“Congratulations to all our artists and producers who were honored with Dove Awards.  We are very proud of them and appreciate their dedication to their ministries and crafts,” stated label president Barry Jennings.

Two-time GRAMMY® nominees and multi-award-winning Jeff & Sheri Easter took home two awards at this year’s ceremony–Bluegrass/Country Album of the Year for Small Town, Celebrating 30 Years of Music & Marriage (Spring Hill Music) as well as Country Recorded Song of the Year  for“Small Town Someone (Lunch),” written by Sheri Easter, Kenna Turner West and Jason Cox.

“It’s so exciting to receive something like this for our celebratory 30th anniversary project,” stated Sheri.  “The entire project is about the simple offering of oneself to God’s work and watching how He multiplies those gifts into something big. I’m so grateful after all these years that our music still touches lives!”  

The recording, produced by Jeff and Sheri Easter, Madison Easter and Greg Cole, features 11 songs, several of which were co-written by Sheri along with some of Nashville’s most noted songwriters.  “Small Town Someone (Lunch)” was a recent No. 1 single on The Singing Newsnational radio chart.  Jeff & Sheri are the recipients of eight GMA DOVE Awards, 15 Singing News Fan Awards, three Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Association Awards and two International Country Gospel Music Association honors.  

GRAMMY®-nominated, husband-and-wife duo Joey+Rory were honored with the DOVE Award for Long Form Video of the Year (Hymns That Are Important to Us).  Directed by Daniel Grace and produced by Aaron Carnahan, Joel McAfee and Bill Gaither, Hymns That Are Important to Us held the #1 spot on the Music Video Sales chart for months and has now reached gold status. 

The audio companion to the acclaimed video is the first recording in nearly a decade to top both theTop Country and Top Christian Albums charts.  The CD debuted at #1 on the Country Music chart, remained in the Top 10 on that chart for 20 weeks and was recently named the #2 Top-Selling Country Album so far for 2016.  Rory has recently been featured on “CBS Sunday Morning,” NBC’s “Today” and in People Magazine. 

Country Music Hall of Famer and Statler Brothers member Jimmy Fortune was honored with his first DOVE Award win for Bluegrass Recorded Song of the Year (“Life’s Railway to Heaven”), featured on his top-selling recording Hits & Hymns.  The star-studded project, produced by Ben Isaacs, features collaborations with Vince Gill, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dailey & Vincent, Ricky Skaggs and others.

A member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Gospel Music Hall of Fame, Fortune has been featured on a TV special, hosted by Bill Gaither, currently airing on various television networks and channels including RFD-TV, Dish TV, AT&T U-verse, DIRECTV and more. 

The award-winning southern gospel mainstay trio the Booth Brothers are also first-time DOVE Award winners, honored with Southern Gospel Album of the Year for Still (Gaither Music Group), produced by Jason Webb, Lari Goss, Ronnie Booth, Michael Booth and Jim Brady.   

“The DOVE Award is an extremely prestigious honor,” stated group member Michael Booth. “With heartfelt gratitude we thank the GMA and all those who voted for us. We will continue to strive for excellence and represent gospel music and the gospel message with all that we have within us.”  

Known for their intricate three-part harmonies, the trio, made up of Michael, Ronnie Booth and Paul Lancaster, has won over 45 Singing News Fan Awards and received three previous GMA DOVE nominations.  Their current single “Dirt on My Hands” is in the Top 10 and climbing on the national radio chart.

We Will Stand (Gaither Music Group/CCM United) won Special Event Album of the Year.  The DVD companion, which was nominated for Long Form Video of the Year, claimed the No. 1 position street week on Billboard’s Music Video chart and on the Christian Music Video chart, according to Nielsen Soundscan.  In addition, the We Will Stand audio recording landed at #10 on the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) chart. 

A concert event dubbed “the greatest night in the history of contemporary Christian music” by its executive producer, Stan Moser, the recordings feature 30 of the most popular and awarded CCM artists of all time, who gathered for a-once-in-a-lifetime concert event to celebrate 40 years of history.  The DVDs also capture some of the stories behind the music through interviews with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Sandi Patty, Bill Gaither and others.  

Gaither Music Group and Spring Hill Music Group projects are exclusively distributed by Capitol Christian Distribution and Universal Music.  For further information about the Gaither Homecoming family of artists visit www.gaither.com.