Westward Road On the Significance of their Name, Fighting Cancer & Their New Album

Westward Road is comprised of the husband (Scott,) wife (Kelli) and son (Garrett) trio formerly known as "The Roberts Family."  They have just released their brand new album "Gonna Take a Ride."  Westward Road's sound is a mix of a modern country feel with the gospel message of God's saving grace through His faithful and loving Son, Jesus.  There is nothing like the blend and sound of family harmony and Westward Road is at the top of their game. 

Q:  Thank you so much for doing this interview with us.  Who is Westward Road?  How would you describe your style of music? 

Westward Road is a family group. My wife and I sing with our oldest son, Garrett (19). Our Second Son, Carson (16), sings Bass on a few songs with us as well. People love it when our two youngest, Payton (9) and Kade(8) join in and sing with us as well.  Our style is a modern country/southern gospel feel. While we love singing southern gospel music, we wanted to create a group that appeals and reaches out to country music fans as well. I grew up in West Virginia, so my roots are in bluegrass music. I think you'll find a touch of that in our style as well.

Q:  Why did you choose to call yourselves "Westward Road"?  

If you look back through the Old Testament, even back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, you will find that when they were cast out of the garden, they were cast out to the east. So in order to travel back into God's presence, they would have had to travel Westward. The Israelites carried the Tabernacle of God with them as they wandered the desert for 40 years. Whenever they set up the Tabernacle, it always faced East. In the same way, in order to enter the holy of holies, they would have had to enter to the west.  Our desire is that our lives would be continually traveling on that Westward Road, into God's presence, always growing closer to him. And, that's how we chose the name,Westward Road.

Q:  You have recently released your excellent "Gonna Take a Ride."  This isn't your first album, tell us a little about your previous albums. 

Several years ago, we traveled as The Roberts family. We did a hymns CD and a Christmas CD. The hymns CD is out of print but our Christmas CD is still available on our website. We are especially proud of it. The sweet, innocent sounds of the kids voices on songs like Silent Night still melt our hearts.

Q:  Did you approach the making of "Gonna Take a Ride" differently compared to your previous album?  What were some of your highlights in making this album?  

We approached our new album, "Gonna  Take A Ride," entirely differently than our previous CDs. This one has a more country feel, featuring a lot of banjo, mandolin and Fiddle. We wanted to sing songs of Hope because without hope, we are left with nothing but despair. We want people to know the only true source of hope, Jesus Christ.  So we have a lot of songs about our hope in Christ and our hope in heaven on the project. There is a song called "I Need You" on the album that is especially close to our hearts. It is one of those intimate songs that speak from a place of brokenness. Many times, we trust God for our salvation but fail to trust him to change us and lead us moment by moment. This song is about giving up the fight of trying to change on our own and trusting God to change us into who He wants us to be. 

Q:  How do you wish this album would impact the life of your listeners? 

We hope that people find real hope by giving the fight over to Jesus and simply resting in his faithfulness. He promised that he will complete that which he has begun. When we really live that, he brings so much peace and so much hope.

Q:  I must say I love your rendition of Darlene Zschech's "In Jesus' Name."   Why did you choose to tackle this worship number? 

Several years ago, Kelli was faced with the bad news that she might have thyroid cancer. She certainly didn't expect to hear this news when she went to the doctor for a ruptured eardrum, but she left the doctor's office with the worry and fear of the unknown. She got a second opinion from a top specialist in Indiana and received the same diagnosis. Our family, friends and church prayed fervently for her healing.  Kelli remembers praying and asking for God's healing. She specifically prayed that, "in Jesus' name," God would be glorified through whatever outcome that he chose. Praise God that after surgery, the doctor came out and said that when they went in,  there was no cancer there.  So, the song in Jesus name, is very special to us. The lyric, "Christ revealed and I am healed in Jesus' name" really hits home and means a lot to us.

Q:  Let's talk about some of your originals.  If you have to pick two songs as a way of introducing your album to our readers, which would they be?  And why would you choose these two?  

Two of my favorites from the album are, "Gonna Take a Ride" and "You Hold Me."  Gonna Take A Ride is fun to sing. There's a part in the song where it changes keys and just soars from that point on. Kelli's voice is so sweet on the song , You Hold Me. The lyric, melody and feel of the song, help you to rest in God's loving arms as he holds us.

Q:  For our readers who would like to find out more about you and your music, where can they go? 

To learn more about Westwood Road and to purchase CDs, go to Westwardroad.com. Our music is available on iTunes, Google play, Amazon and anywhere digital music is sold.  You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. 

 

 

 

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