Copious Notes

Sterling talks to the crowd at the main stage before Disciple's set Thursday. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

When Sterling became an on-air personality at Air1 last year, she got a pass to some of the biggest Christian music festivals in the United States.

“I did Rock the Desert, The Rage in Phoenix, Creation and Spirit West Coast,” she said, naming a few of a half dozen she hit last year. “And they’re all wonderful festivals.

Sterling gets her picture taken with Delirious' Martin Smith after an on-air interview.

“But there’s something about the heart of this festival and the people that put it together with the communion and the worship that is so incredible,” she said, sitting on the porch swing at the cabin in the middle of the camp ground at the Ichthus Festival. “It’s so much more than just the bands. It’s so much more than all the stages and the youth tent and the cool stuff that they give away. It’s all about Jesus and bringing people back to that relationship and growing that. That’s what’s so incredible.”

Her first trip to Ichthus was last year, and she liked it so much, she told her Air1 bosses it was the only festival she absolutely wanted to return to this year.

At the fest, she split her time between introducing bands on the main stage and wandering around the other stages trying to catch new bands — Esterlyn was a favorite this year.

Pretty good gig for a woman whose career started at age 17, when she choked attempting to do a news report at a rural Iowa station.

“I just froze,” she said. “I thought, ‘That’s the beginning of my radio career. I’m never going to make it.”

Now, as a national radio personality, she loves the opportunity to come to events where she can actually meet fans. Left without a golf-cart ride from the cabin in the camp ground back to back stage, she had no qualms about hoofing it back and talking to listeners along the way.

“Yesterday, I got to sign a girl’s leg, and she had 147 signatures covering her legs,” Sterling said. “It was incredible.”

And even national radio personalities can get star struck. She gets a bit giggly greeting Delirious frontman Martin Smith, and marvels at Skillet’s performances.

“It’s an honor to introduce these bands, because they are so amazing,” Sterling said. “I’ll be here every year, God willing.”

Ichthus Festival fans finally got a warm, sunny day June 13, to play, pack up and enjoy a few final shows. Among the closing acts were Israel Houghton and New Breed and Delirious.

Israel Houghton played an abbreviated set at Ichthus. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Israel Houghton noted from the stage at Ichthus Saturday night that his set had to be cut short due to time constraints. Somewhere in the late afternoon Saturday, the event fell well behind schedule.

Darkness, which had fallen during the second to last act on Thursday and Friday nights, was descending as Quest Community Church pastor Pete Hise was wraping up his keynote address, and headliner Delirious didn’t hit the stage until 11:22 p.m., more than a full hour after the hand’s scheduled start time.

Before Delirious’ set, fans near the front of the stage amused themselves chanting, “We love Jesus, yes we do. We love Jesus, how about you?” over a barrier that divides the amphitheater in front of the stage.

Delirious frontman Martin Smith during the megaphone portion of Solid Rock.

“It’s late,” Delirious frontman, Martin Smith yelled as the natily-attired band took the stage, “but we’re up for it if you are.”

With an approving cheer, Delirious plowed into its final Kentucky concert with classics such as Rain Down and Majesty.

As Saturday turned into Sunday, Smith was reading scripture in the midst of performing History Maker, which may be good, because a lot of the people in the amphitheater probably won’t be making services this morning.

The last chance to see Delirious live in Kentucky will be Saturday night at the Ichthus Festival.

Click the play button to hear our interview with Martin Smith of Delirious:

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

When Delirious first played the Ichthus Festival in 2001, then- festival director Rick LaDue put the booking in historical terms.

“We’re the oldest Christian music festival in the country,” LaDue said. “Delirious is a band that is part of Christian music history. We needed to meet.”

The history that Delirious made was integrating praise-and-worship music with rock ‘n’ roll.

Until the late 1990s, there was Christian pop and rock that you heard on the radio, and contemporary praise-and-worship music that some churches used in their services. But it was not often — maybe the occasional chorus, like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith’s Thy Word — that you heard a Christian top 40 song used in worship services.

Then, Delirious started playing youth events in England, pumping up the praise with songs like Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble.

Now, just eight years later, Delirious returns to Ichthus for its last festival appearance in Kentucky, at 10:20 p.m. Saturday.

Later this year, on Nov. 29, the band will play a farewell concert in London, then the members will go their separate ways.

“We’re happy at what God’s done over the years but sad because it’s going to end,” frontman Martin Smith said in a phone interview. “It’s a good time to do that. It’s not a breakup in that we’ve fallen out or anything. We’re still fantastic mates, and in the future we may play again. But for now, it’s time to pursue other things.”

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Israel Houghton's new album is a solo effort.

Review: Israel Houghton, The Power of One

Few Christian pop artists have as many styles at their disposal as Israel Houghton. His music usually comes in a modern gospel style, but he also has funk, hip hop, ballads, a world sound and even a punky side to work with.

Houghton has usually used this palette for worship music, but his latest effort, The Power of One, is more of a straight pop effort, and one of the best listens in quite a while for the genre.

