PURE FLIX RELEASES GOD’S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS,

Mar 31, 2018 DVD

Andrew Peterson’s Resurrection Letters

Mar 31, 2018 Artist Updates, New Release

Andrew Peterson’s Resurrection Letters

By Doug McKelvey

On paper Resurrection Letters, Vol. I is a project that shouldn’t exist. The math doesn’t add up. After ten years of putting it off, ten years of feeling too intimidated and inadequate to write and record the project he instinctively knew could be the most important and personally meaningful of his career, Andrew Peterson wrestled a growing sense he could put it off no longer. After all, we’re only given so many years in this life.

Peterson’s twenty years of creative output as a songwriter and novelist had already served to articulate and shape the longings of hundreds of thousands of fans, turning and training their desires towards eternal things. His poetic and theologically rich expressions have been always honest, sometimes painful, ever restless, ever hopeful, ever human. He is the rare artist who clearly sees his talent, not as a reason for pride and self-promotion, but as a thing he is given primarily to steward in the service of others. And it was because of that posture of humility—and despite all his recent successes as a recording artist, novelist, filmmaker, and non-profit organizer—that the unfinished Resurrection Letters project was always present somewhere in the back of his mind unsettling him like a splinter under skin.

“Listeners asked me again and again about when I would record Resurrection Letters, Volume One,” Andrew remembers, “and I would wince every time.”

To put all of this another way, there are many artists who are gifted, and then there are a small handful of artists who are gifts. And Andrew Peterson is a gift to the Body of Christ. He has not pursued a career by asking what would sell well and seeking to cash in on that. Instead he has pursued a calling by asking what would serve well and then laboring to bring those expressions of beauty and comfort and longing into being. When he creates, he creates with a measure of fear and trembling, because he begins in the knowledge of his own limitations, never presuming he will be able to bring his work to any meaningful completion. So it makes sense that the project he saw as most necessary would also be the project he would feel most unprepared, even unworthy, to pursue.

“Honestly, as the centrality of the resurrection became clearer and clearer to me from a theological standpoint,” he says, “the less I felt up to the task.”

A decade ago Peterson had been so stirred by implications of the resurrection expressed in N.T. Wright’s Surprised By Hope and C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce that he penned an album’s worth of songs unpacking those epiphanies. For the intervening decade since the release of Resurrection Letters, Vol. II though, he’s found himself mumbling ambiguous and reluctant answers to that obvious, repeated question: “When are you going to go back and record Volume I?”

“The songs I wrote for Volume II traced the ripple effects of the resurrection,” Andrew explains. “They explored how it impacted my own life and hopes rather than being specifically about Jesus. I called it Volume II because I knew there was a more fundamental part of that story still to tell. The whole church, the whole history of our faith, hinges on Christ’s resurrection. But I didn’t feel adequate to the task of communicating that, so for ten years I’ve carried that insecurity along with the sense that I needed to bring it to completion at some point.”

Eventually, that time came. In the fall of 2017 Andrew met with his label Centricity Music and together they agreed on a deadline three short months away so the project could release in time for Easter of 2018. Now Resurrection Letters, Vol. I was on the calendar. The gears were turning and time and money from the label were being invested in anticipation of the pending release, so one way or another Andrew was going to have to deliver something. Problem was, those three months spanned a quarter year which was shaping up to be the most unlikely recording season of Andrew Peterson’s career.

“I came into the process with only two songs written,” Andrew explains, “and during those three months I had two trips to England scheduled, a trip to Israel, a deadline to complete the Wingfeather Saga animated film, and a deadline to finish writing a nonfiction book. I was also staging the Rich Mullins tribute concert, staging the Rabbit Room Live show, hosting the annual Hutchmoot Conference, and coordinating and touring the Behold the Lamb of God Christmas concert. It really didn’t make sense that we could record Resurrection Letters, Vol. I during those same three months, but somehow, on odd days when I was home in Nashville, it happened.”

Happened is perhaps a slight understatement. Three months later Peterson had managed to record fourteen new songs. At that point a decision was made to split the project into a five-song EP and a nine-song album, partly because of the number of songs, and partly because of the subject matter. Most of the songs were about Christ’s resurrection, but a handful centered instead on his crucifixion.

