- Christian Rock band formed in 1999 from Daytona Beach Florida. The primary members are Mark Hall (lead vocals, songwriting), Juan DeVevo (guitar, backing vocals), Chris Huffman (bass, backing vocals), Megan Garrett (keyboards, backing vocals), Melodee DeVevo (violin, cello, backing vocals), Hector Cervantes (lead guitar, backing vocals) and Andy Williams (drums – replaced by Brian Scoggin in 2009).
- The group started as a youth worship band at the First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, led by Hall as a 30 year old youth pastor. In 2001, they moved to Stockbridge Georgia, and they recorded 2 independent albums on CDs as outreach projects for local youth in the Atlanta area. In 2004, the band won a regional Gospel music competition for Best Song and Best Artist. They had a driving pop rock style, with Hall’s hard hitting but devout vocals.
- The name of the band is taken from the Book of Revelation, Chapter 4, Verses 10-11: “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
- One of the CDs that they had recorded was discovered by country music musician Mark Miller, lead vocalist for the band Sawyer Brown. Miller had just started his own record label, and he signed Casting Crowns to a contract, even though the band was not looking to make a career out of music.
- Their debut album on the label was the self titled Casting Crowns, released in 2003. They quickly became stars in the Christian music world – it reached #2 on the Christian chart and #59 on the Billboard 200 album chart, with sales of over 2 million copies in the U.S. Two singles – Who Am I and Voice of Truth – reached #1 on the Christian singles chart – their first of 9 songs to peak at #1. Voice of Truth stayed at #1 for 14 consecutive weeks.
- Their follow-up album, Lifesong, was released in 2005. It topped the Christian Album chart – every studio album since has also topped the chart – and it broke into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 also, just as every album since. The album won a Grammy award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. All 3 singles from the album – Lifesong, Praise You In This Storm, and Does Anybody Hear Her – were #1 hits for the band. Praise You In This Storm is their best selling song, with over 1 million downloads.
- They released 5 more studio albums from 2007 to 2016, as well as a holiday album and several live albums. All have been well received by the Christian music community. The Gospel Music Association’s annual awards program, called The Dove Awards, has given them 17 wins since 2005.
- Throughout their careers, their work in Casting Crowns has been part-time – today, Hall is youth minister at a Baptist church in McDonough Georgia, while the other members are active in raising families and ministering at their respective churches. Typically, they perform on tour only from Thursday through Saturday, so they can be at their own churches on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening.
- Popular, modern music with a positive message that sounds fabulous? Sounds GREAT to me! Here’s the band performing Good Good Father.
Casting Crowns, my all time favorite. Quality songs for 20 years… which of my 5 CC CDs should we play?? Meaningful lyrics, singable melodies, and strong musicians delivering powerful messages. Better than some sermons and uplifting on the car radio. Yes, I sing along! Thanks for including them, Mark.