Southern Gospel favorites the Kingdom Heirs aren’t just a holiday essential at Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas each year, they are beloved across the country and around the world for their six Christmas collections released since 1999. Now, 10 years on since their most recent holiday album, the gospel quartet return with A Kingdom Heirs Christmas via Sonlite Records. It’s a brand new EP — now available for pre-save/add ahead of its November 27 release — featuring five original songs and two familiar classics, offered in their signature Kingdom Heirs style.
“From the beginning of November until the season ends in January, we do around 180 Christmas shows at Dollywood,” lead vocalist Chris Bryant explains. “So when we realized that it had been 10 years since our last Christmas project, we knew it was time for a new collection of instant favorites!”
And favorites these songs will most certainly be, as the EP boasts upbeat toe tappers (“It All Started in Bethlehem,” “That Manger Held a Miracle,” “Time Around the Tree”), warm and familiar jazzy tunes (“Winter Wonderland”), soft ballads (“He Makes Room,” “When I Hear a Christmas Song”), and nostalgic Southern favorites (“Christmas in Dixie”). All combine to create a fresh, modern collection that will no doubt become an annual favorite – not just for Kingdom Heirs fans or Smoky Mountain Christmas attendees, but for all Christmas music lovers.
“We really wanted to include a good mix of old and new material on this EP, and we feel like it all came together perfectly,” Bryant continues. “Some of our favorite songwriters sent us some great new songs for this album, and we even have one song written by our very own tenor vocalist John Young, so that is an extra special bonus for sure!”
Indeed, Young penned the nostalgic and cinematic “Time Around the Tree,” which begins tenderly and thoughtfully before its energy builds and soars, as it paints a picture of every living room’s Christmas centerpiece with gratitude, joy, and Christ as focal points. Other well-known and much-loved sacred and gospel songwriters on the project include Adina Bowman, Gene Ezell, Karen Gillespie, and Dixie Phillips, whose compositions are perfectly matched with the collection’s two iconic covers, “Winter Wonderland” and “Christmas in Dixie,” both of which shine with the Kingdom Heirs’ singular quartet treatment.
“We absolutely love Christmas and Christmas music!” Bryant concludes. “I start listening to Christmas music before the fall decor has even been taken down. For me, it just brings back so many great memories and warms my heart.”
“I hope that this album brings those same feelings and memories to anyone who hears it while reminding us all of the reason for the season, the greatest gift of all – Jesus!”
After 10 years since their latest holiday offering, A Kingdom Heirs Christmas is the perfect reminder that the Kingdom Heirs and Christmas go together like hot cocoa and a warm fire; like peace and joy; like Christ’s all-powerful love and his journey to Earth to redeem us all.
Pre-save/add A Kingdom Heirs Christmas HERE.
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