The Watkins Family is a Southern/Acoustic Gospel group from Eastanollee, Georgia, a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The group is made up of a tightly knitted family: Don, the father of the family, plays guitar, and Judy, the mother, plays bass. The oldest of Don and Judy’s children, Todd, plays dobro, bass, and guitar, while Shanon plays the bass and fiddle, and Lorie plays the banjo, mandolin, guitar, and dojo. Each member shares the instrumental and vocal load, which accounts for a tight harmony that is found in a family and versatility in their ability to play a wide variety of instruments. The Watkins Family started singing as a family in 1982, and throughout the years they have extensively toured the United States and Canada. They have enjoyed warm responses during their travels by Americans and Canadians alike. In 1988, they had the honor of playing in Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill in the Capitol Complex. They have also received nominations as the best Contemporary and Traditional Bluegrass Gospel group by the SPBGMA and were also nominated as best Bluegrass Act at the Coca-Cola Music Awards. The Watkins Family’s last project, “Winter To Spring,†received great reviews in both gospel and bluegrass music, and their last single from the project, “Power of the Holy Ghost,†spent several months in the top 5 of the “Power Source†magazine’s bluegrass chart. The Watkins Family has just put the finishing touches on their latest recording project, titled “Darkness Wept,†that will be released in June of 2006. This project combined the talents of the Watkins Family along with vocal producer Karen Peck Gooch, music producer Mark Fain, and Grammy Award winning engineer Bil Vorndick. Their first single from the project, “He’s Still Godâ€, came from the pen of Dee Gaskin and Jerry Salley. “Love Stood Aloneâ€, their latest single has been released to southern gospel radio stations and can be found on the November Airplay Radio Promotions compilation c.d. Their love for Jesus Christ and music is displayed by the enthusiasm they show in each song that is sung and each word that is said. The future looks bright and busy for this family who sings Gospel music not only because they enjoy it but because they believe it.
THE ROXY show dates:
JUNE 8th 2007
