Being raised to the sound of southern gospel singing by his grandparents C.W. and Irene Russell, Craig began singing when he was four years old in a small country church in Western Kentucky. With the support he received, Craig saw the rewards music may have to offer him at a young age. He continued to sing in church and anywhere else he could find an audience throughout his teenage years. While attending a local college Craig was inspired to learn to play guitar and began writing his own songs. Although his songs are far from the hymnals he grew up singing, there are songs such as "Set Me Free" that reveal his faith as a subliminal focus of his folk rock genre.
In 1999, Craig recorded six of his original songs with good friend and very talented musician, Josh Williams. Over the past few years that "Bootleg CD" has been heard on radio stations around the mid west, and has even been heard by our soldiers while stationed in Iraq. Craig recently had the privilege to play at a coming home party to one of those men.
2007 was a big year for The Craig Russell Band. Winning the Battle of the Bands, hosted by Harrah's Casino, would set them up to be the opening act for artists such as, Halfway to Hazard, Ricochet, and Sawyer Brown. Currently the band is recording a 10 track CD which will include their original songs, "Malibu", "Dignity", "Blue Water", "Kentucky Anthem", "South of Memphis", "What Are We Waiting On",
and 4 "unplugged" songs. The CD will be released spring 2008.
CRAIG
RUSSELL