The Nashville native merges ancient tones and modern music-making on this 12-track musical journey full of heart and back-porch ease. It fleshes out characters created for, and residing in, a fictional Appalachian setting called 'Blue Mountain,' which, as is frequently the case with great art, are slices of the storyteller himself.

"As a songwriter and artist I have a responsibility to take risks," says Heath, the five-time GRAMMY Nominee, Emmy winner and two-time Gospel Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year. "Usually I'm telling my own story. I wanted to tell other people's stories this time, so I created a space and characters that would allow me a new canvas to paint on.

"Through them, I'm more outside of myself, but maybe more true to myself than I've ever been," Heath continues. "Funny enough, by the time I had finished this record, I realized that 'Blue Mountain' is me."

Teaming again with producer Dan Muckala, Heath aims for a rootsier musical space with Blue Mountain, crafting tracks that are a hybrid of the driving acoustic music of both his youth and this project's imagined locale, together with the loops and beats that have become part of Heath's signature sound.

Still, on top of them sits Heath's versatile, expressive vocals, conveying each track's storyline, be it the "those who don't know or just don't know yet" allegory of "The Harvester," the simultaneous languish and lament of "Love Will Be Enough For Us," the gripping finality of "Dyin' Day," or the finding faith in the everyday nature of Blue Mountain's first single, "Jesus In Disguise."

"Jesus isn't always in the obvious," Heath notes. "But from busy city streets to the rural roads of 'Blue Mountain,' Jesus is always there to be found. You just have to know what to look for, and be willing to look for it. It's been a burden, it's still a burden for God to open my eyes, so much so that I'm still writing about it after all these years."

Other standout tracks on Blue Mountain include "Diamond," told from the viewpoint of a coal miner toiling in dirt now, but pointing toward treasure in the hereafter, and "Love Does," a song paralleling the written work of Heath's mentor Bob Goff, founder and CEO of Restore International, a non-profit Organization addressing the atrocities and injustices committed against children.

"Bob is a world changer," Heath says. "It's a tribute to him and to others on the front lines fighting, our modern day heroes. In the song, I say, 'Nobody walks on the road you're paving, nobody sees all the souls you're saving, but Love does.'"

The album's first single, with an add date of August 10, is "Jesus In Disguise." The song is being overwhelmingly well received and has already seen early adds from K-LOVE, KCMS and SiriusXM/The Message.

Two days after the October 9 release of Blue Mountain, Heath will team with label-mate Matt Maher for the 24-city The Blue Mountain Tour. Dates and cities will be announced in coming weeks.

About Brandon Heath
Since Brandon Heath's debut on Reunion Records with Don't Get Comfortable (2006), he has become one of Christian music's most beloved and respected artists and songwriters.

Heath has twice been honored as GMA Male Vocalist of the Year (2009 and 2010), additionally garnering an Emmy Award, five GRAMMY nominations, an American Music Award nomination and multiple GMA Dove Awards and songwriting honors. His award-winning songs and signature vocals reflect a soaring radio career that includes four No. 1 hits: "I'm Not Who I Was," "Wait and See," the 2009 GMA Dove Award-winning Song of the Year, "Give Me Your Eyes," and the eight-week chart topper, "Your Love."

Heath, a Nashville native, first began writing at age 13 and credits his hometown's legendary hotspot for songwriters, the Bluebird Café, as the place he first experienced music that moved him. His artistry and ability to connect with audiences have compelled countless media outlets across the nation to platform his story and music. Highlights include Billboard magazine, "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric," Relevant magazine, a 2011 feature by the Wall Street Journal and selection as a presenter during the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Other key spotlights include Discovery Channel's "On The Case With Paula Zahn," which highlighted "Give Me Your Eyes" (What If We 8/19/2008), and a feature by The New York Times Sunday edition, touting Heath as a GRAMMY-nominated newcomer "that shouldn't be allowed to slip through the cracks."

Heath's third album, Leaving Eden (1/18/2011) debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Sales chart and is supported by non-stop direct-support and headlining tours. Blue Mountain will be available everywhere on October 9, 2012.

For more information on Brandon Heath, please visit: www.brandonheath.net and follow Brandon Heath's Twitter at www.twitter.com/brandonheath

For more info on Brandon Heath visit the JFH Artists Database.

Leave a Comment

 

 

[2024]
Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec.

[2023]
Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec.

[2001 - Present]
Visit our complete MUSIC NEWS ARCHIVE

 

 

(JFH Sponsor Spot)