The Choir is an atmospheric alternative rock band currently comprising Derri Daugherty on guitar and lead vocals, Steve Hindalong on drums and percussion, and Dan Michaels on saxophone and Lyricon. Long-time bass guitarist Tim Chandler died in 2018, and guitarist Marc Byrd was the fifth member of the band between 2005–2014. The Choir's industry accolades include a GMA Dove Award for Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year in 1996 and a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in 2002.
As of 2026, the band has commercially released 21 full-length studio albums, three EPs, eight live albums, one single-disc compilation album, one retrospective box set, and is still actively recording new material.
History
Southern California period (1983–1993)
The Choir was originally formed as Youth Choir in the early 1980s by Daugherty and Hindalong. Chandler, who was also the bass guitarist for Daniel Amos, introduced Hindalong to Daugherty, who was the band's roadie and sound man. The two quickly became friends, and Youth Choir got its start within the Calvary Chapel Christian punk and alternative music scene, As Youth Choir, they released their debut album Voices in Shadows in 1985, with Mike Sauerbrey on bass; their first EP Shades of Gray followed a year later, when Dan Michaels joined the band.
The Choir made a high-profile move to Myrrh Records in 1986 with their next release, Diamonds and Rain. Dropping the "Youth" from their moniker, they would be known as "The Choir" from that point forward. This was followed by three more albums for Myrrh, which featured musical contributions from an array of performers, including Charlie Peacock, Mark Heard, Steve Griffith of Vector and Gene Eugene and Riki Michele from Adam Again. The Choir's lineup also changed. Chandler was the primary bass player through the recording sessions for Chase the Kangaroo, released in 1988; however, Robin Spurs replaced him on the tour for that album, as well as the recording sessions and tour for the band's follow-up, Wide-Eyed Wonder, in 1989. When Spurs quit the band during the recording sessions for 1990's Circle Slide, Sauerbrey returned for the remainder of those sessions, and toured with the Choir for two more years. Chandler then rejoined the lineup for the recording of Kissers and Killers, which was later independently released in 1993.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Choir toured extensively within the United States, and was most notably the first band on stage at the inaugural Cornerstone Festival in Chicago in 1984. They also preceded Bruce Cockburn on stage at the Greenbelt Festival in England in 1986, and opened for Russ Taff on his nationwide tour in 1990. References to the band's tour experiences would remain an ongoing source of lyrical inspiration. During their Southern California period, the Choir's music was described by the Los Angeles Times as "magical songs that combine strains of murky psychedelia with pure pop." Billboard praised the band for its "dark poetic leanings, effects-laden guitars and strong melodic hooks." By contrast, the CCM industry had begun flourishing in Nashville in the early 1990s. Soon after the band's arrival, Michaels went into artist management, becoming a successful A&R man in the Christian music industry, eventually serving as the Choir's manager as well. Daugherty and Hindalong would musically contribute to, and produce, numerous projects, including the Lost Dogs, and most notably, the City on a Hill worship music series. Their next album, Free Flying Soul, released in 1996, would bring the band their most notable industry recognition to that point, as they were awarded a GMA Dove Award for Alternative/Modern Rock Album of the Year.
Journey to independent status (2000-present)
Despite the belated awards attention, both Hindalong and Daugherty have gone on record numerous times over the years about the limitations of the CCM distribution model, the musical and lyrical expectations from record labels, as the band never fit the "Christian music" mold, according to Hindalong. "You were either one of two things: you were evangelization or edification,” he explained. “You're either edifying the Body, or getting people saved—one of these two functions. To us, music is not a means to an end. It's not a tool. We're not going to meet your expectations.” inspired by the music of bands such as Romeo Void, and My Bloody Valentine. As a result, "we couldn't be sold," Hindalong said. "Whoever promoted the show was not happy with what we did." playing anywhere they could be booked, whether a bar, a club, a coffeehouse,
Even when the Choir directly addressed matters of faith in their lyrics, the band's music rarely gained airplay on mainstream Christian radio. "How would you care about radio success on a radio station that you, yourself, would not listen to?" Hindalong asked. "We had no chance succeeding commercially, plus we didn't want to say what we were expected to say, at least at that point."
In an attempt to broaden the Choir's appeal to Christian audiences, Myrrh had the band open for Russ Taff on his high-profile The Way Home tour in 1990. “It was a disaster," Hindalong said.
Two years later, the Choir made a concerted effort to target a broader audience by recording a collection of demos that they could shop around to mainstream record labels. Although three labels expressed interest (I.R.S. Records, Geffen Records and Fiction Records), they ultimately passed. "We really believed we had to take that chance,” Hindalong said. “Besides, I just wanted to hear my songs on the radio." Hindalong denied that the band "hated Christian music and would never do it again," and added, "we're not bitter and frustrated; we're just trying to broaden our audience." In addition, the Choir recorded two new live albums at the festival, Live at Cornerstone 2000: Plugged and Live at Cornerstone 2000: Unplugged, with the former featuring the entire band and the latter an acoustic set with just Daugherty and Hindalong. Michaels then created an official website for the Choir, where they could directly interact with fans as well as sell music and merchandise. Although members of the Choir would continue to provide production and musical contributions to artists within the CCM industry, and the band would occasionally address Christian themes in their music, the Choir would be frequently identified as an indie rock band from that point forward.
