Legendary singer/songwriter, guitarist and Grammy-nominated Gospel Music Hall of Famer Phil Keaggy deftly communicates the essence of the Christmas season on Welcome Inn: A Phil Keaggy Christmas, his latest independent release. The CD is available today on philkeaggy.com and is coming soon to iTunes, Amazon.com and other digital distribution outlets.
With Welcome Inn, Keaggy has crafted a project that is at once both intimate and accessible, with brand-new songs that feel like Christmas standards. Keaggy-penned tunes include the beautiful “Village Bells,” in which he reflects on his Ohio hometown childhood, and “Best Christmas Morn,” which reveals the real meaning of Christmas as the birth of Christ instead of the presents under the tree. “All Through the Night” is Keaggy’s take on an old Welsh Christmas tune, and the instrumental “Shades of Red & Green” interweaves snippets of Keaggy’s favorite Christmas carols.
New songs and old favorites sit side by side on the project. Keaggy wrote “Father” 30 years ago at fellow recording artist Paul Clark’s house. He wrote the music of “For the 12th Night” at a Texas writer’s retreat this past summer, setting to music a poem that author and National Book Award winner Walter Wangerin, Jr. (The Book of the Dun Cow) had presented to the elite gathering on the previous evening.
The album is a family affair, with Keaggy’s son Ian and daughter Olivia featured on guest vocals, along with West Coast vocalist Nina Landis. Produced & engineered by Keaggy himself and mastered by Grammy winner Richard Dodd (Dixie Chicks, George Harrison, Big & Rich), the entire project was recorded in Keaggy’s studio.
“This is a very special recording to me, one I’ve desired to make for a long time, and now it’s here,” says Keaggy. “My hope is that those who listen to Welcome Inn will sense the joy of this and every Christmas.”
One of the world’s most beloved musicians, Phil Keaggy has enjoyed immense success over the course of his career. Having first entered the music scene as the co-founder and guitarist for ’70s power group Glass Harp, Keaggy has since released close to 50 albums and has made appearances on countless others. Widely recognized for his phenomenal guitar playing as well as his vocal and songwriting prowess, he has received numerous accolades and awards for his music, including seven Dove Awards and a Grammy nomination. Keaggy was inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2007, and was named one of the Top 10 best rock singers in Christian music history by GospelMusicChannel.com in 2009. He has been named one of the “25 Most Underrated Guitarists” by Rolling Stone Magazine alongside Prince, The Beatles’ lead guitarist George Harrison, Kurt Cobain, Neil Young and Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. Keaggy continues to sell out concerts all over the US with his ever-changing style, ranging from rock ‘n’ roll to fully orchestrated instrumental compositions.
For more information on Phil Keaggy and Welcome Inn, visit philkeaggy.com.
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