By Colin Ogburn, Staff Writer
Reynolds is home to many creative and talented artists, being part of an Arts Magnet Program. Even non-art students get to be immersed by the culture at RJR and get the chance to become an arts student. The band Carolina Crossing is a great example of this, having formed a few years ago, but recently gaining new members. The band is a collection of mostly RJR students, but includes a student at Reagan and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. They have recently announced the release of their first album in early 2017.
The members include seniors Britton Sear, Ben Burrows, Austin Smith, Cole Covington, Tristen Ferner and junior Colin Ogburn. Covington attends UNCSA and Ferner attends Reagan.
At first, they began performing covers of songs at small venues. More recently they have been making their own original music and performing almost every weekend. The band has gained lots of credibility and notice from the students at Reynolds; almost everyone has at least heard of the bluegrass group.
In October, the band announced that they had begun working on their new album and will start recording in January. Though they have yet to determine a name to title the project, this is a big step for the band for their development in the music industry and the members are very optimistic for the opportunities this will bring once the project is released.
“The album will be put on Spotify, iTunes and Pandora. So who knows? Maybe someone will see it and we will strike it big… however that’s a lot of ifs,” Sear said.
When asked if nervous about the album, Burrows said, “Not really, I am kinda excited about it, it’s just a fun and good experience.”
This feeling tends to be shared among the other members as well.
“No I don’t think we are nervous at all. We are super excited to put our original music out there,” Sear said.
The band holds their practices at Burrows’s house and have been practicing there since the band was first created.
Burrows father, Alan, has been present for countless hours and days of practicing.
“The band has come a long way and I’m glad I could be apart of it,” he said.
This upcoming project is the first and may be the last album the band creates.
“We probably will not end up releasing another album after this one. We will all be going our separate ways after graduation. We still hope to play at some local venues during their holidays though,” Sear said.
The fans of the band and the supporters they have gained after the many shows hope that this is not the last album, but are happy that one is going to be released in the coming months.