In 2005, after Daugherty and Hindalong had worked with Byrd on a number of other musical projects following the release of Flap Your Wings, the Choir officially added Byrd to their lineup to record O How the Mighty Have Fallen. The album was also produced by Byrd, and released through Michaels' new Galaxy21 Music imprint, through which all future Choir albums would be distributed.
Renewed creative activity (2010)
After a five-year recording hiatus, the Choir released two full-length studio albums in 2010. In June, the band released Burning Like the Midnight Sun, which received positive reviews. Jeff Elbel, in the Chicago Sun-Times, called the album "a late-career triumph," and remarked that it was the band's "second exceptional album in a row, and its best since 1990's landmark Circle Slide." In November, the band released de-plumed, which featured cellist Matt Slocum of Sixpence None the Richer. A collection of acoustic reinterpretations of one song from each of their 12 prior studio albums, it was released shortly after Daugherty and Hindalong embarked on a multi-city acoustic tour as a duo version of the band.
The Choir's next studio album, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard, was released in May 2012. Later that year, the band toured in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Chase the Kangaroo, playing the album in its entirety, followed by a selection of tracks from Loudest Sound. For this tour, the band performed as a trio with bassist Chandler. Then in July, the full lineup of the Choir closed out the final gathering of the Cornerstone Festival, in commemoration of their inaugural 1984 performance. Bloodshot (2018), and Deep Cuts (2021). Kickstarter stretch goals have contributed six additional releases: the Christmas-themed Peace, Love & Light EP (2013), the live albums Live and on the Wing in Music City (2014) and The Livestream Bootleg (2015), the "unplugged" Kissers and Killers — The Acoustic Sessions (2018), the ambient Words Spoken and Floating on Clouds (2023), and 7 + 77s = 9: Reinterpretations (2024), which features newly-recorded versions of earlier work, including a cover version performed by the 77s. Since 2013, the band has remastered and re-released Chase the Kangaroo, Kissers and Killers, Free Flying Soul, Circle Slide and Wide-Eyed Wonder, following the latter two re-releases with a short tour during which the entire album was played in its entirety. Michael Roe of the 77s filled in on bass for the Circle Slide 25th anniversary tour in 2015, Crowdfunding also generated Hindalong's second solo album The Warbler in 2016, and Daugherty's third solo release The Color of Dreams in 2018 on Lo-Fidelity Records.
Post-Tim Chandler work (2019-present)
Long-time bassist Chandler died on October 8, 2018. The following year, the Choir—now a threesome—began releasing non-album singles at the pace of one every other month, starting with a cover of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" and followed by "Mystical World," their first original composition after Chandler's death. In March 2021, the Choir shifted to Patreon where they continue to release new tracks exclusively for subscribers, including a 2021 re-recording of "Render Love" for the Electric Jesus film soundtrack. Donohue also played with the Choir on two new tracks recorded for other projects: "The First Time I Saw Eden," a cover of a Randy Stonehill song for the 2022 tribute album There's A Rainbow Somewhere: The Songs of Randy Stonehill, and "Old Man Winter," for A Mercyland Christmas, part of the multi-artist Mercyland series of albums led by Phil Madeira.
In 2024, the Choir released a significant amount of new material. In addition to the band's monthly releases to Patreon subscribers, they also released three new studio albums, one EP and one live album. The first of these was the Kickstarter bonus album 7 + 77s = 9: Reinterpretations, which was a result of a stretch goal for the second re-release of Chase the Kangaroo. The third and most notable was Translucent, which was the Choir's first ambient instrumental release. The sole EP, Reinterpretations, was simply an abridged version of 7 + 77s = 9: Reinterpretations released to streaming platforms. Finally, the band released Live from District Drugs, an acoustic performance originally recorded in Rock Island, Illinois in 2012. Both 7 + 77s = 9: Reinterpretations and Translucent received a physical release; the remainder of their 2024 releases were digital-only.
In October 2025, it was announced that the band would be releasing an album titled Dragonfly, their "most ambitious to date", in 2026.
Other projects
Each band member has worked on numerous projects outside the Choir.
Daugherty and Hindalong have produced and recorded several worship albums featuring other contemporary Christian music artists, including their own At the Foot of the Cross series. Volume One: Clouds, Rain, Fire was released in 1992, became one of the most successful worship songs of the early 2000s, Songs of Worship and Praise would go on to receive a Dove Award in 2001 for Special Event Album of the Year.
