Sara Groves : then and now...

Sara Groves, born Sara Lee Colbaugh, September 10, 1972 in Vineland, New Jersey, grew up in Springfield, Missouri, resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, is an American Contemporary Christian singer, record producer, and author.

"Groves has been nominated for three Dove Awards including "New Artist of the Year" in 2002 and "Special Event Album of the Year 2003" by the Gospel Music Association and one of the best Christian music artists of 2005"

Groves received her Bachelor of Science degree in history and English in 1994 from Evangel University, a private Christian university in Springfield, Missouri. Groves spent four years teaching high school in Rosemount, Minnesota before recording her first album, Past the Wishing, in 1998.  Since then, she has released nine additional albums and appeared on several others. Groves has been nominated for three Dove Awards including "New Artist of the Year" in 2002 and "Special Event Album of the Year 2003" by the Gospel Music Association.  She was named one of the best Christian music artists of 2005 and the album, Add to the Beauty, was named "Album of the Year" for 2005 by CCM Magazine.  Groves and her husband, Troy, have three children: Kirby (born in 2000), Toby (born in 2004) and Ruby Cate (born in 2007).

Groves started writing songs when she was four years old.  She describes her youth as being "lonesome", and she wrote about deep issues while still in junior high school.  Eventually, she took a songwriting course, prompted by her husband, and she began to take the art seriously.

In 2001, she appeared on Word Entertainment's, What a Mom album with the song "Generations", and also on Word Entertainment's New Music From Our Heart To Yours album.

In 2002, she performed with Randy Stonehill on the song "Take Me Back", performed with Joel Hanson on the title song for the album Traveling Light: Songs From the 23rd Psalm, and performed the song "Child of Love" for the album City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time.

In 2003, she appeared on the City on a Hill: The Gathering album with the song "Come Be Who You Are", and the following year's sequel City on a Hill: The Collection album, with the song "Jesus Went to the Garden".

Groves was recognized by the Alumni Board from Evangel University in 2004, for her significant achievements in the years since graduation.

In September 2005, Groves, her husband Troy, her father-in-law, a neighbor, and a Minneapolis ER doctor delivered a tour bus and trailer load of baby supplies to victims of Hurricane Katrina in Slidell, Louisiana. (Rettig, Mary (2005-09-05), Singer Sara Groves Puts Tour Bus in Service of Katrina Survivors; Moring, Mark (2005-10-31), Adding to the Beauty)

Groves was chosen as the subject of a film released in August 2006, titled Sara Groves - Just Showed Up For My Own Life, the first installment of a new reality film series called Nomad: The Show With No Home produced by Fearless Films Inc. Included in this film was video of the Katrina relief effort by Groves in 2005 and a subsequent trip to Rwanda, Africa with Pastor Rick Warren and a group from Saddleback Church to learn about the challenges of reconciliation and economic development 11 years after the mass Rwandan genocide.  Bonus features included Grove's live set from the 2006 Jars of Clay Tour, Nomad vignettes for small groups and more.

On October 30, 2007, the first single from the upcoming album Tell Me What You Know, titled "When the Saints", was featured as a free download from Apple's iTunes Store. INO Records released the album Tell Me What You Know on November 6, 2007. Tell Me What You Know held the #1 sales spot for Christian music on iTunes for one week and landed at #2 for iTunes album of the year. Groves produced her father's, Dwight Colbaugh, first album titled Beautiful Story. Groves ended 2007 in the lineup with Andrew Peterson on his Behold the Lamb of God Tour in November and December 2007.

In 2008, Groves toured throughout the year to promote her new album Tell Me What You Know and to benefit several Christian ministries. Groves and her husband teamed up with Charlie Peacock, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken and Brandon Heath in September and October 2008 for the Art*Music*Justice Tour to benefit both the International Justice Mission and Food For the Hungry.  Groves released her first Christmas album, O Holy Night, in October 2008  The album contains both Christmas standards and newly written material.  Groves was in the lineup in December 2008 of the Love Came Down Tour: A Christmas Pageant with Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer and Leeland.  She ended 2008 with a free concert at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.  The USMCFP is the same prison that Sara's grandparents, Lloyd and Nita Colbaugh, have visited for 39 years and to which they took her as a baby at Christmas-time 1972.  Groves said later about this concert, "More than anything I wanted to say something of encouragement, something to remind these men that they are the art of God, especially in this place. Like always, I left encouraged myself."

Groves' ninth album, Fireflies & Songs, was released on November 17, 2009] On the track "From This One Place," Groves sings about her battles with onstage anxiety attacks.  The album, Fireflies and Songs, was named Album of the Year by Christianity Today as the "runaway" #1 choice by a panel of ten music critics choosing Christianity Today's Top 12 Albums of 2009.  Groves ended 2009 with her first solo Christmas tour performing songs from her 2008 Holiday release O Holy Night.Groves released her latest album, "Invisible Empires," on October 18, 2011, and made a music video with a member of Jars Of Clay for her song "Eyes On The Prize" from the album.

Albums Include: 1998 Past the Wishing ,1999 Conversations,2001 Top Contemporary Christian, 2002 All Right Here Heatseekers, 2004 The Other Side of Something Top Christian Albums, 2005 Station Wagon: Songs for Parents Add to the Beauty Top Christian Albums 19 Top Heatseekers, 2007 Tell Me What You Know, 2008 O Holy Night, 2009 Fireflies and Songs Billboard 200, 2011 Invisible Empires