Gaither Music is about to release Listen To The Music, a second album from Brothers of the Heart, the bluegrass gospel superstar singing group consisting of Bradley Walker, Jimmy Fortune, Mike Rogers, and Ben Isaacs. It is the followup to their hit debut project, Brotherly Love, from 2020 which drew more than 30 million streams online.
All four of these artists have already had a career that sets them apart from their peers, Fortune as a member of The Statler Brothers, Isaacs with his family group, The Isaacs, Rogers with Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Walker on a string of recordings and live performances that highlight his uniquely agile and expressive voice.
Listen To The Music was recorded live, for both audio and video, and will release on CD and DVD on January 20. It includes a mix of sacred and secular songs, all of which should be familiar to anyone who has followed the pop, country, bluegrass, or gospel music of this past 40 years.
The arrangements are left intentionally spare so that the songs and the almost embarrassing wealth of vocal talent can shine on each cut.
Isaacs, who produced the album, said that they chose this route to allow them to cover classics like Ring of Fire, Desperado, Bye Bye Love, and Gentle on My Mind without distracting from the initial recordings.
“I feel like it starts with doing your best to honor the music’s roots. There are little signature licks, and I felt like it was important to not change an arrangement so much that you confuse people. So much of this type of record is about recognizability, so you want to do everything that you can to put your stamp on it but to also honor the originals.”
A pair of singles have been released ahead of the record’s January 20 street date. Here is one of them, the 19th century hymn Just As I Am, beautifully rendered by Bradley Walker and Jimmy Fortune. If you enjoy fine vocal harmony, this one is for you.
Bradley Walker shared a few words about why he feels so deeply about this project.
“For me, this is so much more than music. When you hear people talk about this group they say, ‘You can tell that you all love each other, and you can tell you all are having fun.’ That’s the best thing about it to me. That’s so much of the appeal of the group. It’s not just songs, the music, the harmonies, and all that, but the love between us and our love for people. I’m so thankful to be a part of this.”
The recorded live performance will air as a TV special on January 19 on RFD-TV at 6:30 p.m. (EST), and again on the 21st at 6:00 p.m. The same show will then air on UPtv on January 29th, at 9:00 a.m., and will later be seen on PBS, TBN, Heartland, GaitherTV, FamilyNet, CTN, GMTN, Guardian, Liberty, TCT and TLN. In Canada, the special will air on Vision TV, CTS, The Miracle Channel, and Hope TV.
Brothers of the Heart will celebrate the release of Listen To The Music with a live performance on February 7 at the Grand Ole Opry. Tickets are available online.
Pre-orders for Listen To The Music are enabled online. It will be available from popular download and streaming services on Friday.