Smalltown Poets burst onto the Christian music scene with their Grammy-nominated self-titled debut on Ardent/Forefront in 1997 and released two more albums with the Memphis-based label. Three number one singles and a total of 10 top 10 radio hits helped garner two Best Rock Gospel Grammy nominations, seven Dove Award nominations (including Best New Artist) and a Billboard Music video award for the band. Their song "Anything Genuine" was featured on the platinum-selling WOW 1999 compilation. In 2004, the band released It’s Later Than It’s Ever Been on BEC.

The guys ended a seven-year hiatus from touring and recording in 2011. Over a year in the making, Smalltown Poets Christmas was released November 1st of that year, with their single “Good Christian Men Rejoice” reaching Billboard’s Top 30 songs on Christian radio. Since its release, the band has performed dozens of Christmas concerts across the U.S., in places like Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Charlotte, Dallas, and many more.

They followed up Smalltown Poets Christmas by releasing a 7-song EP in the fall of 2012 titled “Under The New Sun,” a collection of new songs and older compositions that had never actually been put onto an album.

In the summer of 2014, all five of the original band members traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to work on a new Christmas project, titled “Christmas Time Again,” which was released on November 25, 2014.

“Through the miracles of modern technology and recording, we have been able to continue creating music as a band, even though the five of us all live in different cities across the country,” states Michael Johnston, lead vocalist. “This opportunity to all come back together to record has been an amazing experience. It felt a lot like coming home.”