Southern Gospel Quartet Kindred Hearts Talk About Their New Album "All in Your Hands"

Kindred Hearts is a southern gospel singing group based in central Maine. The group's mission is a simple one, to spread the Gospel message through song and word of testimony. By doing this it is the hope of this ministry that both believer and non-believer will be encouraged to face life's hardships and challenges by God's grace.

The group is comprised of 3 siblings, Brian Woodbury, Amy Dillon, Diane Briggs and their cousin Kevin Lasselle. However, the group can also pull from other musical family members adding live music and versatility. Having grown up in church their music has been influenced by many gospel genres, but their family blend of harmonies is rooted in traditional Southern Gospel. Their style encompasses a mix of great Southern Gospel classics, traditional and contemporary worship, along with original compositions that minister to young and old alike. 

Hallels:  Thank you so much for doing this interview with us.  Tell us how did all of you get together as a group? Why do you call yourselves "Kindred Hearts"?  

Kindred Hearts was formed back in 1995.  We started with 6 members and worked through changes over the years, but the current makeup of the group consists of 4 members, all of us family.  We had all grown up in church playing and singing music.  We felt God was calling us to use the talents God has given us and minister outside the 4 walls of the church, and so we formed Kindred Hearts.

We settled on the name "Kindred Hearts" because we were all family and with the root word "Kin" meaning family, and "Kindred" being an adjective for "having the same belief, attitude, or feeling, it only seemed logical to combine that with the word "Hearts."  It tied together the importance of being family and of being in one accord with the heart of God and each other.

Hallels:  How would you describe your sound and style of music?

This has always been a tough question because we feel like we sometimes float a bit between genres, but on our latest project the sound and style would best be described as a mix of southern gospel and country woven together by tight family harmonies.

Hallels:  Congratulations on the release of "All in Your Hands."  What are some of the lessons  you wish listeners would grasp after listening to your album?

Thank you so much.  We want listeners to be encouraged, we want their faith to be lifted up, we want them to know that sometimes there will be valleys and the road will get tough, but God never gives up on us and we can't give up on Him.  We want them to come away knowing there is hope, peace, and love at the cross of Calvary and all we need to do is come as we are. 

Hallels:  Do you write your own music?  If so, how many songs on the record did you pen?  

Yes, some of us do write and 8 songs on this latest project are penned by members of the group. 

Hallels:  I really enjoy your album, particularly, "When The Savior Wipes The Tears" and "Your Cries Have Awoken the Master."  Tell us more about the inspiration behind why you record these songs,

We are so glad you have enjoyed the album.  "When The Savior Wipes The Tears From Our Eyes" and "Your Cries Have Awoken The Master" are actually the only cover songs we put on this project.  We actually had enough original material to fill out the whole album but we were getting such a strong response from people when we would sing these out live that we felt we needed to record them.  The Hoskins Family originally recorded When The Savior Wipes The Tears From Our Eyes and the song just tells such a great story of hope for those of us who have lost loved ones knowing that we'll be reunited again in heaven!  Your Cries Have Awoken The Master was penned by Sonya Isaacs and Rebecca Isaacs Bowman and also recorded by other artists.  It's just such an inspirational song that tells us that no matter the storm or no matter what we might be facing, we need to keep crying out to God and he will hear us!  Both of these songs just seemed to fit perfectly with the rest of the project.  

Hallels:  Of the songs on the CD, what songs most excite you?  And why?

We are extremely excited about being able to offer 8 original songs but all of the songs excite us.  We don't ever want to feel like we need "fillers" for our project.  In other words, having 6 songs that excite us and needing 4 more just to throw on an album.  Each and every song has special meaning to us and we feel it should always be that way.  

Hallels:  I notice you are always touring in support of the album, where can our readers find out about your touring info and purchase your new CD?

You can find out booking information, our schedule, and also links to purchase or download our new CD at www.kindredheartsmusic.com   Download version is also available on ITunes and cdbaby.com You will also find a link on our website for those who wish to follow us on Facebook.

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