A Christian rock band whose music fuses Brit-pop-infused indie rock with a spiritual message, the City Harmonic were formed in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 2009. The group was formed by Elias Dummer (vocals, keys, guitar), Aaron Powell (guitar), Eric Fusilier (bass guitar), and Josh Vanderlaan (drums), who first came together as a worship band for a student religious outreach program in Hamilton. Within a year, the City Harmonic headed out on their own and released their first EP, Introducing the City Harmonic, in November 2010. The album made the Christian music charts in Canada and the United States, and the Canadian Gospel Music Association gave the group three Covenant Awards for New Artist of the Year, Recorded Song of the Year, and Modern Worship Song of the Year. The year 2011 saw the release of the group's first full-length album, I Have a Dream (It Feels Like Home), which was another chart success and led to the group winning a Dove Award from the American GMA as New Artist of the Year. In September 2013, five months after the City Harmonic won a Juno Award for Christian/Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, they dropped their second full-length album, Heart, which debuted at number one on Canada's inspirational album charts. Eric Fusilier was diagnosed with cancer that year, but he was in remission by the time the City Harmonic released their third album, We Are, which once again topped the inspirational charts in Canada and fared well in the United States. A documentary on the band, We Are the City Harmonic: The Movie, was released concurrently with the album. In late 2016, the City Harmonic posted a message on their website announcing that the group would be parting ways; a farewell tour was scheduled for the summer of 2017, and a live worship album, Benediction: Live, was issued in June 2017. ~ Mark Deming
