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Carrie Theobald, Mandee Radford, and Cristi Johnson make up the Alathea trio whose new album “What Light Is All About” is set to release in early March. Radford and Theobald attended Milligan. Johnson is an ETSU graduate. |
-Photo by Jimmy Abegg, courtesy of Rocketown Records. |
Three young women from Unicoi, Tenn. are taking the Appalachian melodies of their home to the world of Christian music.
The group is known by a single word: Alathea, (pronounced uh-LAY-thee-uh), which comes from the Greek word for truth.
Cristi Johnson, Mandee Radford and Carrie Theobald make up this trio whose upcoming debut album with Rocketown Records is entitled, “What Light Is All About.” The release date is set for March 4.
The Milligan connection with this group is strong. Two of the three musicians attended Milligan. Radford attended Milligan in the mid-1990s and majored in biology, but her real interest has always been music. An Elizabethton native, Theobald graduated from Milligan in 1997 with a fine arts degree. The third member, Johnson, graduated from ETSU in 1997 with degrees in English and psychology.
Alathea, often compared to the Dixie Chicks, said some of their musical influences range from Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton to Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Patty Griffin. Their music is largely acoustic, and they categorize their sound as “Popalachian.”
The group formed five years ago at a Young Life leadership retreat when the three women began playing music together. Before signing with Rocketown Records, the group released two independent albums and played various venues, including churches, youth group meetings, coffeeshops and festivals.
“We’ve played as far west as Las Vegas, a lot in the Midwest and as far east as New Hampshire,” Theobald said.
The women say they are committed to stay true to their musical and spiritual heritage.
“‘What Light is All About’ is not just a random collection of songs,” said the group. “These songs tell the simple story of our lives, sung out as creatively and honestly as we know how to be. From the images and instrumentation to the recording and photography, we tried to keep everything true to the passion of the songs and their setting in the mountains of East Tennessee.”
“I think people are looking for and want music with substance,” Radford added. “And we want to give young girls somebody to look up to besides Britney Spears.”
Alathea will also play a release date event in Nashville with Christian artist Chris Rice on March 4. The event will be held at Michael W. Smith’s pioneering teen club, Rocketown, and will include special guests from more than a dozen radio stations who will be flown in to attend the event.