Blanca's new album 'Blanca' out now! Get it here: smarturl.it/blanca

From Ireland, based in Nashville TN, making music, loving God and loving others.  

Pre-Order We Are Messengers at http://smarturl.it/wearemessengers

Some artists enter the studio determined to make a radical departure from who and what they are, or indulge some musical flavor of the month in a bid to expand the fan base. In either event, those strategies often backfire — though in staying true to his calling, GRAMMY® winner Chris Tomlin thinks not of popularity, but rather the populace his music can touch and encourage.

“I’m not trying to make a different kind of record,” says Tomlin of his latest effort, Love Ran Red “It’s still the same path I started down: writing songs for the church, songs people can sing, songs that connect with people in their heart and move them in a way only songs can. That’s not changed — and yet this collection I feel is the strongest I’ve ever done.”

That’s setting the bar quite high for his tenth studio recording, given that his last effort “Burning Lights” kicked off 2013 as a No. 1 album. It also led to sold-out tour dates, Billboard Music Awards, being named a BMI Songwriter of the Year and receiving the K-LOVE Fan Award for Male Vocalist of the Year and Dove Award for Songwriter of the Year.

Yet Love Ran Red picks up where its predecessor left off. True to its title, it expresses beating-heart faith and channels love’s ceaseless flow into a dozen songs to get the blood pumping and spirits soaring.

To that end, Love Ran Red shows Tomlin reaching and stretching forward, even as he leans back on what’s always worked best. Produced by longtime friend and collaborator Ed Cash (Kari Jobe, Vince Gill, David Crowder* Band, Dave Barnes, Steven Curtis Chapman), the album strikes stirring tones of hope, praise and the peace found only in God’s presence. 

Led by a stirring in the heart of Atlanta-based pastor, Louie Giglio, Passion was birthed in 1997 to see the 20+ million college students across the globe awaken to the reality of an omnipotent and glorious Creator. Since then, millions of students from across the globe have joined the Passion movement, united across ministry and denominational lines, to seek the face of God in worship and prayer at ten conferences, four world tours and multiple one-day and regional events. Passion’s core scripture, Isaiah 26:8 states: “Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” The small Passion Team is led by Louie Giglio and operates under the direction of a Board that is committed to spreading the fame of Jesus Christ to college students around the globe.

For his fourth live-recorded album, Matt Redman knew he wanted to do something different. The most recent live recordings, GRAMMY award-winning 10,000 Reasons and Billboard chart-topping Your Grace Finds Me, were recorded in Atlanta, but Redman had a different dream for Unbroken Praise, his latest live collection that will release with sixstepsrecords on June 16.

“I had the Abbey Road idea because we’ve done a few little things there in the past,” says Redman. “But to record a whole album there is another level and I wondered if it was perhaps a dream too big!” The historic London recording studio is better known for recording bands like The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Cliff Richard, Shirley Bassey, and Queen than it is for hosting nights of worship, but after Redman shared his dream with Louie and Shelley Giglio, label leaders of sixstepsrecords, their team began making phone calls. Soon after, the idea began to take shape.

On recording day, a crowd of 350+ gathered in the Georgian townhouse-turned-studio and worshipped. “That was an amazing moment,” recalls Redman. “Partly because it’s an amazing thing to make a record there anyway, but also to have church in that place. To me, that’s even more special. Those in attendance had learned all of the songs to be recorded beforehand. All of the songs except for one: “Unbroken Praise.” That’s because Redman and longtime co-writer and friend Jonas Myrin had only finished writing it at 11:30 p.m. the night before.

In rare night-before-a-live-recording producer form, Nathan Nockels (10,000 Reasons; Your Grace Find Me), wrote Redman an email that said, “We’ve got your back, so even if at this moment you wanted to bring in a brand new song, that would be fine with us. We’ll make a plan.” That’s the encouragement Redman needed. “I remember thinking to myself, I’m sad I didn’t get to finish that ‘Unbroken Praise’ song. It’s just one of those things. I’ve tried my best and didn’t get there. Then Nathan emailed me.”

Redman and Myrin finished up the song just in time for the live recording. “I could see people pouring out their hearts to God through it,” says Redman, “and very quickly it became the title song.” The phrase “unbroken praise” was taken from a verse in the classic hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee,” referring to the act of glorifying God through praise and acknowledging Him in everything we do.

Five-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated Tauren Wells debuted his solo music in 2017 with the dance-able pop hit, “Love Is Action”, which held the No. 1 spot at CHR radio for eight weeks and the hard-hitting “Undefeated” featuring rapper KB. Those hits were then followed by the GRAMMY-nominated and RIAA Certified GOLD  “Hills and Valleys”, the piano and cello-driven thought-provoking track that quickly climbed the radio and sales charts and jumped to the Top 10 at the Christian Airplay radio chart for multiple weeks. The following single, “When We Pray” reached #2 at Christian Radio, and third single, “Known”, spent multiple weeks at #1 on the Billboard Christian Radio Airplay chart.  The fourth and current single, “God’s Not Done With You”, is charting in the top 5. Tauren’s talents as music artist, songwriter, worship leader and performer are second only to his commitment to be an excellent husband and father, and his deep desire to draw people closer to their identity in the Lord.

Love & The Outcome's 'Ocean Way Sessions' out now! Get it here: smarturl.it/ltooceanwayep

Fronting the West Coast buzz band A Current Affair gave Jordan’s powerful vocals some major exposure right out of high school. The band performed on the Warped Tour and other high profile gigs before dissolving. But heavy metal was never Jordan’s passion; it was just a fun experience with his friends and a way to stretch musically. As a child, Jordan had grown up with R&B artists like Sam Cooke and Earth Wind & Fire providing the soundtrack to frequent family road trips. Artists from what his father called “the good music era.” Those were the sounds and stylings that stuck in Jordan’s musical memory and by the time he was old enough to realize that his own singing voice was a gift, it was those early groove-funk-soul singers that had shaped his personal aesthetic. If he was going to make records, those were the kind of influences he wanted to draw from. Which brings us back to that Nashville record deal he signed with Centricity Music.

Jordan Feliz’s first full-length project, The River, reinterprets the rich influence of 70’s sensibilities in a modern pop context. Intentionally constructing uncluttered tracks free of production tricks and excessive instrumentation, Jordan instead focused on arrangements that were designed to give his fine-grit-sandpapery-smooth vocals center stage. The eleven songs on The River are soul-influenced pop numbers, but the instruments present are precise and articulate in their voicings and melodies, saying only as much as they need to and no more.

Tag-team produced by Colby Wedgeworth (Lincoln Brewster, The Main, Lydia) and Josh Silverberg (Newsboys, Jon Foreman, Plumb), The River is packed with radio-friendly pop melodies that manage to hit those marks without compromising Jordan’s unique musical personality. The best example of his singular vision is the record’s powerhouse title track and first single, The River, which has already spent ten weeks on the radio charts at #1. While it sounds like a pulse-quickening mega-hit from the first listen—instantly singable and repeatedly listenable—The River actually rides on a deep current of soul-driven funk influence that serves to set it apart from other contemporary radio fare.

“I’m a big melody guy,” Jordan admits, “and musically The River is my own personal happy place. It’s a great driving groove that just feels good to sing. The song itself is an invitation to anyone who hears it—whether they’re stuck in pride and legalism or wallowing down in the mess they’ve made of their lives—it’s an invitation to take whatever we have and to run to Jesus. It’s an invitation to go down in amazing grace and to rise up being made new.”

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