I’ve just added a review for the new, The Blind Boys of Alabama release Duets, that features a wide range of guest artist including, Ben Harper, Timothy B. Schmit, Bonnie Raitt, Lou Reed, and Jars of Clay to name just a few.

Click on the link below to read my review.

Read The Blind Boys of Alabama Duets Review

Two new reviews that I’ve written have been added to CMSpin’s site.

The reviews are for:

1. Jonny Diaz – More Beautiful You

Read Jonny Diaz – More Beautiful You

2.Shane & Shane – Everything Is Different

Read Shane & Shane – Everything Is Different

ABANDON KANSAS RELEASES CHRISTMAS SONG “O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL” DIGITALLY NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Coming off an amazing fall tour with House of Heroes and The Wedding, Abandon Kansas has just recorded their own version of the Christmas classic, O Come All Ye Faithful, available exclusively as a digital download on November 17.

The band has also released a video of the recording session for the song, which can be found on the Abandon Kansas YouTube channel at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBprVNp6XWU

True to their road warrior reputation, Abandon Kansas has opted to immediately head back on the road in support of their EP We’re All Going Somewhere in November with Owl City side-project Swimming with Dolphins.

Upcoming tour dates:

Nov 4 – Overland Park, KS
Nov 5 – Ames, IA
Nov 6 – Wausau, WI
Nov 7 – Burnsville, MN
Nov 8 – Cedar Falls, IA
Nov 9 – Chicago, IL
Nov 10 – St Louis, MO
Nov 11 – Rolla, MO
Nov 12 – Springfield, MO
Nov 13 – Carthage, MO
Nov 15 – Ft Smith, AR
Nov 16 – Texarkana, AR
Nov 17 – Pensacola, FL
Nov 18 – Hattiesburg, MS
Nov 19 – Houma, LA
Nov 20 – Irving, TX
Nov 21 – Wichita Falls, TX
Nov 22 – Muskogee, OK

http://www.AbandonKansasLovesYou.com

http://www.Gotee.com

Source- Biscuit Media Group

I just got done reviewing the new Steven Curtis Chapman release, Beauty Will Rise.

This is probably his most powerful release ever and his first since the tragic death of his daughter Maria.

You can read my review for it by clicking on the link below:

Read My Steven Curtis Chapman Beauty Will Rise Review

I’ve just got done adding on Christian Rockers Online the featured band for November 2009.

The band is Tim Be Told. If you haven’t heard of them before I think that you’ll enjoy their music and become a fan of it.

Click on the link below to read all about them.

View The Tim Be Told Band Feature

MEDIA ADVISORY

Nashville, TN – One of Christian music’s top-selling and top touring acts, tween group pureNRG recently returned from a mission trip to Monterey, Mexico with representatives from Word Entertainment, Family Christian Stores, The James Fund and Back2Back Ministries.

Thousands of new shoes are being purchased for orphans and needy children in Mexico and the Dominican Republic because of the great response to pureNRG’s The Real Thing pre-sale through Family Christian Stores earlier this year. The James Fund is coordinating the shoe distribution effort, aided by Payless ShoeSource. While in Mexico, the team ministered to children by washing their feet, putting on socks and then fitting them for a pair of new shoes from Payless.

Steve Biondo, Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Family Christian Stores and President of Family Christian Stores’ The James Fund, was part of the team that traveled to Mexico and said, “The work of distributing the shoes was a huge blessing and very emotional for the team. In the area we served, conditions are dramatically desperate, as families live with no running water, no plumbing, and in shelters made of discarded debris. We washed hundreds of precious feet, fitted the children for shoes, placed new socks on their feet, and then put new shoes on their feet. And really, that is what it was all about – showing the kids that they are loved, respected, and valued by Jesus.”

In addition to serving the children of Monterey, pureNRG helped patch roofs and even put on a free concert during their stay. “Our favorite part of the mission trip was washing the kids’ feet and giving them new shoes,” stated pureNRG. “We hated to leave them and can’t wait to go back and see them again soon.

For more stories, photos and exclusive footage from pureNRG’s trip, please visit

http://www.pureNRGonline.com

or

http://www.wordlabelgroup.com

Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is comprised of Word Distribution, Word Music and Word Label Group’s Word Records, Fervent Records, Myrrh Records, Canaan Records and Word Music Publishing. Leading the industry with over 50 years of music making history, Word Entertainment represents some of Christian entertainment’s top brands, including award-winning artists Diamond Rio, Point Of Grace, BarlowGirl, Mark Schultz, Randy Travis, Selah, Natalie Grant, Aaron Shust, Big Daddy Weave and Francesca Battistelli, in addition to Big Idea’s successful VeggieTales video series.

Source- Word Entertainment

One of Tooth & Nail Records newest signings is the hard rock band The Letter Black. I just got done writing a review for their new EP, Breaking the Silence for on BREATHEcast’s website.

Just click on the link below to read my review.

The Letter Black- Breaking the Silence Review.

Immediate Release

BARLOWGIRL LAUNCHES FIRST IPHONE APPLICATION

Nashville, Tennessee (October 28, 2009)— Last week, Word Entertainment launched BarlowGirl’s first-ever iPhone application for the successful rock trio, which was featured on the Christian/Gospel page on Tuesday. The application offers exclusive news updates and photos directly from the band as well as the BarlowGirl story with more exciting features on the way including music feeds, photo uploads, and access to interact with the BarlowGirl online community.

Already leading the music industry with multi-faceted industry services, Word Entertainment continues to pave the way for artist to fan engagement. BarlowGirl fans can interact with the band and the online community by uploading videos, blogs, pictures, and posts to BarlowGirl.com. They can go further by connecting their BarlowGirl.com experience to their Facebook account using Facebook Connect.

