Needtobreathe

Needtobreathe is an alternative Christian rock band formed in 2001 in Seneca, South Carolina. The group was founded by brothers William ‘Bear’ Rinehart (lead vocals / guitar / keyboards) and Nathaniel ‘Bo’ Rinehart (lead guitar) with Seth Bolt (bass) and Joe Stillwell (drums). As the sons of a Christian pastor father and a piano teacher mother, Bear and Bo spent their childhood in rural South Carolina surrounded by religion, music, sport, and backwoods. Banned from listening to anything other than Christian music artists like DC Talk and Russ Taff, they formed their own group and performed for friends at church events. Both went on to study at Furman University, with Bo earning a scholarship to play as a wide receiver for their American football team. After games, they played gigs at coffee houses and bars. After graduation, the Rinehart brothers joined forces with Bolt and Stillwell and formed Needtobreathe. The four musicians then began to record their own music in Bolt’s barn and released their debut album, The Feature, in 2001. After the release of two EPs – Turnaround (2003) and Fire (2004) – Needtobreathe combined the two releases on their 2004 album A Collection of the Fire and Turnaround EPs. Things really took off when Needtobreathe signed with Atlantic Records and issued their album Daylight in 2006. Commercial success arrived with the release of the 2008 single “Washed By The Water,” which topped the Christian charts, while breakthrough album The Outsiders helped them cross over from religious audiences to mainstream rock crowds. The group added keyboardist Josh Lovelace to the line-up in 2011, but the following year, drummer Joe Stillwell left the band and was replaced by Randall Harris. Led by frontman Bo's raspy vocals, their bright, glossy, soaring guitar pop took albums The Reckoning (2011) and Rivers In The Wasteland (2014) into the US Top 10 and the band's following grew when they supported Taylor Swift on her Speak Now World Tour. With their faith and spiritual experiences continuing at the center of their music, their sixth album Hard Love reached number two on the Billboard Charts in 2016 and sold over 50,000 copies in its first week. However, tensions between the group’s founding members led to Bo leaving the band in 2020 and that year’s Out of Body album was the first album without him. The band’s next album, Into the Mystery, was released in 2021 and was their fifth full-length to reach number 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart. In 2023, Needtobreathe released their ninth album, Caves, which also hit the top of the Christian Albums chart. Throughout their career, the group also released many EPs and over 40 singles, many of them landing in the Christian Top 40. They also won numerous GMA Dove Awards including Group of the Year (2010, 2011), Rock / Contemporary Song of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021), and Rock / Contemporary Album of the Year (2010, 2012, 2017, 2021).

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