Copious Notes

The Herald-Leader’s Jason Morrow hung out with Hawk Nelson on Thursday. He had a video camera with him. Check it out.

The first day of Ichthus 2009, the 40th edition of the Wilmore Christian music event, included rain and mud, a battle of the bands with mostly Kentucky acts, and an evening bill of Family Force 5 and Hawk Nelson.

Solomon Olds leads Family Force 5 at Ichths, Thursday. Photos by Rich Copley.

Toward the end of Family Force 5’s evening-ending performance at the Ichthus Festival Thursday night, frontman Solomon Olds asked how many people in the crowd had seen the Peach State band a few years ago, when it was playing one of Ichthus’ smaller stages.

There were a lot of cheers, which is totally plausible, because FF5 has been a buzz band at Ichthus for years, even earning an on-stage shout out from Relient K’s Matt Thiessen one year when the group was still playing small stages.

Jason Dunn leads Hawk Nelson on the Ichthus stage.

Similarly, Hawk Nelson has risen through the ranks, starting off with an appearance on an NBC drama as its calling card and taking early afternoon slots.

Thursday night, Hawk and Family Force 5 took rightful places among Ichthus headliners — acts that make slogging through a day of rain and mud worth it.

And they were worth it. Hawk Nelson sported a newfound maturity, particularly in frontman Jason Dunn, that made them seem right at home in the nighttime slot. And FF5 may have risen through the ranks, but when the band stepped on stage to close the night out, they seemed like they belonged there.

Thursday night, on the main stage, we saw the fruits of years of work paying off for two patient bands, and we saw two great performances.

Stay tuned: Herald-Leader videographer Jason Morrow spent Thursday hanging out with Hawk Nelson, and he had his video camera with him. Watch out for his film later this weekend.

• Enjoy our Winter Jam slide show. Mouse over the bottom to get controls. Click on the little comment cloud to the left to activate captions. If you click on a photo, it will take you to a larger version of it at Picasa, and you can click the link at the bottom left for a larger version of the whole show.
  

It is a safe bet that the vast majority of the 12,396 people who turned out for Winter Jam 2009 at Rupp Arena will be in church Sunday morning. But Saturday night, they were at the biggest party in Christian rock.

Tobymac at Winter Jam.

Tobymac and the Diverse City Band were in the house and left little doubt as to why with Grammy Awards, Dove Awards and chart topping album sales they are the top act in contemporary Christian music. No one spins praising God and having a good time together the way these guys do, and fortunately, it can’t rain in Rupp.

Toby made reference to the fact that he was rained out at Ichthus last year and promised to give the Bluegrass Winter Jam audience a little extra. The band flipped through some of the hottest hits off Tobymac’s three solo efforts and the Grammy-winning Alive and Transported album including revved up renditions of Boomin’ and Slam that left the band and the audience breathless, needing the break of Lose My Soul.

Winter Jam, which made its second visit to Rupp in as many years is presented by New Song, who opened the evening after Dove Award nominee Francesca Battistelli, with a few of their hits, including Arise My Love. Hawk Nelson made an early appearance with a hyped up set that topped the first half of music.

Then evangelist Tony Nolan took the stage to deliver a message and a high-tech take on the invitation for people to commit to the Christian faith. No walking forward to Just As I Am, Without One Plea here. Winter Jam goers were told to text “Tony” to 38714, and they would receive a text with more information about where to go for information. Winter Jam organizers estimated 2,500 people responded to that invitation Saturday night.

Then, it was back to music, with The Afters burning through several of their hits, including Beautiful Love and MySpace Girl. Finally, Toby came on for a quick exausting set that, after a shower of confetti, sent everyone home in plenty of time to get some sleep before church — even with this being spring forward weekend.

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.

The Fray are singer and pianist Isaac Slade, guitarist Dave Welsh, guitarist and singer Joe King and drummer Ben Wysocki.

Review: The Fray, The Fray

Doesn’t Isaac Slade ever want to rock? Is he or any of his bandmates in The Fray ever happy?

These questions start to fill your brain emerging from the numbing march of mid-tempo tunes that populate the band’s self-titled sophomore album. It’s not so much that any of these numbers is bad. The Fray, after all, wrote one of the great soft rockers with the title track from 2005’s debut, How to Save a Life. But this follow up makes you wonder if there is anything else in the arsenal for these guys.

The closest thing to a yes comes on track nine out of 10, with We Build Then We Break in which lead guitarist Dave Welsh finally gets to break free with a gritty solo. But, like the lead-off single, You Found Me, and Save a Life, most of the album is empathetic ballads about loss and pain. In mood and sound, The Fray are reminiscent of Counting Crows. But Adam Duritz & Co. always had their Mr. Joneses to match their ‘Round Heres.

It’s a bit of a shame for Christian music fans and the industry, because after achieving mainstream success, The Fray turned around and embraced the faith-based market with a Christian distribution deal. It would be nice if they brought a bit more to the table here. A poor sophomore album won’t kill a band with a couple of big hit singles. But Slade & Co. shouldn’t be allowed to record again without some more diversity in their tunes.

Grammy winners: They didn’t hand out many Grammy Awards on the Grammy broadcast Sunday night, and none in the Gospel categories. So, if you haven’t seen them yet, here are the winners:

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: Kirk Franklin, The Fight of My Life

Best Traditional Gospel Album: The Blind Boys of Alabama, Down in New Orleans

Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Gaither Vocal Band, Lovin’ Life

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: CeCe Winans, Thy Kingdom Come

Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album: TobyMac, Alive and Transported

Best Gospel Song: Kirk Franklin, Help Me Believe

Best Gospel Performance: Mary Mary, Get Up

Volunteers needed: The Winter Jam Tour, which brings TobyMac, Hawk Nelson and others to Rupp on March 7, is seeking volunteers to do things such as work at artist merchandise tables. The downside is you won’t be able to see the show. But if you want to get involved, contact Tim Gerst at (859) 494-7280 or timothy@premierproductions.com.

If you just want to go to the show, it starts at 6 p.m., and tickets are $10 at the door.