By Stephanie DeGraw | [email protected]

The tight harmonies of the Home Free country a cappella group made their performance feel effortless to the large crowd at the Sandy Amphitheater recently.

But the road has been a long one for this popular group. “We were doing this type of performance before it became mainstream,” said member Rob Lundquist. “It was a struggle and a grind to get things going in the beginning.”

Their fifth album, “Dive Bar Saints,” will be released Sept. 6. Home Free's worldwide tour continues into the fall. Touring may sound glamorous, but as Lundquist explains, “We are on a bus with 12 people in close quarters. We have to shower at the venues and it's a crap-shoot on if the showers are cold or clean sometimes.”

Lundquist added, “There are only two hours out of the day we get to do what we love, performing for the fans. The rest of the time we are working on the business such as meetings, social media and arranging music.”

Home Free features five vocalists: Austin Brown, Rob Lundquist, Adam Rupp, Tim Foust and Adam Chance. Rupp began the group in 2008 in Mankato, Minnesota, and performed regionally. They worked as a group part time until 2010 and then launched full time. In 2013 they won first place on the TV show “The Sing-Off,” a singing competition featuring a cappella groups. Being on network television increased awareness of the group. They also scored a deal with Columbia Records and began touring nationwide.

“We went from always trying to win over a crowd before the show to now people coming to see us,” Lundquist said. There were at least 500 more people at this year's concert compared to last year and they hope to come back to Utah each year. He complimented the accommodations of the Sandy Amphitheater and the view of the mountains. “We really love what we do, we love it so much,” he said.

The new album will be different from the previous ones; the group focused on cover hits from artists such as John Mayer, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Maren Morris and the Oak Ridge Boys. The “Dive Bar Saints” album has 10 original songs and two cover songs. One of the cover songs is John Denver's “Country Roads.” Home Free likes to put their own spin on the arrangements of popular country music, Lundquist said.

Home Free’s formula is working, with more than 350,000 copies of their previous albums sold so far and hitting 302 million YouTube views. These talented showmen are pushing forward with not only a new album but have created Home Free Records. In the past, they were signed to a traditional label and are excited about going out on their own. Visit www.homefreevocalband.com for more information.