There was a time when Jeremy Camp was considered to be on the leading edge of Christian artists who performed rock music. It seems that either many other artists have caught up to him or he has mellowed a bit. Whatever the answer is to that question, there is no denying that he continues to be one of the better songwriters on the music scene. His grainy vocals have always seemed to be half proclamation and one-half petition. With Camp’s most recent CD Beyond Measure the winning combination is still intact. […read more]

When Don Donahue, the president of Rocketown Records, stepped up to the plate in 2006 to sign The Swift to Michael W. Smith’s label, he proved once again that he has a good eye for talent. In October, the band that has toured with the likes of Mercy Me, Kutless and Audio Adrenaline released their debut album for Rocketown Records.

Singing Back To You is a pop/light rock worship album featuring a blend of original compositions and covers of previous hit songs. The quartet of Mike Simons (bass/vocals), Britt Edwards (piano/vocals), Matt Wilder (guitar) and Guy Lemon (drums) provide a more than capable rendition of the Delirious? tune “Rain Down”. Covering a song by a phenomenal group such as Delirous? Is no easy task and The Swift get thumbs up. […read more]

A collection of the best Christmas songs from a selection of artists would be difficult to criticize and Joy To The World “The Ultimate Christmas Collection” is no exception. Bart Millard’s (Mercy Me) splendid vocals introduce us to “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen” the opening track.

“Messiah” has ghostly instrumentals featuring rich guitar work but I found Phil Wickham’s vocals lacked the punch I would hope for on a song with the clout the lyrics provide. […read more]

I asked Todd Agnew what I thought was an easy question, “Why did you decide you wanted to do a Christmas album at this time in your career?” I wasn’t prepared for his answer, “The weird thing is I didn’t.”

As Agnew and I both break into laughter he explains, “A Christmas album (Do You See What I See) was not on the list of my career-to-do things. It wasn’t something that I ever really wanted to do. Last October I was studying the story of the wisemen and felt God was challenging me by saying, ‘Are you willing to prepare like they did to encounter Christ at Christmas? They (the wisemen) studied really hard. They journeyed and brought special gifts.’ […read more]

Perhaps no other song on the album So This Is It defines the soul of Kim Dexter more than “Wait (I’m Gonna Get There)” a duet recorded with the superbly talented Bryan Duncan. The upbeat pop melody oozes smooth vocals, great instrumentals and words that come straight from Dexter’s heart.

Today living in Costa Mesa California with husband Paul and five month old daughter Maggie Grace life couldn’t seem more distant from the dark days that once shrouded the life of this immensely talented young woman. So This Is It recalls the faith, the supportive friends and the God that Kim Dexter clung to during the time that Mayfair Laundry (her former ska/punk Christian band) experienced bankruptcies of not one but two record labels. During these years Dexter’s previous marriage also lay shattered. […read more]

When Michael W. Smith was introduced to Leeland Mooring, front man for the Texan rock band Leeland, neither of them had any idea how their future friendship would influence two of this year’s most anticipated albums. …Or did they?

If you were Michael W. Smith and you were looking to release a new album this year, what kind of record would you make? After all, this would be your first album in two years, and the musical landscape has changed significantly. Today’s Christian album sales chart tends to be dominated by rock acts such as Underoath, Flyleaf, Jeremy Camp, Jars of Clay, Third Day and BarlowGirl. And imagine if you’d known that a little over a month before your record came out, the No. 1 selling Christian album would be Redeemer (Solid State) by Norma Jean, a hard core metal band. […read more]

2005 was a turbulent year for the newsboys. At one point the band was down and nearly out. Today, the boys find themselves with a new album, Go (Inpop), a fresh mandate and a firm resolve to take this music thing as far as it can go—inside the church or out. And, somehow, it all seems to go back to a little thing called ‘the Great Commission.’

“It’s become a huge thing in our lives that there’s a huge world out there,” explains newsboys’ lynchpin Peter Furler, nursing a caffeine refuel in advance of what might be a late night of creative wrangling on the new record. “It’s the easiest thing to go out there and sing ‘He Reigns’ in front of Creation [Festival], but what about when you go in front of a bunch of Muslims? Or you go in front of a new age festival where there’s Buddhism, Hinduism, nudism—it’s all going on—people smoking pot everywhere? What happens when you go out there and do what you do without changing who you are? There came a point when we had to test ourselves.” […read more]

It’s no small feat for a self-proclaimed control freak to take her hands off the wheel, detour without a map down a completely foreign road and end up having the time of her life. But singer-songwriter Sara Groves did just that, and it’s all captured in a reality movie titled “Sara Groves: Just Showed Up For My Own Life.”

