The Christian pop group
Casting Crowns began as a student worship band in Daytona Beach, FL, in 1999. Led by singer, songwriter, and youth pastor
Mark Hall, the group initially included violinist
Melodee DeVevo and a pair of guitarists,
Juan DeVevo and
Hector Cervantes. The musicians relocated to McDonough, GA, in 2001, adding
Chris Huffman on bass,
Megan Garrett on keyboards and accordion, and drummer
Andy Williams. This augmented version of
Casting Crowns released two independent albums on CD, both
of which were well received in the Atlanta area. One of the albums then found its way into the hands of Mark Miller, lead singer for the country group Sawyer Brown, who was struck by Casting Crowns' driving pop/rock style and Hall's vocal delivery of his hard-hitting but devout songs.
Miller signed Casting Crowns to his fledgling Beach Street Records, a division of Reunion Records with distribution by the Provident Label Group, and took the group into the studio along with co-producer Steven Curtis Chapman, himself a popular artist on the CCM musical scene. The resulting album, Casting Crowns, was released in 2003 on the Beach Street imprint. It fared extremely well in Christian markets, eventually going platinum and peaking at number two on the CCM charts. A sampler with five songs, Live from Atlanta, was released on Reunion Records in 2004, packaged with a bonus DVD containing band interviews and a music video. Lifesong, released in August 2005, became the band's most successful record yet, cracking the Top 10 in the secular market while maintaining the band's religious fanbase as well. Like its predecessor, the record went platinum, and Casting Crowns's increased popularity helped send their follow-up album, 2007's The Altar and the Door, to number two on the Billboard album charts. Meanwhile, the single "East to West" spent a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks atop the Christian charts. A Christmas-themed album, Peace on Earth, appeared in 2008, tiding over the group's fans while Casting Crowns readied another LP of original material. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music GuideMore
