John Bowman exits The Boxcars

John BowmanJohn Bowman, one of the five founding members of bluegrass supergroup The Boxcars, has announced that he is leaving the band. Over the past few years, Bowman has been increasingly focusing his energy towards preaching and singing in churches, often along the route he travels with the band.

Today he has announced his intention to leave The Boxcars, effective June 21.

“After much prayer, I have decided to go into a solo singing and preaching ministry, full-time. I have no doubt that this is the direction God wants me to go. I believe I have a mandate from God to sing about and preach the Gospel. I am excited about what lies ahead in singing and preaching the word of God.

Over the past five years, I have been blessed and privileged to travel with some of the best musicians on the planet. Adam Steffey, Ron Stewart, Harold Nixon, and Keith Garrett are not only my bandmates, they are my friends. I could not have asked for a better bunch of men to pick and travel with. I will miss them, their beautiful families, and pray God’s blessings on them as they move forward with The Boxcars.”

Remaining opportunities to catch John with The Boxcars include Bean Blossom, Wenatchee River Bluegrass Festival, and Huck Finn Jubilee. Full details can be found online.

Finding a suitable replacement could be a challenge, as Bowman has served as the band’s tenor vocalist, one of four lead singers, and has played both fiddle and banjo in their shows.

Adam Steffey tells us that they have known for a while of John’s intentions, and that all of The Boxcars wish him well.

Adam Steffey“John let us know back in May that he was going to be leaving the band. He has been a valuable member of the band and as such, we wanted to allow plenty of time for him to be sure that he was positive about leaving. Not only is John a talented musician and singer, but above all of this, he’s a real man of God and wants to follow his calling to his ministry and music ministry. We know that he will be blessed and will be a blessing to many others in the future, and that God will use him in a real and powerful way. He will be missed in The Boxcars as a friend and musician.

We will be announcing his replacement very soon. John will be playing with us through June 21st in Cashmere, WA.

We are excited about the future for both John and The Boxcars.”

Bowman has a new album due for a June 17 release on Crossroads, entitled Worship Him. It features him on solo guitar and vocals, looking towards his new ministry and career direction.

Pre-orders are enabled now online.

Share this:

About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.