“My dream was always that Resurrection Letters, Vol. I would be a record you would listen to on Easter Sunday,” Andrew says, “so I wanted it to feel like a celebration. Early on I imagined a three-part structure following the line from the Anglican liturgy ‘Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.’ But once everything was recorded it just didn’t feel right to open the project with “Last Words (Tenebrae)”(a song based on Christ’s final utterances on the cross) and then to spend five songs contemplating his death. So we split it. The Prologue EP (Resurrection Letters: Prologue), honors the necessary darkness of the cross and becomes a musical meditation for Passion Week and Good Friday, allowing Resurrection Letters, Vol. I to be the pure Easter celebration we envisioned.”

Much of the credit for the prolific song output during those three months, Peterson says, goes to producer Ben Shive (Ellie Holcomb, Colony House, Mercy Me). Shive stepped up to shepherd the project through Andrew’s frequent absences. Having produced Resurrection Letters, Vol. II a decade earlier and toured for years with Andrew, Ben was the obvious choice. “He understood more than anyone else what we were trying to do,” Andrew says. “Plus, Ben Shive knows scripture better than any friend I have, which is essential for a project like this. He even wrote two of the songs and co-wrote another three.”

Shive had also split production credits on Peterson’s last two studio projects, Light for the Lost Boy and The Burning Edge of Dawn. Those albums were autobiographical, dealing in large part with Andrew’s “long, dark journey” through a three-year depression.

“One of the reasons I love doing the Behold the Lamb of God tour every year,” Andrew says, “is that it feels really good to spend a month of the year not singing about me and my story, but instead singing words from scripture about the Lamb of God. After four years spent writing and singing songs about my own struggles, to spend this season writing and singing about the death and resurrection of Jesus felt like a culmination of that hard journey. When I die, I’m not interested in people saying that I told my own story well, except in how the telling of my own journey might have drawn them to a deeper understanding of the gospel. Resurrection Letters, Vol. I is a distillation of that hope.”

Such hope is articulated most clearly in the first single and video “Is He Worthy?” Drawn from the fifth chapter of Revelation, the song is structured as a sort of liturgy set to music, utilizing a call and response format that invites listeners to become participants. It isn’t difficult to imagine that “Is He Worthy?” might be printed in hymnals 200 years from now. The poetic, catechismal lyric begins in a recognition of the world’s brokenness and builds to a hope-filled and worshipful proclamation of Christ’s worthiness.

“When I sing those words from scripture, I can hardly believe they’re true,” Andrew says. “‘From every people and tribe, every nation and tongue, he has made us a kingdom and priests to God who reign with the Son.’ We’re told that we will actually reign with Christ. That is a mind-blowing promise. How can we even wrap our thoughts around it?”

The album’s upbeat, anthemic opener, “His Heart Beats,” likewise deals with an incomprehensible reality: that the resurrection of Jesus wasn’t only a spiritual event, but involved a dead physical body being restored to life; that a heart which had been silent for three days suddenly contracted and began to beat again; that the blood which had stilled and pooled in Christ’s veins suddenly began to flow again. “His Heart Beats” is a joyful meditation and triumphant declaration likely to be incorporated into many Easter sunrise services.

A third song that could similarly serve the church for generations is the psalm-like “Always Good,” written when a friend suddenly and unexpectedly lost his wife. Perhaps more than any other song on the record, “Always Good” is a hard-won confession of faith that lives in that expectant tension between the hurts of this life and the hopes of what is to come.

“I never cried so much making a record,” Andrew reflects. “What it really means to ponder and pray and write about the significance of the centrality of the resurrection is that the whole album is about Jesus. It’s about the person of Christ. Through that creative process I found myself loving him more. If Behold the Lamb of God is about dusting cobwebs off the Christmas story to remind people it’s about the incarnation and the atonement for sin, then Resurrection Letters, Vol. I is the next chapter in the story, a celebration of what Christ saved us for. My hope is that these songs kindle a new longing not only in hearts, but down to our very bones and sinews—a tangible longing that we were made for this, for this coming redemption, for God dwelling with his people in a more profound way than he did even in the garden.”

www.andrew-peterson.com, Facebook, Twitter

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Bethel Music’s Steffany Gretzinger’s “Possessing Masterwork” Blackout to Release Tomorrow

Mar 29, 2018 Artist Updates, New Release

Phil Wickham Delivers New Single “Living Hope” Tomorrow Coinciding With Good Friday

