Crowder is celebrating a Top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with his solo album debut, Neon Steeple, hitting No. 9. The album released last week to critical acclaim, with outlets praising his innovative sound and new musical direction.
Last Saturday, Crowder fulfilled a lifelong dream in making his Grand Ole Opry debut. Performing a tribute to Hank Williams Sr. with "I Saw The Light," Crowder was a fan favorite in a night of Opry performances that included Deana Carter and country music legend Ricky Skaggs. Following the performance of his original track "Come As You Are," which Rhapsody referenced as evidence of Crowder as a "creative wordsmith," an emotional Ricky Skaggs in a rare moment championed Crowder as an "international harvester," declaring his music as joy filled and something that he envisions will free people from "addictions, drugs and alcohol, and most importantly, religion, things that bind us and hold us down and make us think that we have to do it a certain way."