After building momentum with two charting original singles, rising bluegrass gospel group Eighteen Mile opens the new year with a beautifully restrained and spiritually resonant rendition of "Living Waters," originally written by Kristyn Getty and Keith Getty. Produced by acclaimed instrumentalist Andy Leftwich, the track trades urgency for warmth, weaving gentle harmonies and masterful musicianship into a polished, contemplative performance that invites listeners to linger in the promise of Christ as the soul's true and lasting fulfillment.
Formed by young musicians Carson and Savannah Aaron, Jack and Hallie Ritter, and Emily Guy - alumni of the ministry-focused Steve Pettit Band - Eighteen Mile brings a fresh, heartfelt sound rooted in faith and tradition. The South Carolina-based bluegrass gospel group signed with Mountain Home Music Company in the summer of 2025 and brings soulful songwriting, rich harmonies, and musical excellence to their performances. Mountain Home's A&R Director Jon Weisberger adds, "Eighteen Mile's distinctive identity and commitment to their vision deeply impressed us-we're excited to help bring their music to a wider audience."
Q: For listeners discovering Eighteen Mile for the first time, how would you describe the identity and mission of the group, and what heart do you hope people hear behind your music?
Eighteen Mile is a band of songwriters who love to tell stories. We all grew up playing bluegrass and bluegrass gospel so that is our default mode! We all work full-time jobs besides music, and we make it a priority to be involved in our own churches. Our goal is to translate our everyday life experiences into bluegrass and gospel music that is for everyday life.
Q: After two charting original songs, what drew you to record a fresh interpretation of "Living Waters," and why did this song feel like the right next step for you creatively and spiritually?
"Living Waters" captures the heart of all of our individual stories so, in conjunction with Jon Weisberger at Mountain Home, it was an easy choice for this one to be third in our lineup of songs! Also, it is a worship song, and after celebrating God's goodness with "Above the Clouds" and His mercy with "What Mercy Means," it is appropriate to stop to "Praise the Lord of living waters."
Q: Carson, you've spoken about the story of the woman at the well as a key inspiration - how did that biblical narrative influence the way you approached the arrangement and overall tone of the recording?
Through all of our concerts so far, we have highlighted a few of the individual stories of some of the people in the band. How I (Carson) chose not to follow a career in country music and how God brought me back to music, how God saved Emily during her freshman year of college, how Jack pursued playing college football at the expense of following the Lord before God brought him back to the joy of a relationship with God. All of these stories are unique to us, but also timeless.
The woman at the well tried to create her own meaning for her life by pursuing relationships, all that failed and left her broken and cut off from her community. Jesus met her, and to paraphrase, said to her, " You have been searching in all the wrong places for meaning. It is like water, you drink it but you get thirsty again." Then He compared Himself, and God's infinite love, to a Living Water. He said that if she looked for fulfillment there, she would never thirst again.
Each of us in Eighteen Mile has experienced what the woman in that story experienced, and that drives everything we do. We love to write and tell stories, and the story of Jesus is the greatest story that any of us have ever heard.
Q: Working with producer Andy Leftwich, you chose to slow the tempo and create a more reflective feel. What was the vision behind that decision, and how did it shape the song emotionally?
Andy has such an amazing ear for details. So when we brought him this song, first of all, we knew that he was on our wavelength with how we wanted to communicate the message of the song, and second, that he could help us make it happen. Our goal with the tempo and feel was to draw people in as close to the message as we could. We added a few things creatively, like Andy playing mandola and Rob Ickes on resonator guitar, to help us achieve that. Overall, we were all so pleased with how this one turned out! My favorite part instrumentally of this track is at the very end where Rob showed his ear for detail and played the two syllables of "wa-ter" on the phrase of the instrumental outro.
Q: "Living Waters" was originally written by Kristyn Getty and Keith Getty, artists known for modern hymns that have influenced churches worldwide. What does it mean to reinterpret a song from the Gettys' catalog, and how did you honor their message while making it distinctly Eighteen Mile?
We first heard this song when Keith Getty invited some of us to attend their Sing Conference in Nashville in 2023, and they played "Living Waters" there and had thousands of people in Bridgestone arena sing along with it. That experience lived in the back of our minds for a while until Emily Guy joined the band and we were looking for a song that would be a good fit for her voice. In our first rehearsals with this one, our goal was to keep it worshipful but push it just a touch into that traditional bluegrass groove with three part harmonies. I remember listening repeatedly to a recording after practice that I took on my phone. This one just fit so well with who we are.
Q: With "Living Waters" beginning the year on such a strong note, what can listeners expect from Eighteen Mile in the coming months - are there new songs, themes, or musical directions you're especially excited to explore next?
We have an exciting year ahead of us! We have some more original songs ready for release, and another project we are about to start recording soon. On the rest of our current project, expect to hear some more songs like "Living Waters" as well as some more traditional bluegrass gospel. On our next project, we hope to explore some more personal stories and themes.
I am actually writing all of this from our hospital room where we just welcomed our baby girl a couple of days ago. So we will continue to explore all of how being a Christian touches every part of daily life. We've got a lot of fun songs like the traditional "barn-burning" bluegrass gospel songs you might hear in a bluegrass festival, as well as songs that share personal stories and nostalgic ideas. We are excited to share them all with y'all!
"Living Waters" is streaming in Dolby Atmos spatial audio on Apple Music, Amazon Music and TIDAL. Listen to it HERE.
