AlphaOmegaNews – Media

Unleashed is the follow up to the band’s critically acclaimed, gold-certified 2013 release, Rise. NewReleaseToday recently raved, “it’s a record worth buying and cranking up in the car with your friends– and it proves Skillet’s continued ability to successfully reinvent themselves.” Those who have pre-ordered the album have already received “Feel Invincible,” “Back From The Dead” and “Stars” from the upcoming release. Another track, “I Want To Live,” has just been made available as an instant download. The 12-track album, still available for pre-order via all digital retailers including iTunes at: www.smarturl.it/SkilletUnleashed and Amazon.com at: www.smarturl.it/SkilletUnleashed_A. The first singles have been moving up the charts with “Feel Invincible” holding the No. 1 spot on Christian Rock (Mediabase) for six weeks, with “Stars” climbing into the Top 10 on the Christian CHR chart. Not only a success at radio, “Feel Invincible” has been viewed over 5-million times on YouTube (https://youtu.be/Qzw6A2WC5Qo).

Tickets for the U.S. dates of The Unleashed Tour are currently available. The tour will feature Thousand Foot Krutch on the first half of the U.S. run and Sick Puppies will finish the second half of the tour. Devour The Day will be playing the entire tour. Akron, OH’s Red Sun Rising will provide support for dates in Europe and Russia. Additional information about the tour is available on the band’s website: http://www.skillet.com/tour.

Skillet has cemented its place as one of the 21st century’s most successful rock bands. Selling more than 11 million units worldwide, the Wisconsin quartet have received two GRAMMY® Award nominations and won a Billboard Music Award for the platinum-certified Awake. Their double-platinum single “Monster” is “the eighth most-streamed rock song of 2015” with a total of 57 million plays (and counting) on Spotify and would earn the distinction of becoming “the best-selling digital single in the history of Christian Music.” 2013’s Rise bowed at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 upon release, received resounding and eclectic acclaim from the likes of USA Today, New York Times, Revolver Loudwire, etc. and was recently certified gold by the RIAA.

Website: www.skillet.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skillet/
Twitter: @skilletmusic

EUROPE AND RUSSIA TOUR DATES
September 22nd – Clive, IA – 7 Flags Event Center *
September 23rd – Turtle Lake, WI – St. Croix Casino *
September 24th – Omaha, NE – Sokol Auditorium *
September 25th – Wichita, KS – Cotillion *
September 29th – Chicago, IL – Concord Music Hall *
September 30th – Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theatre *
October 1st – Peoria, IL – Limelight *
October 7th – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews #
October 8th – Cleveland, OH – Agora #
October 9th – Knoxville, TN – The International #
October 12th – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom #
October 13th – Washington, DC – The Fillmore Silver Spring #
October 14th – Stroudsburg, PA – Sherman Theater #
October 15th – Norfolk, VA – The Norva #
October 16th – Richmond, VA – The National #
October 20th – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre #
October 23rd – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom #
November 6th – Paris, France – Elysee Montmatre
November 7th – Cologne, Germany – Live Hall
November 8th – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix
November 10th – Utrecht, Netherlands – Tivoli
November 12th – Hamburg, Germany – Docks
November 13th – Copenhagen, Denmark – Amager Bio
November 14th – Aarhus, Denmark – Voxhall
November 16th – Gothenburg, Sweden – Sticky Fingers KB ^
November 18th – Stockholm, Sweden – Fryshuset Klubben ^
November 20th – Tampere, Finland – Tullikamari ^
November 22nd – St. Petersburg, Russia – A2 Green Concert
November 23rd – Moscow, Russia – Park of Legends
November 27th – Warsaw, Poland – Stodola
November 28th – Krakow, Poland – Kwadrat
November 30th – Brno, Czech Republic – Semilasso
December 2nd – Vienna, Austria – Arena
December 3rd – Budapest, Hungary – The Akvarium
December 4th – Prague, Czech Republic – Mala Sportovni Hala
December 6th – Stuttgart, Germany – LKA
December 7th – Zurich, Switzerland – X-Tra
December 8th – Luxembourg – Rockhal ^
December 9th – London, UK – KOKO

* Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Devour The Day
# Skillet, Sick Puppies, Devour The Day
^ No Red Sun Rising

Citizens & Saints was birthed out of the Mars Hill Church where they led worship at one of the campuses. It was there that they witnessed a movement that would greatly impact them as individuals and as a group on their spiritual journey. Bolen shares how this specific project wouldn’t exist without the fall of the Mars Hills church.

