By By EMILY DREITZLER / Niles Daily Star
NILES - It's all relative, literally, when it comes to The Balos Family Singers.
Mike and Ramona Balos, along with their six children: Kenny, Ben, Bonnie, Jimmy, Jenna, and Nathaneal, create a unique gospel bluegrass sound by combining their vocal and acoustic instrumental talents.
Tonight, The Balos Family Singers of Buchanan will take the stage of the Niles Riverfront Amphitheater from 7 to 8 p.m.
The Balos Family hopes that each performance can serve as encouragement to believers in Jesus Christ and provide hope and witness to those who do not know Him.
This musical family gains a growing audience each year through traveling to various festivals, theaters, restaurants, nursing homes, camp grounds, and their main focus, churches.
According to the band's website, www.thebalosfamily.com, The Balos Family had the honor of opening for the very talented and widely known Lewis Family in 2004 and have a wide array of new venues on the schedule for 2005 including the "Bean Blossom, Indiana Gospel Jubilee" in August, where they will share the stage with Paul Williams, Jeff and Sheri Easter, Stella Parton, among many more.
Along with the increasing number of venues lined up for The Balos Family comes an increasing amount of travel and the ability to reach a broader audience through their music. This year, The Balos Family will venture as far as Plant City, Fla. to perform.
The Balos family's current CD available, "Beautiful Wings", can be heard on a growing number of Christian, Southern Gospel, and Bluegrass Gospel radio stations across the U.S. Their CD is also available for purchase on the band's website.
The Riverfront Amphitheater is located in downtown Niles.