The Nashville-based rock outfit Luna Halo center on the talents of lead vocalist/guitarist Nathan Barlowe. Born in Raleigh, NC, Barlowe initially honed his skills with Reality Check, a modern rock Christian outfit, before forming Luna Halo in 1999. The band's CCM-oriented debut album, Shimmer, was released by Sparrow Records in 2000. Despite the album's positive reviews, Barlowe grew tired of the Christian industry and subsequently left Sparrow's roster. A new lineup was gradually assembled (including Barlowe's younger brother, guitarist Cary Barlowe), and the revised band released a handful of EPs while touring with the likes of Hoobastank and Velvet Revolver. A deal with American Recordings surfaced in 2005; two years later, Luna Halo released their self-titled sophomore effort on American/Columbia Records.
Luna Halo | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock[1] |
| Years active | 1999–2012, 2015, 2022-present |
| Labels | Spirit Music Group, Sparrow, American |
| Past members |
|
Musical career
editHistory
editIn 2000, Luna Halo was fronted by former Reality Check front man Nathan Barlowe and released their debut CD Shimmer on Christian music label Sparrow Records. Even though Shimmer was praised by critics, Luna Halo left Sparrow Records and the Christian music industry before recording their next album due to creative differences.
Barlowe replaced guitarist MacIntosh with his younger brother Cary Barlowe, Aaron Jenkins replaced bassist Brad Minor, and drummer Chris Coleman replaced Jonathan Smith, completing the lineup for the new Luna Halo.
Rumors of an imminent major label deal began to surface in 2004, and a deal with DreamWorks,[2] was announced prematurely, but later proved to be untrue, after negotiations broke down. The band released another EP, Wasting Away (originally recorded as a demo for DreamWorks) and opened shows for artists Velvet Revolver, Hoobastank, Collective Soul, Ours, Needtobreathe and Family Force 5.
In 2005, Luna Halo were signed to American Recordings and began work on their second album, Luna Halo. Originally scheduled for a Summer 2006 release. The album was plagued with delays. This was due to American Recordings owner Rick Rubin's departure from Warner Bros to Columbia Records. The album was finally released in late 2007.
On June 18, 2008, the band released a statement stating that drummer Chris Coleman was leaving the band to take a break from music and go back to school. In November, Jonathan Smith a.k.a. TheRealJonSmith (the original Luna Halo drummer) rejoined the band.
In May 2008, the band shot a music video for the song "World On Fire", directed by Chris Grieder alongside Flying Dog Films.
On November 24, 2008, the band released a statement via MySpace stating that Aaron Jenkins would be leaving the band, because he was expecting the birth of his second child. On December 16, the band announced Victor Broden as their new bass player.
On November 13, 2012, lead singer Nathan Barlowe announced that Luna Halo would be playing their final show on December 8, 2012, at 12th and Porter in Nashville, TN. This show would mark not only the band's final show, but also their twelve-year anniversary celebration.[3]
Notably, their song 'I'm Alright' from their 2007 album was also featured inside Flatout: Ultimate Carnage as a part of the soundtrack.
After a seven year hiatus, on February 11, 2022 Luna Halo performed a sold out show at the Mercury lounge in Nashville, Tennessee. They announced during their show that they only had two days to prepare for this concert.
Luna Halo signed a multi album deal with Spirit Music Group in June 2024, and is currently working on new material to be released in the Summer of 2024.
Members
edit2002–2024
Band Members
- Nathan Barlowe – lead vocals, guitar
- Cary Barlowe – guitar, vocals
- Aaron Jenkins– bass
- Chris Coleman- drums
Discography
edit- Shimmer [Sparrow] 2000
- Luna Halo (EP) 2002
- New Drug (EP) 2003
- Wasting Away (EP) 2004
- Tour (EP) [American/Warner Bros] 2006
- Luna Halo (EP) [American/Columbia] 2007 (digital release only)
- Luna Halo [American/Columbia] 2007
References
edit- ^ allmusic ((( Luna Halo > Overview )))
- ^ Luna Halo brings heavenly rock - Arts and Entertainment Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Barlowe, Nathan. "LH Show 1". Facebook. Retrieved 28 November 2012.