LDS Musicians

I believe I'm stepping into a mine field to even take on this subject, so to lead this off, let me just say I'm no expert on LDS musicians and can only give a very limited perspective. This much is certain, there are more LDS musicians out there making great music of all kinds and all genres than I ever imagined. I have to admit in the past to having taking a jaded view of the whole idea of finding great music to my liking among LDS musicians. I have since found out (once again!) how wrong I can be. Again, I can blame my kids for exposing me. It all started with Ryan Shupe and the Rubber Band and Peter Breinholt. Those two played at many local events, most notably the Freedom Festival in Provo. They continue to play locally in spite of RS&RB finding a measure of broad popularity including radio air time and making it on the country charts. I also remember seeing Cheri Call at Freedom Festival and I may have also seen Nancy Hanson there but for some reason she didn't really register until I checked out her wonderful cd "Drops In A Bucket" from the library. Those 4 remain high on my list of awareness. They all fit in with my current interest in folk, country and bluegrass. Another great country duo I recently became acquainted with is Joshua Creek. I found a couple more girl singer I like at:

http://music.mormontimes.com/index.php

They are Amy Van Wagenen and Carrie Scott. Amy sings LDS pop and has a very lovely voice. Carrie sings jazzy, bluesy stuff similar to Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi. Quite a unique sound. Of course there's also last year's American Idol finalists David Archuleta and Brooke White. Who can deny Achie's great vocals? Unfortunately for me, I don't exactly match his target audience. Brooke White, on the other hand, has the potential to make my top 10. I'm anxiously awaiting her first cd since Idol. I hope it continues in the Carole King, Carly Simon direction she took on the show. As I first said, there are many more artists out there deserving of mention. I wrote about some others around Christmas time. Also some people will probably take me to task for not saying something about the Osmonds, but who doesn't know about them? I want to encourage exploring lesser known talent. With a little research you can find something you'll enjoy. I hope this piques some interest in LDS music. I personally intend to keep my ears open and continue to support my local people.