There is a lot on this effort that stands alone: the worshipful I Receive, gospel basic Everywhere That I Go, soulful Sing (Redemption’s Song) with Delirious’ Martin Smith,   overpowering You Found Me with Tobymac and the conscience prodding The Power of One (Change the World).

That last track is probably most illustrative of this disc’s headline: Israel Houghton’s solo album. With songs such as the social justice rallying cry of the title track, this is more of a personal than universal statement, which is what we are used to hearing from Israel Houghton and New Breed. There is also the greater flexibility of an artist who does not need to check his vision with anyone else. So we get moments like Houghton swinging out of Sing into the brassy soul of Better to Believe, or the album gearing down to the groove of U R Loved.

On full display is the universal appeal of Houghton’s music. You may not like everthing he does, but most listeners should be able to find something. Still it all comes across as uniquely Houghton. He’s been called a chamelon, but you always recognize his form.

Other new releases: After several months of fairly tepid Tuesdays, this week gave us new tunes not only from Mr. Houghton, but also Mandisa’s Freedom — which we will review next week — and a new farewell concert effort from Delirious, My Soul Sings, which reminds us why we’ll miss these guys.

Skillet bassist and frontman John Cooper performed at Ichthus' opening night in 2008. They'll be back, this year. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

The Ichthus Festival is still working on the overall schedule for its 40th edition, but it has locked in the headliners.

The nighttime pairings bring distinct flavors to each evening.  June 11 is very youthful, dancy rock with Family Force 5 and Hawk Nelson. June 12 looks to be rock night with Skillet and Kutless, and then things get worshipful on the closing night with Israel Houghton and New Breed and Delirious. Festival director Jeff James says they plan to make a big deal out of the Delirious set, as it will be the band’s last festival appearance. The groundbreaking worship band is splitting up later this year.

Other bands already announced include Fireflight, Disciple, Stellar Kart, and The Afters. We’ll let you know when acts are added.

Speakers already announced include Justin Lookadoo, whose Saturday talk last year included a skydiver, and Shane Claiborne, a Philadelphia-based minister whose Ordinary Radicals ministry was profiled in a film by the same name, which played at the Kentucky Theatre last year.

If you’re already planning to go, there are just a couple of weeks left before the next ticket price increase, March 14.

Ichthus and Winter Jam: Ichthus is also partnering with Winter Jam, which comes to Rupp Arena March 7, to round up volunteers. According to an Ichthus e-mail, the volunteer period would be from 3:30 p.m. until the end of the evening. If you’re interested, e-mail contactus@ichthus.org. Winter Jam features TobyMac, Hawk Nelson and others. We had a good interview with Toby that we’ll bring you next week here and in the paper.

Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love" earned the worship leader seven Dove Award nominations. Photo courtesy of EMI Christian Music Group.

Dove nominations: Late last week, the Gospel Music Association announced nominees for the 2009 Dove Awards, and once again, Chris Tomlin leads the pack. His most recent effort, Hello Love, helped him garner seven nominations and further solidifies his place as his generation’s Michael W. Smith.  Close behind the Texan are Natalie Grant and newcomer Francesca Battistelli, with five each.

Battistelli, by the way, is on the Winter Jam lineup. She made a big splash last year with I’m Letting Go.

This year, the awards are letting viewers weigh in on two key categories: Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Voting in these categories will begin Feb. 26 and go through the broadcast at 8 p.m. April 23. The fan vote will count as one-third of the overall vote in those categories. Here are those nominees:

• Artist of the Year: Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, Fireflight, Marvin Sapp, Third Day, TobyMac, and Chris Tomlin.
• New Artist of the Year: Addison Road, Francesca Battistelli, Fee, Jonathan Nelson, Remedy Drive, Chris Sligh, and Tenth Avenue North.

Click here for a complete list of nominees.

Once again, the Doves will be carried on the Gospel Music Channel, which is not available in Lexington on Insight cable. It is available on Dish Network at Channel 338. Click here if you’d like to send Insight a notice that you’d like to see GMC added to the lineup. Gospel Music Channel is available on other Central Kentucky cable systems.

Delirious frontman Martin Smith in India in January. A visit to India inspired the CompassionArt project.

Click play to hear our interview with Martin Smith, in which he talks about CompassionArt, India and the end of Delirious.

Copious Notes podcasts are available on iTunes.

Over its last couple of albums, Delirious has become increasingly vocal about poverty and disease around the world.

One of the British band’s most recent worship anthems, Our God Reigns, pricked listeners and singers consciousnesses with the idea that the cost of an order of Chinese take-out food could cover the cost of medicine for an impoverished victim of AIDS.

“I remember going to India for the first time and being completely shocked, like being hit over the head with a baseball bat,” says Martin Smith, the group’s leader singer and songwriter. “I realized that people lived on the same planet as me with completely nothing. That set a massive thing off in me, feeling like I couldn’t just get on a plane and do nothing. I had to make a personal response.

“That was the beginning of Delirious trying to find new things to say, and react to what was going on inside of us.”

That reaction has come to fruition on a much larger scale, in a new multi-artist project called CompassionArt.

The new album, released Jan. 27, features 14 songs by 19 of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music, including Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Stephen Curtis Chapman, Israel Houghton and Tobymac.

