(ANALYSIS) One of the things I love about the Christmas season is the music. The ancient music is, of course, powerful. Time-tested hymns and carols still satisfy. But I am also impressed with a current crop of creators using their gifts to “make all things new.” An artist who bears special consideration in this conversation is Andrew Peterson.
Read MoreYou know those weirdos who seem to stumble backward into success? Lucas Ross is one of them. Just ask his boss, Kermit the Frog. For the past four years, Ross, a member of the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, has worked as a banjo consultant for the lean, green CEO of the Muppets. Recently, the two shared the stage at the University of Maryland during a celebration of Jim Henson.
Read MoreSkillet frontman John Cooper says the band wants a revolution. And from recent indications on Apple Music, fans agree. The band has a new album called "Revolution" that's coming in November, but its first single debuted at No. 1 on the Apple iTunes rock and music video charts in August. Ironically, the song is called “Unpopular."
Read More(ANALYSIS) American gospel musician Kirk Franklin and his Maverick City shook off negative perceptions from Kenyan skeptics to stage a show. As fans gathered at the Ulinzi Stadium in Nairobi to dance to Franklin, critics chose to stay away. Those who believe they are defenders of the Christian faith warned that Franklin was no longer representative of Jesus.
Read MoreBocelli is often referred to as the most world-famous Italian national alive, which is not surprising if you think that he has managed to sell more than 90 million albums worldwide in a career that spans over 25 years. Motivated by his Christian faith, Bocelli's ability to connect with audiences worldwide has made him an international star.
Read MoreTaking a different route early on could have led to a standard work week, he said, while still serving in a local church, perhaps as a worship leader. Something with music would certainly have been in his life such as giving lessons, as his 85-year-old dad still does at Chapman Music in Paducah, Kentucky. He remains in demand as another tour is set to begin.
Read More(ANALYSIS) It was a strange way for Oliver Anthony to mark the anniversary of the YouTube video that turned him into a country music roots phenomenon. “Rich Men North of Richmond” launched last Aug. 8, 2023. When that date rolled around a year later, Hurricane Debby was sweeping through Virginia. The creeks were rising as Anthony headed into the woods with his dogs and his smartphone to record another emotional mini-sermon.
Read More(OPINION) The moment I finished listening to the song, I sent him a voice text saying, “This could be the anthem for this young generation!” Instantly, the song sounded familiar to me, not like something new that I had to get used to. And the words were easily learned and memorized, to be sung and repeated countless times in the years ahead, as if to say, “Go ahead and call me unpopular. I will wear that title proudly!”
Read More(ANALYSIS) Sixty-five years ago, Billie Holiday died. The 44-year-old singer arrived after being turned away from a nearby charity hospital on evidence of drug use, then lay for hours on a stretcher in the hallway, unrecognized and unattended. Her estate amounted to 70 cents in the bank. Today, Holiday is revered as one of the most influential musical artists of all time.
Read More(TRAVEL) The path to the Beatles Ashram, once the tranquil retreat of the famous British band, is now overgrown with lush plants reclaiming the crumbling structures. Tucked away in the Himalayan foothills, this abandoned Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Ashram was a brief escape for the Beatles from their hectic lives in the spotlight. Decades later, fans find this site a place they must visit.
Read MoreThe history of the soundtrack of American evangelical culture is profiled in the new book, “God Gave Rock & Roll to You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music” by Leah Payne, Associate Professor of American Religious History at Portland Seminary. Payne, as a Pentecostal pastor’s daughter in a working-class town in rural Oregon, grew up with this music and later married an aspiring CCM artist.
Read MoreThe sounds of music are everywhere these days in Dublin’s churches. While rates of religious affiliation are rapidly dropping in Ireland, the music continues. Church leaders believe that music can touch young people and keep them open to exploring faith. Music is also a focus of Catholic efforts to reach the youth.
Read MoreThe documentary “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” takes fans behind the scenes with the great singer-songwriter as his most recent album, “Seven Psalms,” was being made. But the two-part, 3 ½-hour film, released earlier this year and now streaming on MGM+, also tells Simon’s life story, weaving together footage of past interviews and performances with his reflections on what it all means now. It also delves into his Jewish faith and identity.
Read MoreGrammy Award-winning contemporary Christian singer Mandisa Lynn Hundley, a former Lifeway Christian Resources employee and top-10 “American Idol” finisher, was found dead on April 18 at her Nashville home, her publicist announced on social media. No cause of death was given.
Read More“Bob Marley: One Love,” a new movie that chronicles on the life of legendary reggae singer and songwriter — from his rise to fame in the mid-1970s up until his death in 1981 — has put a spotlight on what it means to be Rastafarian. Widely considered an iconic figure in the history of music, he is revered as the pioneer of reggae and a symbol of peace.
Read MoreJohn Cooper’s straightforward opinions mirror the musical style that has brought numerous awards and nominations over the years. Around 2013, Cooper, by his own description, was an “average, Christian layperson who loved God, loved my church and loved my Bible.” He had a successful music career, and doing anything outside of that could potentially endanger the comfort he enjoyed.
Read More(ANALYSIS) If punk music is about being countercultural, then religious punk is, perhaps, the most punk of all. In an increasingly secular world, to deviate from secularism is to embrace the outcast mentality. The rebels of today, it seems, are those pitting themselves against a purely material reality.
Read More(OPINION) Everyone is mad at Taylor Swift. I mean, everyone is always mad at Taylor Swift. Over football, her boyfriends, her music. This week, it’s over her failure to call for a ceasefire during the Grammys. Perhaps Swift’s silence on the destruction in Gaza would not have made waves had Annie Lennox not used her moment on the Grammys stage to raise her fist and proclaim “artists for a ceasefire.”
Read MoreGo to a contemporary Christian music concert and often you’ll be greeted by materials about a child sponsorship ministry or other charitable group the band asks you to support. But do concertgoers know that, behind the scenes, money is being exchanged between the charity and musical artists?
Read MoreThe Grammys, held this year on Feb. 4, are the largest annual awards ceremony held for music. This year, there are no real surprises in the five categories dedicated to Christian and gospel music. Instead, two notable Christian artists with great music have been nominated for some of the top awards of the night.
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