Daugherty, Hindalong and Michaels have all released solo works, with Daugherty also releasing an instrumental ambient project under the name Clouds Echo in Blue. Daugherty is one-half of Kerosene Halo, a duo project with 77s frontman Roe; they have released three albums to date. Since 1991, Daugherty has also been a member of the alternative rock supergroup Lost Dogs, led by Terry Scott Taylor of Daniel Amos and including the 77s' Roe and Adam Again's Eugene; Hindalong would join the group after Eugene's death. In 2023, Hindalong would also join with Slocum, Madeira, Jimmy Abegg and Ben Pearson to form The Ascendants and use Kickstarter to launch their debut album, The Fellowship of the Broken. The following year, Hindalong performed live with Sixpence None the Richer, providing percussion on the band's We Are Love tour to support their Rosemary Hill EP, which Hindalong produced. Before his death in 2018, Chandler was the bass player for both Daniel Amos and that band's side project, the Swirling Eddies, for many years, pre-dating his work with the Choir. Spurs later joined Rachel Rachel and toured with them in the early 1990s. Byrd was a member of Common Children, then later he and bandmate Andrew Thompson formed the post-rock band Hammock in 2005. Byrd has also recorded with his wife Christine Glass as Glassbyrd. Michaels has recorded saxophone for, and performed on tour with, a variety of other artists including Adam Again, Crystal Lewis and Bryan Duncan.
- Billy Wilde (nee Bill Sammons) – guitar
- Bill Campbell – guitar
- Wayne Everett – percussion
- Michael Roe – bass guitar, vocals
- Matt Slocum – guitar
- Justin Cary – bass guitar
Timeline
! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;"| CCM<br />CHR<br />
! scope="col" style="font-size:90%;"| CCM<br />AC<br />
|-
|rowspan="2"|1985
|"A Million Years"
|align="center"|—
| —
| —
|rowspan="2"| Voices in Shadows
|-
|"Someone's Calling"
|align="center"|8
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="4"|1986
|-
|"15 Doors"
|align="center"|5
| —
| —
|rowspan="1"| Shades of Gray
|-
|"Fear Only You"
|align="center"|1
| 17
| —
|rowspan="5"| Diamonds and Rain
|-
|"When the Morning Comes"
|align="center"| —
| 7
| 11
|-
|rowspan="3"|1987
|-
|"Kingston Road"
|align="center"| —
| —
| —
|-
|"Render Love"
|align="center"|6
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="3"|1988
|"Clouds"
|align="center"|—
| —
| —
|rowspan="3"| Chase the Kangaroo
|-
|"Consider"
|align="center"|1
| —
| —
|-
|"Chase the Kangaroo"
|align="center"|7
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="3"|1989
|"Someone to Hold On To"
|align="center"|1
| 12
| —
|rowspan="4"| Wide-Eyed Wonder
|-
|"Wide-Eyed Wonder"
|align="center"| —
| 10
| —
|-
|"To Cover You"
|align="center"|5
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="2"|1990
|"Spin You Around"
|align="center"| 12
| —
| —
|-
|"Restore My Soul"
|align="center"| 3
| —
| —
|rowspan="2"| Circle Slide
|-
|rowspan="1"|1991
|"About Love"
|align="center"| 6
| 25
| —
|-
|rowspan="2"|1994
|"Spring"
|align="center"| 2
| —
| —
|rowspan="2"| Speckled Bird
|-
|"Speckled Bird"
|align="center"| 7
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="3"|1996
|"The Ocean"
|align="center"| —
| 20
| —
|rowspan="3"| Free Flying Soul
|-
|"Away With the Swine"
|align="center"|6
| —
| —
|-
|"Sled Dog"
|align="center"|8
| —
| —
|-
|rowspan="1"|2000
|"Hey Gene"
|align="center"|9
| —
| —
|rowspan="2"| Flap Your Wings
|-
|rowspan="1"|2001
|"Cherry Bomb"
|align="center"| —
| —
| —
|-
!colspan="10" style="font-size: 8pt"| "—" denotes singles that did not chart.
|}
Non-album tracks
Vinyl singles
- 1985 "I Can't Take It" b/w "Here in the Night (live)" (as Youth Choir)
- 2024 "Nowhere Else" (The Choir) b/w "To Cover You" (The 77s)
Digital singles
- 2004 "Travelin' Light (demo)" (music download)
- 2006 "The Sun Also Rises (demo)" (streaming)
- 2010 "Babe in the Straw" (music download)
- 2012 "Shadow of the Cross" (music download)
- 2013 "Beautiful Girl" (music download)
- 2016 "Rhythm of the Road (Reimagined)" (music download)
- 2019 "In the Air Tonight" (music download)
- 2019 "After All (Reimagined) [featuring Leigh Nash]" (music download)
- 2019 "Mystical World" (music download)
- 2019 "Kathie's Garden" (music download)
- 2019 "Counting Stars" (music download)
- 2020 "What You Think I Am (Reimagined) [featuring Leigh Nash]" (music download)
- 2020 "The Real WWW" (music download)
Patreon-exclusive music downloads
All songs initially released on a monthly basis to Patreon supporters only. In 2023, the Choir began slowly releasing some of these tracks one at a time under the banner The Patreon Sessions, either by digital download or on streaming platforms. These same tracks were later collected together for the 2024 digital release Patreon Sessions (Unfinished Tracks).