The Morning Watch, formerly known as Living Hope, released their debut self-titled EP last Tuesday. The Morning Watch, made up of drummer Cory Reynolds, bassist Zach McCullers, guitarist and backing vocalist Ben Haywood, and lead vocalist and guitarist Josh Knight, also signed to their new record label INOV8 Music Group the same day as the EP release. The EP, which can be bought below, is for fans of bands such as The Exchange, The Afters, and Tenth Avenue North.
This EP is one of our top releases of 2014 so far here at JesusWired and we can’t recommend it enough. Our review of the EP will be coming soon so make sure you “Get Plugged In!” to us below so you don’t miss that. In the meantime though, please find out more about them below and purchase one of our top 3 worship releases of this year so far.
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About The Morning Watch:
Leave it to God to take a road filled with depression and anxiety and turn it into a path to encouragement and hope. Setting a group of young men on the particular route that finds them supporting one another through life’s difficulties and then turning those experiences into music that glorifies God is the story of The Morning Watch.
“We want to make music that honors God and tells people our stories of struggles and triumph,” says drummer Cory Reynolds. Reynolds is joined in the band by Josh Knight (lead vocal, acoustic guitar), Zach McCullers (bass/mandolin), and Ben Haywood (lead guitar/banjo/BGVs).
While a more formal description of The Morning Watch is a south Georgia-based Christian band with a heart to see people come to Christ through its music and testimonies, the band members best describe themselves more casually. “We formed the band to have a bunch of guys the same age, Christian guys, to hang out with and talk to and pray with about stuff we were going through,” Reynolds says. “For me, I really wanted to surround myself with some men of God. God worked that out for me with this band.”
The band just released their new EP at the same time as it debuted a new band name: The Morning Watch. The Morning Watch, formerly known as Living Love, released its self-titled EP July 1st.
“We wanted to go with something different, but that also fit our musical style and the goal of our ministry,” says Haywood regarding the name change. “The name comes from Psalm 130:6. ‘My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.’ The morning watch is also commonly known as the first part of the day when you spend time alone with God in personal devotion and prayer. We want our ministry to reflect that when we are playing our music, this is our personal devotion and prayer to God and we are playing it for Him.”
“Our message is also that no matter what we or anyone is going through,” Knight says, “God is always on time.” Knight and McCullers speak openly about their individual struggles with depression and anxiety, challenges that have been made easier because of the camaraderie of the band members, they say. “I appreciate having the guys in the band there to talk through the stuff and be there for me,” Knight says. “To have friends to rely on and walk this journey with me has encouraged me. That’s the goal of our music too: to provide encouragement and hope because we all have struggles.”
The uplifting thread of hope finds itself in much of the music written by the band, which first got together in 2010 to jam. Knight, McCullers, and close friend Darren Barwick, the original three members, began playing some acoustic shows. They added Reynolds as the group’s permanent drummer a year later and the band started playing regularly under the name Living Love.
In 2013, the band members decided to ramp up their musical career. The first step was joining with McLaughlin Music Group International (MMGI), home to Love Like Gravity, Leslie Woods, Amanda Ashby and others, for management. “We knew that in order to get to the next level we would need some expert advice from someone who not only knew the ministry aspect but also the business side of the Christian music industry,” McCullers says, explaining their choice of MMGI.
The fourth band member, Ben Haywood, joined the band on lead guitar, banjo and background vocals, to round out the group.
The name change and new EP are the final pieces to a strategy intended to expand exposure for the band beyond its regional market. That’s good news for fans of upbeat music steeped in God-centered transparency and encouragement.
It’s time to be on the lookout for The Morning Watch…