Fans of a cappella group Home Free will be happy that one of their most popular performance songs, a cover of The Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road,” has finally made it onto an album. The group’s third album, entitled Country Evolution, is out Friday, Sept. 18, and the song is featured on the record.
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“It’s one of the most requested songs we’ve had for about eight years,” member Rob Lundquist tells Billboard. “We had sent out a poll to our Facebook followers, and that was the second most-requested song behind ‘Elvira,’ which is also on the album. It’s one of our favorite tunes, and we filmed the video all over Minneapolis at different locations. It was a blast to film.”
Billboard is exclusively premiering the video for “Seven Bridges Road.” Watch below.
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In cutting “Elvira,” the group got to work with the legendary Oak Ridge Boys. “We were lucky enough to do that,” says Ludquist. “Those guys are so fun to be around, and we had a blast getting to hang out with them.” Though all of the Oaks still possess a youthful buoyance, he admitted that “Joe Bonsall is a firecracker, particularly, but they have so much energy, and enjoy what they do. It’s really infectious.”
The cuts on Country Evolution reflect a variety of musical styles. “About six months before we started recording, we all got together and started brainstorming with different ideas, and we came up with these songs in a totally democratic process, with all of us throwing out ideas. We have a handful of original songs, as well as some covers. Austin Brown has his first original song, ‘California Country,’ on the album. We tried to do some classic country, but also some newer stuff, like Sam Hunt’s ‘House Party.’ We tried to get a broad range of country on the album, hence the album title.
Home Free, who came together in 2000, got their big break in 2013 with their win on season 4 of NBC’s The Sing-Off. “It changed everything for us. We were lucky enough to win the show, and were lucky enough to meet a lot of our idols on the show, such as Jewel, Nick Lachey, and Ben Folds,” explains Lundquist. “As a result of winning, we were able to develop a whole new fan base. It’s made a huge difference for us. We went into the show just wanting a little bit of TV time and to get our name out there. We just didn’t want to be the first ones kicked off. That was our only goal, and then we wound up winning the whole thing, so it worked out pretty well for us.
The group’s vocal fans are the driving part of their success. “We call them our ‘Home Fries,’ and they support us 100 percent,” says Lundquist. “We’d be lost without them.” Collectively, the group’s videos have over 42 million views on YouTube.
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In addition to the new disc, Home Free can also be heard on Once Again It’s Christmas, the new Kenny Rogers holiday record which will be released next week, performing with the country star on a stunning version of “Children, Go Where I Send Thee.” “That was another dream come true. He actually approached us about being a part of his album. It took us just a second to say ‘Yes, anything you want us to be a part of, we’ll do it,'” say Lundquist. “We went to Nashville and recorded it with him. He’s such a true legend. We also shot a video with him, which was so unbelievable. He’s so nice, down to earth, and easy to talk to. There’s no ego at all. He can do it all. He played us a clip of him when he was a teenager, and he was in a jazz trio. He was singing super high, and playing some of the best upright bass I’ve ever heard. He’s such a musical genius.”