The launch of the new application follows the release of BarlowGirl’s most anticipated album to date, Love & War. With the hit single “Beautiful Ending”, the album gained early momentum forcing Word Entertainment to move the release date from September 22nd to the 8th. In support of Love & War, the band is currently on the road co-headlining a fall tour with Superchick which also features special guest VOTA.

For more information, please visit

http://www.barlowgirl.com

or

http://www.wordlabelgroup.com

A leader in the music industry for more than 50 years, Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is a unique, comprehensive entertainment company comprised of multi-faceted artist service departments including publishing, merchandising, booking, and online initiatives. Word Entertainment represents some of the top names and brands in music, including Diamond Rio, Point Of Grace, BarlowGirl, Mark Schultz, Randy Travis, Big Daddy Weave, Group 1 Crew and Francesca Battistelli, and is home to Word Distribution, Word Print, The Breen Agency, Word Music Publishing and Word Label Group’s Word Records, Fervent Records, Myrrh Records and Squint Records.

Source- Word Entertainment

For Immediate Release

DOWNHERE SWEEPS 2009 COVENANT AWARDS FROM GOSPEL MUSIC ASSOCIATION CANADA WITH NINE AWARDS

Winning Categories Include: Artist of the Year, Album of the Year And Song of the Year

Nashville, TN (October 26, 2009) —– The critically-acclaimed pop/rock band, Downhere, took home an impressive NINE 2009 Covenant Awards during the 31st Gospel Music Association Canada show Friday night in Calgary, Alberta. Downhere ranked as the highest award winner this year after receiving eleven nominations and took home awards in the following categories:

Artist of the Year

Album of the Year (Ending is Beginning)

Song of the Year (Here I Am)

Recorded Song of the Year (Here I Am)

Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year (Ending Is Beginning)

Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year (Here I Am)

Rock Song of the Year (My Last Amen)

Seasonal Song of the Year (How Many Kings)

Inspirational Song of the Year (The Beggar Who Gave Alms)

“Wow! We never would have thought that we would get eleven nominations, much less win nine awards,” says Marc Martel of Downhere. “It is overwhelming to feel the support we are getting from our fans and friends in Canada and our hearts are overflowing from the kindness shown to us. We love going back to Canada to perform for the home crowds and this awards show us that the feeling is mutual. So, in the immortal words of Sally Field, ‘They like us, they really like us!’”

Downhere is once again receiving critical acclaim with their first holiday project, How Many Kings: Songs For Christmas that released October 6, 2009. Early reviews include; JesusFreakHideout.com – “….this is still one of the more solid Christmas releases we’ve seen from a Christian artist,” NewReleaseTuesday.com – “Downhere’s first ever holiday collection which retains much of the bands classic elements, but also stretches to previously uncharted realms,” Soul-Audio.com – “It easily ranks among great Christmas albums, like Jars Of Clay’s Christmas Songs. The group will also be featured on GospelMusicChannel.com’s “Christmas of Compassion campaign, CCM Magazine, TitleTrakk.com, CBA Retailers + Resources, Christian

Retailing, Dallas Morning News, to name a few. And again this year, Downhere will be part of Centricity Music’s Bethlehem Skyline Tour that will also feature labelmates, Jason Gray and Lanae’ Hale.

Downhere has had a successful year at radio, retail and media with their GMAC winning album, Ending Is Beginning, which debuted on the Christian Contemporary Album Chart at #17 and was heralded as one of the Best Christian Albums of 2008 by ChristianMusicToday.com. The GMAC winning song, “Here I Am” and “Hope Is Rising” peaked at #5 and #17 on the AC charts.

GMAC winners, “My Last Amen” peaked at #5 on the CHR charts and “How Many Kings” hit the top 5 on the AC charts in late 2008.
Downhere has also been a previous winner with the GMA Canada Covenant Awards in 2002 for Rock Album of the Year and Rock Song of the Year. In April 2009, Downhere won their third

JUNO Award for Ending Is Beginning, in the Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year category and won a GMA Dove Award for Modern Rock Recorded Song of the Year in 2003.

For more information on Downhere and their tour dates please visit

http://www.downhere.com

or

http://www.centricitymusic.com

Centricity Music is an independent recording and publishing company based in Bellevue, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee. The company’s mission is to nurture the gifts and expand the influence of Christian artists around the world. Centricity Music’s artist roster includes Jaime Jamgochian, Downhere, Circleslide, Jason Gray, Daniel Kirkley, Lanae’ Hale, Andrew Peterson, High Valley, Matt Papa, Sixteen Cities and Me In Motion.

Source- Bozeman Media

Nanjemoy, Md. –

If hardcore is your game, than Upperdeck is the newest name you need to know. With dueling guitar riffs, lightning fast double-kick drums, intricate bass lines, a talented “chic” singer, and a classically trained piano player converted to electric keyboards, Upperdeck’s new album, “Darkness,” is sure to land a place next to any fan’s In This Moment or Killswitch Engage CD.

Produced by Tate Music Group, “Darkness” includes seven original songs and the most electrically charged cover of “The Phantom of the Opera” you’ve heard. The album is currently available nationwide at the iTunes Store, CDBaby.com, or directly from TateMusicGroup.com.

This six piece band isn’t just causing a stir on stage. They are also making an impact on their community’s teens. Upperdeck runs a youth recovery program in several area churches called

Life Hurts, God Heals. It is an eight-step program that teaches young men and women important tools for recovery from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. Through music and relevant discussion, Upperdeck is catching the attention of more than just the hardcore music industry, and lives are being bettered for it.

Band’s MySpace – www.myspace.com/upperdeckmusic08

Source – Tate Music Group