What began as a behind-the-scenes DVD eventually turned into a documentary that chronicles Groves’ journeys to hurricane-ravaged Louisiana and Rwanda, Africa. […read more]

One of the most recognizable voices in Christian music was also one of the genre’s most eligible bachelors. Mark Schultz had been creating a pretty impressive personal success story with a string of radio hits and best-selling records, and, to a degree, his concentration on music both consumed and fulfilled him. But soon after his dream of having his songs on the radio was realized, Schultz found himself in his 30s, with a longing in his heart for something else. […read more]

How would you like to write a song for your wife, record it, leave it in a conspicuous place for her to find and then get a reaction that is totally contrary to what you expected? Well that is exactly what happened when pop star Mark Schultz wrote the tune “1,000 Miles” for his wife Kate. “My wife makes it so easy for me being married because she is so giving and good to me. I think a lot of people say that their first year was so hard and for me it hasn’t been. What I am trying to do is model the unselfishness that she models. It works so well,” he says. […read more]

We’re all familiar with the almost cliché reinventions of pop artists—pop artists who strip down their music and go the folksy singer/songwriter route in an attempt to “just be real” and “be respected as a true artist.” But when was the last time you heard about a highly respected singer/songwriter who did just the opposite? And is doing it to be authentic, no less! Ladies and gentlemen, Bebo Norman.

There is a spring in the step of veteran singer/songwriter Bebo Norman, despite his recently broken leg. His sixth album, Between the Dreaming and the Coming True (Essential), releases September 19th; but the enthusiasm emanating from the Georgia native as he hobbles into a Nashville restaurant for his first interview about the new project seems like that of a debut artist. Quoting David Gray, an obvious musical influence who also recently reinvented his style and sound, Norman says with a wink in his voice, “You can’t be the underdog forever. […read more]

When Jars of Clay released its self-titled debut 11 years ago, the rock world took notice. In fact, more than two million people around the globe eventually bought the album. During the decade that followed, many casual observers assumed Jars of Clay’s first record remained its best, while the band’s more attentive fans knew otherwise. Come September 5, both casual observers and fans alike will be in for a surprise. That’s the day Good Monsters (Essential) will be unleashed on an unsuspecting public.

Monsters. Funerals. Suffering. Unresolved rants. Critiques and confessions. Sound like the feel-good album of the year? And yet, with Good Monsters, Jars of Clay has crafted one of the most emotionally uplifting and emancipating albums in recent memory. The fact that its 12 songs so deftly explore intimately personal issues, that any finger-pointing involves a mirror and that the songs are so well constructed, performed and just plain catchy make this a record that bears repeated listening. [ …read more]

Inspired by the psalmist who describes God’s ongoing work as provoking new beginnings, award-winning singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin releases See The Morning.  After 15 years of writing songs for the church, Tomlin’s new 11-track album shows joy remains possible even in the messiness of life.  Praise to God is not just for life’s prosperous seasons—it’s a constant way of living with hope. […read more]

“I learned a great lesson that day; everybody has a God place in their heart that only God can fill. I don’t have to do as much as I thought I had to do,” these words were spoken by the dynamic gospel singer CeCe Winans during my recent conversation with her. Winans was reflecting back to an experience several years earlier when she performed on the Grammy Awards. Prior to her performance Winans and her husband Alvin Love had prayed that God would use those few minutes to impact the audience, the production crew and those hosting the event. She says some in the audience started to cry as she sang ‘I Surrender All’ and later in the evening numerous individuals approached her saying it took them back to a time when they had attended church. Others said something in the song touched their lives. [ …read more]

Singer/songwriter Sara Groves likes to travel down rabbit trails just to see where they will lead her. These rabbit trails however are not of the hopping bunny kind, but rather are designed by God. “The core thing for me when I talk about the past year being unbelievable is all these experiences that have unfolded for Troy and I. It is the culmination of one person having that tug in their heart. I don’t know about you but I have tugs all the time and think ‘I should do that or should I do that?’ Now (if I felt that tug) I go, ‘Oh this is one of God’s rabbit trails.’ I don’t know where this thing is going to go, but I am going to do this thing because the last few times I followed through on that little tug it has taken me places that I never thought I would be. Just the sheer joy of being part of the kingdom is almost unbearable. It’s been incredible,” says Groves. [ …read more]

“I was out of my mind just writing really fast,” says Bart Millard the lead vocalist and primary songwriter for Mercy Me in describing the creation of the band’s new CD Coming Up To Breathe. The native of Greenville Texas says, “This album was probably the easiest CD to write when all is said and done. We locked ourselves in a studio up in New York for about a month. All of a sudden the lyrics just came out very quickly. I was really pleased with what was coming out.” Millard recalls going into the studio with lyrics for virtually none of the songs and emerging about a week later with words for all of the tracks. […read more]