“This record wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the fall of Mars Hill as an organization. One of the best days in the history of Seattle was the day Mars Hill shut it doors. While the brothers and sisters of that community may not meet all together in similar places anymore, the Church of Christ did not crumble and it certainly has not weakened because of it. We experienced the love of God through His presence and His people in ways we never had before. A Mirror Dimly is the result of both personal struggles, and conversations with those swimming in doubt post Mars Hill, yet inclusive enough to be a cathartic journey of listening and contemplation for any and all. We’re not the first people to go through hard stuff; we all suffer in different ways. There is hope beyond the foggy glass; the joys of being loved forever, free from the burdens of the wounds we all carry.”

Staying connected personally with their listeners, Citizens & Saints sent 500 fans a “flexi vinyl” of the new song “Relent” from the upcoming album. Fans then posted photos or videos of them listening to the new single on social media starting the excitement for A Mirror Dimly. The anticipation continued this week as they revealed “Madness,” the next single available via 1300 fans’ social media posts. Click below to check out the single. Since their last release, the group has increased their time on the road as they have played with Phil Wickham, John Mark McMillan, Beautiful Eulogy, Jon Foreman, Propaganda and more. This fall Citizens & Saints will be heading out with Kings Kaleidoscope – dates TBA soon.

The tour featured Pop-Dance artist and actress, Abigail Duhon; Pop/R&B artist and actor, Spencer Kane; Pop/Rock sister duo, LoveCollide; CHR Hip-Hop artist, Beacon Light; Urban R&B artist, Drew Allen, Billboard charting Pop Rock band, Bread of Stone, with video messages from God’s Not Dead author, Dr. Rice Broocks, and Director of The Human Right, Heath Adamson. Responses from the concert show the strong impact the tour is having with audience members saying, “really inspirational,” “strengthened my faith in God,” “new sense of reassurance in the Gospel,” “authentic artists with their testimonies.”

Launched in Spring 2015, The Millennial Tour was the concept of Executive Producer for both of the highly popular and record-breaking God’s Not Dead movies, Troy Duhon. The basis of the tour comes from 1Peter 3:15: But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Due to the impact that the tour and films are having with Millennials, Duhon and Broocks just debuted a new God’s Not Dead mobile app in June at Creation Northeast, with additional presentations at the Sonshine Festival in July and Creation Northwest in August. The app features apologetics teachings that are easy and straightforward for the young teen markets, with basic skills on how to defend their faith.

Targeted for summer 2017, there will be another feature film in the God’s Not Dead series, but this production will be a documentary. It will feature some of the world’s leading scientists and apologetic authorities who will present undeniable facts about the proof of God’s existence.

“We recognize the dire need of Millennials to be equipped to defend their Christian beliefs in a society that is focused on science and atheism as the truth behind our existence,” explains Duhon. “The tour has been reaching Millennials through the Christian Festival Association in summer 2015 and the recent tour this spring, with a simple explanation around basic truths that apologetics can teach. In both instances, we introduced a concept called HIGH 5 that gives Millennials five easy talking points on a small card that covers the beginnings of our galaxy through the human right to know Jesus as Lord. The God’s Not Dead app takes the content even deeper where Millennials can easily read and watch apologetics content on their mobile phones. We need to equip these 13 – 20 year olds with the tools to protect their faith.”

Dr. Broocks adds, “Young people aren’t being prepared with the answers they need to sustain their faith in the hostile environment of several university settings. Real faith isn’t blind, it’s evidence-based. There’s an astounding amount of evidence that God’s not dead, and we need to make this information easily available to the Millennials.

God’s Not Dead2 released April 1, 2016 and had premieres in Los Angeles and Nashville, with many of the film’s stars attending that included Melissa Joan Hart, Jesse Metcalfe, Robin Givens, the late Fred Thompson, Newsboys, Abigail Duhon, Spencer Kane and Love Collide. The film continues the story in Hope Springs, when a teacher (Hart) has to go to court to defend her comments about Jesus in the classroom. The original movie, God’s Not Dead that released in 2014, created a national stir among atheists and Christians alike when the film’s direct approach to the question of an omnipotent God as creator of all things was based on real-life college situations facing Christian students. The film used several references from Broocks’ book of the same title.