Closer Than I've Ever Been
Daniel Crabtree
Producer: Donna Ulisse and Daniel Crabtree Executive Producer: Daniel Crabtree Recorded at Digital Underground Recording Studio Recording Engineer: Scott Vestal Lead Vocals: Daniel Crabtree Harmony Vocals: Donna Ulisse Rick Stanley Aaron McCune Front Cover Photography by Nancy McAllister Additional Photography and Graphics by Dreama Stephenson
Producer: Donna Ulisse and Daniel Crabtree Executive Producer: Daniel Crabtree Recorded at Digital Underground Recording Studio Recording Engineer: Scott Vestal Lead Vocals: Daniel Crabtree Harmony Vocals: Donna Ulisse Rick Stanley Aaron McCune Front Cover Photography by Nancy McAllister Additional Photography and Graphics by Dreama Stephenson Guitar: Cody Kilby Banjo: Scott Vestal Dobro: Gaven Largent Fiddle: Patrick McAvinue Mandolin: Harry Clark Acoustic Bass: Evan Winsor Fiddle: Jason Carter "Several passages in the Bible refer to living life as running a race, with the runner winning the prize at the end. We know that the prize is eternal life, and I'm nearer now to heaven than I've ever been." - Daniel Crabtree Closer Than I've Ever Been is Daniel Crabtree’s latest gospel project. It is his fifth album, consisting of 10 original songs written by Daniel. He has thus far released three singles from the project: "John the Baptist," "Closer Than I’ve Ever Been," and “Would You Be a Soldier,” which charted on the Bluegrass Today Gospel Charts as well as the Roots Music Report. Daniel once again teamed up with award-winning singer/songwriter Donna Ulisse to coproduce Closer Than I've Ever Been. The tracks were recorded and engineered by the multi-talented Scott Vestal at his Digital Underground Recording Studio. A standout group of musicians brought the melodies to life, including Vestal on banjo, Cody Kilby on guitar, Gaven Largent on dobro, Patrick McAvinue and Jason Carter on fiddle, Harry Clark, and Jesse Brock on mandolin, and Evan Winsor and Mike Bub on acoustic bass. In addition to releasing his own music, Daniel has had his material recorded by famous bluegrass artists such as Larry Sparks and Valerie Smith. Sparks' renditions of "Don't Take Your Eyes Off of Jesus" and "All Over Me" reached No. 1 on the Bluegrass Today chart. Daniel launched his singer/songwriter career in 2016 with the release of his first album, The Gospel Road. His follow-up projects — 2017's In the Shadow of His Wings, 2019's The Storyteller in Me, and 2021's The Way I See It — have been a mixture of his two passions: gospel and bluegrass music. Daniel's recent accomplishments include recognition by the Independent Music Awards, which named "Piedmont Train" as the Best Bluegrass Song of 2019, and a nomination by the International Acoustic Music Awards for Best Bluegrass Song ("Sally Sunday").