Mar 29, 2018 Artist Updates

PLANETSHAKERS BAND RELEASES HEAVEN ON EARTH PART 1 APRIL 6

Mar 29, 2018 Artist Updates, New Release

PLANETSHAKERS BAND RELEASES HEAVEN ON EARTH PART 1 APRIL 6

PREMIERES EP LIVE ON DAYSTAR TV IN OVER 180 COUNTRIES

Praise EP Recorded Live With Tens Of Thousands Of Worshippers In Asia

Internationally recognized praise band Planetshakers, with a mission of “empowering generations to win generations,” will independently release Heaven On Earth Part 1 April 6th on iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play and more digital outlets, as well as through Apple Music, Spotify and other streaming sites. Recorded live at Planetshakers’ regional conferences in Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, the EP captures the heart and dynamic praise of Planetshakers Band along with tens of thousands of worshippers.

In addition to the new recording, Planetshakers Band will also premiere songs from Heaven On Earth Part 1 during the live Daystar Television Network broadcast of the annual Planetshakers Conference in Melbourne, Australia April 4 – 7 (see local listings for times). This marks the fourth consecutive year that Planetshakers has partnered with Daystar to exclusively air its conference on the network to audiences in over 180 countries around the world.

The four-song, nearly 24-minute Heaven On Earth Part 1 is a tangible, intentional expression of worshippers collectively pursuing the presence of God, all led by Planetshakers’ worship leaders Sam Evans, Joth Hunt (who also produced and mixed the EP), BJ Pridham, Chelsi Nikkerud and a full team of musicians, dancers and more. The EP captures the gathering’s “praise-party” atmosphere seasoned with singing, dancing and shouts of praise.

“While worship and praise can simultaneously co-exist, they are not synonymous,” says Russell Evans, Senior Pastor of Planetshakers Church. “Where true worship of God is essentially a matter of the heart and spirit rooted in the knowledge of the Word of God, praise is the outward expression of what is in the heart. With Heaven On Earth Part 1, Planetshakers joyously praises the One we worship and invites God’s presence on Earth, longing for Him to establish his Kingdom here, as it is in Heaven.”

Everywhere Planetshakers traveled in Asia, they found a passionate hunger for worship and an unmatched boldness in praise and longing for God’s Kingdom to be established. Even in areas where promoters cautioned Planetshakers not to go, suggesting that people might attend a concert but not a full conference, people turned out in droves.

In the Philippine capital of Manila, crowds gathered at 3 am on January 13, 2018, waiting in long lines outside SMART Araneta Coliseum to experience the conference. Pastor Russell Evans greeted the crowds, and promoters opened 2,000 extra standing-room-only passes since the 16,500-seat auditorium was already filled to capacity.

“When praising God, we are declaring who He is and what He has done, which creates an atmosphere for Him to move,” says Hunt. “We may not be able to change circumstances, but we can change the atmosphere and help people get through them.”

Pictured during the Planetshakers event in Manila, Philippines at SMART Araneta Coliseum are Pastor Russell Evans (upper left), Pastor Sam Evans (upper right) and Joth Hunt (lower left), as well as worshippers and Planetshakers dancers.

In addition to the EP, four exclusive videos featuring a multi-camera visual experience captured at the events will be revealed. The full Heaven On Earth Part 1 tracks are as follows:

1) “There Is No One Like You (Live In Asia)”

2) “The Greatest (Live In Asia)”

3) “Above All Names (Live In Asia)”

4) “No Alone (Live In Asia)”

Sharing the new music from Heaven On Earth Part 1 along with favorites like “The Anthem,” “Endless Praise” and “Nothing Is Impossible” while on tour, Planetshakers Band is scheduled to be in India and Europe May 12-20, the USA and South America June 21- July 1, South Africa July 13-22 and back in Asia August 3-19.

For all the latest Planetshakers tour, music and conference news, visit Planetshakers.com, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, where Planetshakers has over 1.3 million followers.

About Planetshakers:

Since its inaugural gathering in 1997, Planetshakers has gone on to become a global movement through its annual conferences, international church campuses and numerous live recordings, including multiple Dove Award-nominated projects. The Australia-based collective, led by Senior Pastors Russell and Sam Evans, has hosted gatherings in cities around the world while also launching Planetshakers Church in 2004. With over 14,000 members in Australia, Planetshakers Church is one of the fastest growing churches in that nation’s history, stretching across five campuses in Melbourne with additional locations in Singapore; Cape Town, South Africa; Geneva, Switzerland and Austin, TX.

