The anticipation has been building for the release of Diamond Rio’s first-ever holiday recording, A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines.

One of Country music’s most beloved supergroups, Diamond Rio’s Christmas album blends holiday classics with the band’s impeccable harmonies; a perfect match that will become a holiday favourite for years to come. A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines is the first project under the group’s new label, Word Records.

A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines showcases timeless holiday songs done Diamond Rio style, including Winter Wonderland, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and nine other holiday favourites.

“Finally, we have a Christmas CD!” says guitarist Jimmy Olander. “We threw ourselves at this project like none we have ever done before. When you have loved songs for so long and all your heroes have recorded them, it definitely makes you dig deep. I’m sure I’m way too close to be objective… but I think this is some of our best work.”

“We decided to put our mark on each one of the songs, so every song is different than what you would expect to hear,” continues keyboardist Dan Truman. “There are a bunch of surprises as far as the arrangements and the little things we did to them which made it an absolute blast for us, just sitting around in the studio coming up with new ideas for the same old songs.”

A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines was recorded at Olander’s studio, Casa de Twang, and was co-produced by Olander and the group’s longtime producer, Michael Clute. The album offers straight-ahead Country renditions but also spotlights each member’s musical talent in a way the band has never been able to explore. Listeners will be treated to the bluegrass sound of Christmas Time’s A Comin’, which gives mandolin player Gene Johnson and Williams, both bluegrass aficionados, a chance to shine. But then there are pop classics such as The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire), which finds lead vocalist Marty Roe crooning like a modern day Bing Crosby. But drummer Brian Prout is quick to note, “It’s still distinctively Diamond Rio.”

Named Grand Ole Opry members in 1998, Diamond Rio has had an illustrious career that includes over 10 million albums sales, nine #1 singles, six Vocal Group of the Year awards (Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music) and 13 Grammy® nominations. The band is highly regarded for their charitable contributions as the long-time National Spokesperson for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and was further honoured with the prestigious Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award in 2004.

Diamond Rio will soon be taking A Diamond Rio Christmas: The Star Still Shines on the road as the band is currently planning a Christmas tour. The album is available now at your local Canadian Christian retailer. For more information on Diamond Rio, visit the band’s YMZ artist page.