Angels From the Realms of Glory a New Release From Rrinaco
Rrinaco has burst onto the bluegrass scene in a big way this year, releasing a widely praised debut album Little Songs this summer and rolling out two striking music videos, with a third set to debut next week. And now as 2025 draws to a close, the band is excited to unveil a beautiful Christmas single, Angels From the Realms of Glory.
Originally published as a poem in a newspaper on Christmas Eve in the early 1800s, Angels From the Realms of Glory remains one of the most enduring, yet underperformed, carols of the season. While many traditional songs are often modernised through timing changes or lyric alterations, Rrinaco’s arrangement of Angels From the Realms of Glory stays true to the original hymnbook version.
Angels From the Realms of Glory has long been one of my favorite Christmas numbers. The effective yet succinctness of the message and form of the song, paired with the harmonisation, are literally some of my favourite things that make me excited about a piece of music. The fact that I have hardly heard it performed in churches and have never heard any recorded versions of this song, in popular music or otherwise, has always surprised men – Corrina Rose Logston Stephens, the creative force behind Rrinaco.
Accompanying Stephens on Angels From the Realms of Glory is Casey Campbell on mandolin, Kevin Buchanan on percussion, fellow High Fidelity-bandmate Kurt Stephenson on 5-string banjo), and her husband Jeremy Stephens on guitar, upright bass and harmony vocals.
Recording with Campbell, Stephenson and her spouse was especially meaningful as all three were part of her earliest experiences arranging original songs during her college years at Nashville’s Belmont University. She added that Kevin Buchanan’s percussion gave the track the sweeping, epic feel of a true Christmas classic.
I see ‘Angels From the Realms of Glory’ as a song that bridges the gap between bluegrass and more traditional Christmas songs on the holiday playlist – Corrina Rose Logston Stephens.
About Rrinaco:
Corrina Rose Logston Stephens
Rrinaco is the art child of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Corrina Rose Logston Stephens. Whimsical, multi-dimensional, and entirely unique in nature, Stephens found her original material spoke boldly enough that it needed its own space. Rrinaco is the musical parking lot for Stephens’ song explorations, but it’s also the vehicle for the variety of talents she brings to the table.
The artistic process for Stephens is a whimsical one that she takes very seriously. There are simple yet strong melodies, realistic lyrics that somehow flow like nursery rhymes, and subject matter that spans the divine to the ridiculous. Spiritual songs are very core to the Rrinaco repertoire, but no life happenings are off the hook.
Stephens is best known for her fiddling and tenor singing in the traditional bluegrass world with the band High Fidelity, but her strong lead singing lays the foundation of Rrinaco. With simple yet strong melodies, realistic lyrics that somehow flow like nursery rhymes, and subject matter that spans the divine to the ridiculous, Rrinaco is a decidedly new creation.
High Fidelity was one of the international acts at Mountaingrass 2024.
About Rebel records:
Rebel Records is the leading independent record label dedicated to promoting and preserving Traditional Bluegrass Music. Rebel’s current roster includes Larry Sparks, Peter Rowan, Big Country Bluegrass, High Fidelity, The Kody Norris Show, Starlett & Big John, Seth Mulder & Midnight Run and Rrinaco. Known for innovation and excellence since 1960, Rebel has introduced many of the most important artists of the genre, from the Country Gentlemen and Seldom Scene to Blue Highway, Lonesome River Band and IIIrd Tyme Out.
In addition to Rebel’s cutting edge presence in contemporary Bluegrass, the label has also been a home for legendary traditional artists like Ralph Stanley, Del McCoury, Rhonda Vincent and Dave Evans.
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