It wasn’t official a few weeks ago, but it is now:

Dallas Rogers Joins Cross 4 Crowns
By David Hoskins

KNOXVILLE, TN (Press Release) – Cross 4 Crowns manager, David Hoskins, is pleased to announce the addition of Dallas Rogers as tenor for the group. Dallas is no stranger to gospel music fans having spent the past number of years with The Dixie Echoes.

Allen Leath, owner of Cross 4 Crowns, states “We are incredibly blessed to have Dallas as part of the Cross 4 Crowns family. We were already brothers in Christ, but to be able to stand and sing His praises together is truly a privilege. Aside from being one of southern gospel’s finest tenors, the only thing we’ve found, that supercedes his talent, is his love for The Lord. We look forward to many years of serving God together.”

Dallas states “I’m truly excited to be a part of Cross 4 Crowns. First of all, I want to thank my wife Shelly and my little girl Rebecca for allowing me to do what God has called me to do and that’s to sing and minister through song, I love you both. Each one of the guys in the group is phenomenally talented. The main focus for what we do is to minister and win lost souls for the Kingdom of Heaven. That’s our purpose and goal in life. If we can reach one soul, it will make every mile that we travel worth it. God has already opened up several doors for the group, and I’m excited to see what He has in store for us.”

Cross 4 Crowns just released the first single “I’m Going There” from their soon to be released project “Turning Point”. It is already getting very heavy airplay across the country. You can visit their web site at www.cross4crowns.com

A comment at Averyfineline talking about Steve Hurst training Brian Free before he left Gold City made me think about how the quality of Free’s singing has improved tremendously.

If you listen to him during his GC days, his voice sounds very, very nasally. Not bad, just very nasally. Here’s an example, when he sings “In My Robe Of White” with GC:

Now, look at this recent clip of him singing the same song:

It’s very clear that his singing quality has improved greatly. Hurst’s training must have taught him to “open up” more, giving his voice a much less “singing-through-your-nose” effect. I have a feeling that if Free hadn’t received that training, Assurance would not sound half as good as they do today. “For God So Loved” would have probably sounded a lot less thrilling as well.

I knew there was a distinct difference in his voice between the two eras; I just thought it was his voice developing more. That might have helped, but Hurst’s training played a very big part in the awesome tenor voice of Brian Free.

From a press release from Soul’d Out Quartet:

GEORGETOWN, OH (Press Release)- Soul’d Out Quartet (SOQT) has announced that tenor vocalist Brent Hopper has tendered his resignation after five plus years on the road. Matt Rankin, owner of the group stated, “Over the past five years Brent has not only become a great friend, but also has been a great asset to the group. He started with us when we were part-time and has helped tremendously in the growth of this ministry. We are sorry to see him go; however we are excited for him and pray God’s blessings on his new career path.” Brent was recently engaged and is planning to get married in 2009. SOQT asks that you continue to remember Brent in your prayers as he starts a new chapter in his life.

Filling the vacancy left by Brent is Dusty Barrett. Dusty is no stranger to gospel music. For the last several years, he has been the tenor vocalist for Crystal River. “Dusty has been working hard on learning the songs and we are thankful that it has worked out for him to be able to join us. We are excited with all the possibilities we have received and are even more excited to see where God takes this ministry!” stated Rankin.

SOQT is thankful to have Dusty on their team!

For the latest information, visit www.souldoutquartet.com

Nice to see Dusty get back in a group. He’s definitely one of the best and most underrated tenor singers on the road today. Can’t wait to catch a concert with the new lineup; I may get to this month.