Gaither Vocal Band and Bradley Walker Celebrate
2018 GMA DOVE Award Wins
Gospel Music Hall of Famers the Gaither Vocal Band and Rising Country Music Singer Bradley Walker Enjoy a Rewarding Evening at This Year’s DOVE Awards
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—October 18th, 2018—GRAMMY®-winning recording artists and Gospel Music Hall of Fame members the Gaither Vocal Band were awarded Southern Gospel Artist of the Year honors last night at this year’s GMA DOVE Award ceremonies, held at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.
“The great thing that we get to do is travel as a band of brothers,” stated group member Reggie Smith during his acceptance speech, “these guys are like family, and we get to travel with the oldest ‘teenager’ on the planet–Bill Gaither! We are grateful for this award and for what we get to do.”
The quintet, which headlines one of Christian music’s biggest tours annually, also received nods for Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year for “Hallelujah Band”; Southern Gospel Album of the Year for We Have This Moment (Gaither Music Group); Bluegrass/Country/Roots Song of the Year for “Chain Breaker”; Long Form Video of the Year for Country Roots and Gospel Favorites, featuring Gaither Vocal Band, The Gatlin Brothers and The Oak Ridge Boys; and Christmas/Special Event Album of the Year for Country Roots and Gospel Favorites (Live).
Label-mate and rising country gospel singer Bradley Walker took home his first GMA DOVE Award for best Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year (Gaither Music Group) for Blessed, Hymns and Songs of Faith, produced by Ben Isaacs (The Oak Ridge Boys, Jimmy Fortune).
“Growing up singing these songs in church, you don’t think you are going to receive an award one day,” said a surprised and elated Walker. “It’s just hard to believe. I want to thank Bill Gaither for giving me the opportunity to record this album, and I want to dedicate this award to Joey Feek. Without her love and support and were it not for my getting to sing at her home-going, this would never have happened. I am, as the album title says, ‘blessed.’”
A well-loved performer for years among classic country and bluegrass music circles, Walker was also nominated for Southern Gospel Artist of the Year and for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Song of the Year for “I Will Someday” (featuring The Isaacs), written by Chris Stapleton, Garnet Bowman, Morgane Hayes and Ronnie Bowman.
“We were delighted to see a legendary group like the Gaither Vocal Band honored last evening while also seeing a rising newcomer win his first award,” stated Paul Sizelove, president of Gaither Music Group. “Our roster of artists encompasses a broad array of talent, including performers who are household names among their formats as well as newcomers like Bradley Walker. We are proud to represent these artists and pleased to see these performers achieve these recognitions at this year’s awards.”
The Gaither Music Group artists are seen regularly on over 15 TV networks that carry the “Gaither Gospel Hour” weekly including PBS, TBN, RFD-TV, CTN, DIRECTV, The Heartland Network, Dish TV, FamilyNet, GMTN, Guardian, Liberty, TCT, TLN and GaitherTV. The programming is seen in Canada on Vision TV, The Miracle Channel, Grace TV and CTS.
Gaither Music Group’s recordings are exclusively distributed by Capitol Christian Distribution and Universal Music and are available throughout general market stores and the Christian marketplace in addition to online retailers including iTunes, Amazon and Gaither.com.