Daves Highway on the Highway to Success!

daveshighway1I first introduced Dave’s Highway on this blog on November 6th 2009 following that up with a short article about their debut CD “Just For You” featuring Chris Tomlin’s song “Jesus Messiah”. Those articles were quickly followed up with a full feature article including a personal interview on Skykids Site entitled “Mississippi Music Magic“.

The events that took place between the first articles, and the article at Skykids is nothing short of amazing.

Just prior to my first article the kids had already gained a tremendous number of fans impressing thousands on their You Tube and Facebook Sites.  While my articles had nothing to do with what happened, I was so excited when Darryl, (The trio’s Father) e-mailed me the official Press Release about their signing as a professional singing group.

Because I have never told the whole story, here is an excerpt from that original News Release:

NASHVILLE, TN—January 11, 2010—Twenty Ten Music announces the signing of Internet singing sensation Daves Highway to an artist development deal. The young Mississippi-based trio comprised of siblings Delaney, Zachary and Erika Daves is an emerging act in the worlds of both country and gospel music thanks to fans who solicited the attention of three major influences.

Trio with Anita RenfroeEarlier this year, the children’s parents posted home videos of the three kids singing Little Big Town’s country hit “Boondocks” and the gospel song “Jesus Messiah,” originally recorded by Chris Tomlin, on YouTube. The children’s genre-bending three-part harmonies quickly captivated thousands of fans, and soon, one of them tipped off popular comedian Anita Renfroe. Renfroe, who regularly appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” responded with a September 9 blog entry on her Web site featuring a Daves Highway YouTube link and this remark:  “OK – seriously … Whoever these kids are – call me … go on tour with me.” Thousands of Renfroe’s fans flocked to the link with many of them posting profuse thanks to her for the introduction.

Even as Daves Highway sought to take the comedian up on her tour offer, one of the trio’s fans told Chris Tomlin, the influential writer/performer of “Jesus Messiah,” about the children’s cover of his song. Tomlin was floored. With an October 12 blog entry titled, “Astonishing Sibling Video…MUST SEE,” Tomlin thanked the fan who gave him the link and told others on his site, “Here is the video I recently came across. This made my day … year! If you know these kids, please send them my love. And they must sing this with me if I am ever traveling through their town. Are you ready?”

As a still-amazed Delaney, the eldest sibling, explains, “We recorded ‘Jesus Messiah’ in our living room. … Chris Tomlin found it, and he posted it on his Twitter and his Web site. People saw it and just kept sending it to their friends, and it just exploded. We got like 10,000 new fans in one week.” (Today, Daves Highway has more than 18,000 Facebook fans.)

UPDATE: I JUST CHECKED AND THEY NOW HAVE OVER 27,400 FANS ON FB ALONE

trio w Charlie PeacockWithin days, Daves Highway had its first plug on a national broadcast as the K-LOVE Radio Network’s “20 The Countdown Magazine” show highlighted the kids’ growing popularity. At about the same time, a Daves Highway fan in Denver, Colorado cued the attention of yet another major influence—Grammy Award-winning producer Charlie Peacock (Switchfoot, David Crowder Band). “As soon as I watched the first video on YouTube, I was hooked,” says Peacock. “You have to have a pretty guarded heart not to be thrilled by children singing perfect three-part harmony!”

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I have to tell you that this blogger was thrilled to have had one of the very last interviews just before their official signing and delighted to have been able to be a small part of these exciting events.

This week I caught up with them and asked them the following questions in this short interview:

RIVENMASTER: “What have you been doing this past year and a half?”

DAVES HIGHWAY: “We’ve been blessed and busy this year.  Our Facebook page continues to grow and we’ve added so many fans and followers. Our CD is coming out soon and we’re real happy with it so far.  We’re developing our country sound and instrument skills.

RIVENMASTER: What have you discovered about yourselves individually and as a group?

DAVES HIGHWAY: We never planned on any of this.  It’s awesome to read the comments from our fans.  We get lots of messages that make our music seem so much more worthwhile.  We really enjoy meeting new people and going to new places.

RIVENMASTER: Any new CD’s released over the past year or upcoming releases.

DAVES HIGHWAY: We’re in the studio in Nashville right now recording our new CD that will be out this summer.  We haven’t named it yet and don’t know the exact release date, but it contains 10 brand new, original songs.

We wrote a few of the songs, co-wrote a few, and the rest were written especially for Daves Highway.  They are all so good, that it’s real hard for us to pick a favorite.

RIVENMASTER: What has been your most fulfilling concert or program that you have been involved in?

DAVES HIGHWAY: We’ve had a great year.  We were blessed to perform with The Martins, one of our all-time favorite gospel groups, when they passed through Mississippi.  We also performed Jesus Messiah with Chris Tomlin in Memphis, TN back in July.  There were thousands of people there and it was so awesome!

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Click the Pic to watch their live performance with Chris Tomlin!

We’ve also had some videos posted on other websites that are spreading virally right now.  Godvine.com and Godtube.com are featuring some of our videos. We’ve had 300,000 views in just a couple of weeks.

RIVENMASTER: Is there anything that you are currently supporting by way of charity programs or passionate about being involved with.

DAVES HIGHWAY: We support a number of charities, but right now we’re participating in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine.  Just this weekend, we camped out in a cardboard box and fasted for 30 hours to help us understand how homeless, starving children might feel.  We also collected money from our sponsors to make a gift to the World Vision group.

RIVENMASTER: Anything that they would like to announce about upcoming dates or concerts.

DAVES HIGHWAY: We have lots of concerts coming up.  We’ll be playing with Ricky Scaggs this summer and Diamond Rio.  We have shows coming up across the Southeast.  We’ll be in Dallas in a few weeks.  Check our Facebook Page or DavesHighway.com for show dates. We are also working on new merchandise designed by Daves Highway that will be on our website soon.bluedivider

These kids just keep getting better and better with every new video and song recorded.  I’m very anxious about their new CD release and I will pass that announcement on to you as soon as I find out an exact release date!

Until then enjoy their latest video cover song of :

“Lead Me To The Cross” by Hillsong

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“It’s always a pleasure for me to do an article about this fine group of siblings who not only deserve praise for their efforts and amazing harmony abilities, but for the fine example they are to every teenager in the world of how not only to perform and entertain but also entertain the presence of the Lord with song!”  I for one am blessed by their music and pray for their continued success!

Congratulations Delaney, Zachary and Erika on your outstanding achievements in music and I look forward to promoting your new CD!”

One thought on “Daves Highway on the Highway to Success!”

  1. Personally I think that you are being a modest in your introduction. Daves Highway have grown a lot since last time I watched their clip and I can state that not only as a personal , but as a professional remark .

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