To That”

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Daryl Mosley has built a career on songs that feel like they were pulled straight from a small-town front porch, and his newest single continues that tradition, especially those walking their own road to recovery. “I Won’t Drink To That,” out now on all digital and streaming platforms, tells the story of a man who found something worth more than the bottle: a relationship with God that gave him the strength to walk away from addiction for good.

The song arrives as the third release from Mosley’s upcoming album, Little Moments, due out September 18. It follows “She Knew It All” and “One Screen Movie House,” two tracks that already showcased the songwriter’s gift for turning ordinary life into something worth singing about.

Written solely by Mosley, “I Won’t Drink To That” is delivered in his signature laid-back baritone, a voice that has carried more than twenty #1 hits over a career spanning three decades. What sets this song apart is its honesty. Rather than shying away from the struggle of addiction, Mosley leans into it, framing sobriety not as a burden but as a gift, one made possible through faith. For listeners who have walked away from their own battles with the bottle, or who are praying for someone still in the fight, the song offers both comfort and testimony.

The recording features Mosley on lead vocals and bass, joined by a lineup of respected Bluegrass musicians: Danny Roberts on mandolin, Jaelee Roberts on harmony vocals, Jamie Harper on fiddle, Tony Wray on guitar, and Justin Moses on dobro. That instrumentation gives the song a warmth and rootedness that fits its message, faith and healing set against the familiar sounds of home.

Mosley, a native of Waverly, Tennessee, has spent his career writing about small-town life, family, and faith. A four-time Songwriter of the Year, he has performed with groups including New Tradition, The Osborne Brothers, and The Farm Hands. Little Moments, a ten-track collection written or co-written entirely by Mosley (the title track alongside Rick Lang), continues that legacy, pairing modern Bluegrass instrumentation with lyrics that speak plainly to the everyday moments of grace that shape a life.

“I Won’t Drink To That” is streaming now, and Little Moments can be pre-ordered ahead of its September 18 release.

Anthem Edition finds its voice on Something’s Goin’ On

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Anthem Edition didn’t set out to make a survival record, but that’s kind of what “Something’s Goin’ On” turned into. The Southern Gospel quartet’s new EP, out now on Sonlite Records, catches four singers at different points in their own lives and lets that tension become the whole point of the project.

“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, who co-founded the group back in 2003. “We knew, if the songs moved us in a powerful way, they would move the listeners as well.”

Artists may say this kind of thing without a lot of thought, but Rackley backs it up with a simple production philosophy: match the singer to the song’s emotional center, not the other way around. “You cannot deliver a song fully if you don’t feel it yourself,” he says, and it shows in how the EP moves. The record opens and closes with its two most energetic cuts, “He Is Who He Is” and the title track, but the real character lives in between, in the hushed intimacy of “He Still Washed His Feet,” the front-porch warmth of “Land Of Joy Untold,” and the full-throated testimony of “I’m Another Lazarus.”

The focus track, “I Am Saved,” is where producer Roger Talley leans hardest into a more contemporary sound, building a quartet chorus around a message of grace and redemption that Rackley calls the emotional anchor of the whole project.

“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.”

What started in 2003 as a trio called The Old Paths, founded by Doug Roark and Tim Rackley, grew into a quartet and eventually landed a deal with Crossroad Music’s Sonlite Records in 2012. Their breakout album, ‘Right Now,’ produced two number one hits and a Singing News Fan Award for Favorite New Quartet, a strong start that was followed, in 2015, by a hiatus. The group came back to touring in 2017, rebranded as Anthem Edition in late 2022 with bass vocalist Andrew Utech joining the lineup, and added tenor Cameron Edens in the fall of 2023.

Listen for songs from Something’s Goin’ On throughout the day on Texas Gospel Canada!

HighRoad brings the American road show to a Norwegian barn, and Sarpsborg sings along

Published on by Texas GospelLeave a comment

AMY TURNER / E.J. WILSON

The gardens outside a Nordic Lutheran church built in the 1850s do not typically host a gospel group from Nashville, Tennessee on tour. But that is where HighRoad found itself this week, walking the grounds of a 19th century sanctuary before an evening that would end with a sold out crowd in a converted barn.

The band is deep into a run of Norwegian dates, and the following they have built overseas is starting to look less like a novelty and more like a genuine relationship between a North American act and an audience thousands of miles from home. Vocalist Sarah Davidson has been chronicling the trip in real time, and her updates read like postcards from a tour that has wandered well outside the usual circuit.

Davidson described a day that started with the old church gardens and turned into an impromptu border crossing. “As we walked downtown we also walked over to Sweden,” she said, describing a bridge she stopped to admire before ducking into a small Swedish cafe for coffee and crepes. It is the kind of afternoon that does not usually make it into a tour itinerary, but for a band playing towns close enough to another country to walk there, it became part of the day’s rhythm.

By evening the group had made its way to Sarpsborg, where the venue was a barn with a history of its own. Davidson called it a beautiful, historic space that locals had converted into a music venue, complete with an old pump organ tucked into the corner. The hosts fed the band American style, with hamburgers and hot dogs on the menu, a small gesture that Davidson said made the night feel like a genuine welcome rather than just another stop on the schedule.

The show itself delivered. Davidson described the crowd as sold out and packed, an audience that showed up ready for HighRoad and made no secret of it. For a Texas gospel band a continent away from home, that kind of reception speaks to how far the group’s reputation has traveled.

The night closed the way a lot of the best tour stories do, with a view nobody planned for. Davidson described the drive home under a sunset around 10 o’clock, still bright at an hour that would be full dark back in Texas, calling it a stunning end to what she summed up simply as a wonderful day.

For a band whose name has occasionally landed sideways in write ups and transcripts, from High Road to Highroad, there was nothing lost in translation on this leg of the trip. Norway heard HighRoad loud and clear.