Celebrating 20 years of ministry, Planetshakers’ latest CD/DVD project, Legacy, honors the countless ways God has used the ministry and music of Planetshakers over the past two decades to raise up a generation of Christ followers with a clear vision of taking the Gospel to nations… “empowering generations to win generations.”

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Multi-Platinum Selling MercyMe’s “The Imagine Nation Tour”

Mar 26, 2018 Artist Updates, Tour

TRAVIS GREENE RECEIVES FOUR 2018 STELLAR AWARDS

Mar 26, 2018 Artist Updates

TRAVIS GREENE RECEIVES FOUR 2018 STELLAR AWARDS INCLUDING “ARTIST OF THE YEAR” BRINGING HIS TOTAL TO 11 CAREER STELLAR HONORS

GREENE TO CONTINUE U.S. “CROSSOVER LIVE VOL. 2” TOUR ON APRIL 30 STARTING IN PHOENIX, AZ

 “CROSSOVER LIVE FROM THE CARIBBEAN TOUR” BEGINS ON APRIL 2

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 26, 2018)–RCA Inspiration and chart-topping gospel artist Travis Greene was awarded four Stellar Awards for the 2018 ceremony that took place this past Saturday, March 24 for his current album, CROSSOVER: LIVE FROM MUSIC CITY.”  The gospel artist took home the honors for “Artist of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year,” “Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year” and “Producer of the Year,” adding to his previous seven Stellar Awards for a total of 11 career Stellar wins.

The also three-time GRAMMY^®, NAACP and Soul Train nominated artist, Travis Greene will be embarking on additional tour dates and cities for the culture shifting Crossover Live Tour. After a sold-out first leg on his much-anticipated Crossover Live Tour earlier in the year, Travis kicked off the Crossover Live Tour Vol. 2 on March 2 in Memphis, Tennesse, at the Memphis Grizzles Gospel Night. He continues to bring alive the musical experience throughout the U.S, with this tour making stops in Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa. In conjunction with the U.S. Crossover Live Tour Vol. 2, Travis will also engage fans internationally across the Caribbean. The Crossover Live From The Caribbean Tour will begin on April 2 in Jamaica and make stops in Antigua, Trinidad, Barbados and Grenada.  During the Crossover Live Tour, Travis also recently welcomed guest appearances from Israel Houghton, J.J. Hairston, and Kierra Sheard.

Travis’ music video for his #1 hit single “You Waited” has garnered more than 15 million views on YouTube, and the chart success of “You Waited” marked his third consecutive #1 single on Billboard’s Gospel Airplay Chart. CROSSOVER:  LIVE FROM MUSIC CITY, his second #1 album on Billboard Top Gospel Albums Chart, also includes poignant hits “Worship Rise,” “See the Light,”  “Love Will Always Win” and “Taste and See.”

Also a global worshipper and pastor of Forward City Church, Travis introduces his #engageculture, movement in conjunction with the release of CROSSOVER: LIVE FROM MUSIC CITY.  Using his influential platform, Travis leads a call to action by challenging fans to be the change they want to see, in which he seeks to redefine culture for God.  Growing up with a mother who was a minister and choir director, Travis says that music was like the oxygen in his childhood home, and was something that played a huge part in keeping him off the streets, away from the drugs and gangs, which were prevalent in his community.

Travis continues to bring his cultural boundary crossing music globally to many countries outside the U.S., including Nigeria and Ghana; the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica; Dubai; and to London, Montreal and Toronto.

“U.S. Crossover Live Tour Vol. 2” dates:

4/30/18            Crescent Ballroom                            Phoenix, AZ                                      

5/1/18              El Rey Theatre                                   Los Angeles, CA                                          

5/9/18              Trees                                                  Dallas, TX                                                     

5/10/18            Warehouse Live Studio                    Houston, TX

5/11/18            Scoot Inn                                           Austin, TX                                         

5/16/18            Work Play Theatre                            Birmingham, AL                               

5/17/18            Murray Hill Theatre                           Jacksonville, FL                                           

5/18/18            The Beacham Theatre                      Orlando, FL                                       

5/19/18            Ferguson Hall                                    Tampa, FL                                         

“Crossover Live From the Caribbean Tour” dates:

4/2/18              Jamaica                                             

4/6/18              Antigua                                                         

4/13/18            Trinidad                                                        

4/14/18            Barbados                                          

4/15/18            Grenada                                                        

For more information please visit:  http://www.travisgreene.tv.