All of the artists involved waived all of their fees, including songwriting and royalties, so the proceeds from the album and its companion book will all go to CompassionArt and the 16 international charities it has selected.

“All of the people involved in the project had been talking for the past few years about how it is not enough for us to just do our thing and write songs and that sort of stuff,” Smith says. “We started to see it as our responsibility to be a voice.

“We thought, what would happen if all of us got into a room and started writing songs together, and that’s what happened in January ‘07 in Scotland.”

Smith says getting all the songwriters together was far easier than he expected.

“Now the challenge is sustaining it,” Smith says.

The singer says the measure of success for this project will be a bit different than, “selling loads of records. It would be when we see lives changed on the ground. When we see people that haven’t got water, suddenly have clean water, when we see people that enough food and become part of a sustainable community and have anti-retroviral drugs and malaria meds. That would be an incredible thing to happen from this project. That would be extraordinary.”

Smith will be making CompassionArt the focus of his attention, as Delirious is splitting up after final shows this year, ending in November.

“It’s a sad time, but also happy in looking forward to new opportunities,” Smith says. And CompassionArt is, “The thing we wake up thinking about every morning.”

Our Idol lands a deal: American Idol season six artist Phil Stacey, who has been writing the American Idol blog for LexGo.com, has landed a recording deal with Provident/Reunion Records. Stacey was born in Richmond and was raised in Fairfield, Ohio. He released his first album on Lyric Street Records in 2008. He is now working with producer Brown Bannister on his Provident debut, which is slated for late Summer 2009 release.

A few decades ago, Christian rock pioneer Steve Taylor penned a line that is exceedingly appropriate to faith-based pop: “If your music’s saying nothing, save it for the dentist’s chair.”

Jon Foreman

It is the last weekend of the year, and we are here to talk about the best contemporary Christian music of 2008. And this year, the best was definitely music that said something. We hope Steve’s happy.

1. Jon Foreman’s seasonal EPs – In the past half decade, Switchfoot has released some of the most thoughtful rock in the marketplace, Christian or mainstream. Left to his own devices, frontman Jon Foreman plumbs new depths — meaning, he’s deep. Foreman spent the past year releasing four solo EP’s of six-songs each, Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. (The hot links take you to the original album reviews.) Individually and together, they speak to the life of a 21st Century person of faith in a way few others have. His work includes thoughts on justice, money, sin and faith with bold statements like Instead of a Show, an indictment of ostentatious faith that lacks substance, to House of God Forever, a beautiful meditation on Psalm 23. We love Switchfoot, but solo Foreman is also something to treasure. Here’s hoping they continue to co-exist in harmony.

2. Grits, Reiterate – In 2008, the Tennessee duo of Coffee and Bonafide left their longtime home of Gotee Records for the independent market and released their most diverse album in recent memory. The disc dabbles in soulful and jazzy influences and benefits from guest appearances by Christian stars showing the duo to be simultaneously individual and part of a greater community. (I haven’t reviewed this for le blog yet, but will in a few weeks.)

3. Underoath, Lost in the Sound of Separation – Underoath continued to defy status as a niche artist by making a very accessible metalcore album. The band’s greatest asset is an ability to craft the torrent of sound it produces into memorable and even melodic pieces that attest the majesty of this genre.

4. Seabird, ‘Til We See the Shore – No, I’m not giving this Northern Kentucky act a high post because I’m a homer. I’m putting Seabird up here because its debut is one fresh, compelling piece of piano-based pop. There was a common theme of triumph over struggle in Aaron Morgan’s songwriting which was literate and evocative, highlighted by standout track Cottonmouth (Jargon).

5. Fireflight, Unbreakable – The title track was my favorite single of the year, an arresting testament from the adulterous woman Jesus saved from stoning. But Unbreakable was hardly a one-hit album, with more great power chord rock and ballads such and You Made Me a Promise, all delivered by one of Christian rock’s strongest frontwomen, Dawn Richardson.

6. Delirious, Kingdom of Comfort – Taking a cue from their previous hit, Our God Reigns, the British worship leaders have evolved into contemplative songwriters. Too bad they’re calling it quits, for now, after releasing this standout.

7. Andy Hunter, Colour – I have always been a fan of Hunter’s mix of faith with electronica and dance music and wished he made more albums. Usually he’s preoccupied with soundtracks and such, but this is a satisfying, if rare, experience.

8. Anberlin, New Surrender – New Surrender opened a new chapter for Anberlin, making a leap to a major label with an album that showed its individual, literate personality with a slightly more pop sound, including a new duo-guitar attack.

9. Superchick, Rock What You Got – Producer and band member Max Hzu has crafted Superchick’s sound into a fine concoction. While I would like to see a little more growth in lyrical content, it’s undeniable that nobody does female-fronted, punky  power pop as well as the Brock sisters and their band.

10. Third Day, Revelation – That the title is not a Biblical reference, but a request for more insight from God, speaks to the mature, thoughtful voice this Georgia band brings to Christian pop. And they can rip a Southern rocker with the best of them too.