ABIGAIL SLOANE RELEASES DEBUT RADIO SINGLE

Mar 24, 2018 Artist Updates, New Release

“Killing Kryptonite Tour” Launches In June With John Bevere And Bethel Music

Mar 24, 2018 Artist Updates

Nashville, Tenn. (Mar. 22, 2018) – Pairing a freedom & strength infused message from best-selling author John Bevere and powerful worship ushered by Bethel Music, the “Killing Kryptonite Tour” will begin in June visiting New Orleans, Atlanta, Boston and New York among other markets. The tour carries the namesake of Bevere’s USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller about his own story, revealing key biblical truths that moved him from a life of struggle to a life of breakthrough. “I am particularly excited about this tour combining Bethel Music with the message of ‘Killing Kryptonite,'” shares Bevere. “I’m so keenly aware of the tremendous gifting on the Bethel Music Team to lead people into the presence of God. In His presence our hearts will be prepared for this life changing prophetic word. Of all the messages God has had me speak to His church over the past thirty years, this one has to be the most impacting. We have seen more people come to know Jesus and begin their journey of discipleship through this message than any other I’ve preached. I see many coming out of these nights with a new level of relationship with God and an authority and power in the Spirit they’ve never known before. I believe many will be saved, healed and set free by the power of the Holy Spirit. I look forward to seeing you there.” The vision for the tour is to invite concertgoers to experience truth and powerful transformation through music and teaching. Tickets for the “Killling Kryptonite Tour” are available now, ranging from $20-$55. To purchase or for more information, click here.   “Killing Kryptonite Tour” *All dates subject to change. 6.4 New Orleans, LA 6.5 Atlanta, GA 6.7 Memphis, TN 6.8 Lexington, KY 6.9 Peoria, IL 6.11 Kalamazoo, MI 6.12 Cincinnati, OH 6.14 Boston, MA 6.15 New York, NY Get Connected: #KillingKryptoniteTour www.killingkryptonite.com/tour/ About John Bevere: John Bevere and his wife, Lisa, are the founders of Messenger International—a ministry committed to developing uncompromising followers of Christ who transform our world. A minister and best-selling author, John has authored twenty titles that have been translated into over 100 languages. When he’s home in Colorado, John tries to convince Lisa to take up golf and spends time with his four sons, daughter-in-law, and grandbabies. Get Connected to John Bevere: Website: www.johnbevere.com Facebook: @johnbevere.page Instagram: @johnbevere Twitter: @johnbevere About Bethel Music: Bethel Music is a worship ministry that formed as an organic extension of Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Over the last seven years, Bethel Music has grown from being a local church music ministry to becoming a global outreach featuring a cadre of songwriters and worship leaders, with both online and on-campus worship schools. The Bethel Music Artist Collective includes Brian and Jenn Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, Steffany Gretzinger, Amanda Cook, Jonathan David and Melissa Helser, Leeland, Matt Stinton, Hunter Thompson, Paul and Hannah McClure, Kalley Heiligenthal, Josh Baldwin, Cory Asbury and Kristene DiMarco. Together these artists have six acclaimed albums that all went to the top of Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, in addition to four GMA Dove Awards and a GMA Covenant Award. Bethel Music’s multi-artist double-disc live recording Have It All (2016) hit No. 1 on the overall iTunes Albums chart and No. 6 on Billboard’s Top Albums chart, becoming Bethel Music’s highest retail debut on the charts ever. Starlight, Bethel Music’s first full-length album recorded live on tour, is among their latest to top the chart. The heart of Bethel Music is to be a steward of the worship being created and released at Bethel Church, making it a resource available to the world. In addition to thousands of people that attend Bethel’s weekly worship services, another 350,000 plus people subscribe to the online stream of the services at www.bethel.tv. WorshipU, Bethel Church’s online school of worship, features ongoing training programs underneath seasoned instructors, with tracks including worship leader, songwriter, sound engineer, team essentials, producing a song and worship fundamentals, available at www.worshipu.com. More about Bethel Music can be found at www.bethelmusic.com. Get Connected to Bethel Music: Website: www.bethelmusic.com Facebook: @bethelmusic Instagram: @bethelmusic Twitter: @bethelmusic

Passion’s No. 1 Album Whole Heart Now Available on CD

Mar 24, 2018 Artist Updates