Copious Notes

TobyMac, who brings his Winter Wonder Slam tour to Louisville Nov. 29, performed at Winter Jam at Rupp Arena earlier this year. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

We’ve seen a lot of dream tours lately.

Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman went out for a show that hit Rupp Arena earlier this year. Another heavenly lineup was Third Day, Switchfoot and Jars of Clay - who didn’t get to Kentucky.

Thanksgiving weekend will close out with another great headlining duo, playing in Louisville, that offers a compelling look at the ­current state of Christian rock.

Winter Wonder Slam blows into Broadbent Arena with TobyMac and Relient K topping the bill.

With its growing mainstream cred, it seems a little ­surprising Relient is still taking part in faith-based tours. But as targeted at general-market listeners as its latest album, “Forget and Not Slow Down,” is, it’s also a reaffirmation of the band’s faith base. And by ­teaming with Toby, Matt Thiessen and company help present a microcosm of the best of Christian rock that is both reaching out and playing to the choir.

TobyMac has yet to score a mainstream hit, though that is ­certainly not due to a lack of ­quality, as Toby and his Diverse City Band offer a blend of hip-hop and rock that is second to none. And Relient K has moved out into the marketplace by being another crack ensemble that has shown a faith-based band can write songs with mainstream appeal, and ­secular audiences don’t mind.

So here it is, a tour that shows you where Christian rock is going: in several different directions.

Coming next year

One big marquee tour making a return to Rupp Arena for the third straight year is Winter Jam, the Newsong-presented tour on which the venerable band willingly plays second fiddle to current chart-toppers.

Headliners for the 2010 ­edition, which will be at Rupp on March 13, are Third Day, ­Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and Revive. This will be the area’s first chance to hear Newsboys with former dc talk member Michael Tait on lead vocals.

Tickets are $10, and they are available only at the door.

• If you are looking for the David Crowder Band concert review that appeared with the print version of this column, click here.

Harlan County native Phil Stacey. Photo courtesy of Reunion Records.

Listening to Phil Stacey’s Into the Light, you think, if this guy wasn’t on American Idol, he should have been.

His debut on Reunion Records under the guidance of legendary Christian producer Brown Bannister sounds very Idol, with songs that showcase soaring choruses and emotional lyrics, and Stacey definitely has the chops to deliver them.

It also sounds very contemporary Christian — hence, Idol’s friendliness to Christian singers the last few years. That’s also what makes Into the Light a little disappointing.

His post-Idol debut on Lyric Street records was a refreshing sound for the Christian market, introducing some country songwriter cleverness in songs like It’s Who You Know, and bringing some genuine energy to the project. But Stacey says he was miscast as a country guy and pop was always where his heart was, hence the move to the Christian pop label and embrace by Christian pop royalty — Michael W. Smith is his labelmate.

The result is a solid album with catchy tunes like Inside Out and soaring worship ballads like One. He also pulls out a great Rich Mullins cover, Hard to Get, that could serve to show some younger listeners there’s more to the Christian pop legend than Awesome God.

What’s really missing here is any sense of Stacey’s own individuality, which seemed to be so present on that 2008 debut. With Into the Light, Stacey has been embraced by the Christian music establishment. On future efforts, he needs to avoid sounding like a generic contemporary Christian artist.

Is the GMA in trouble?: My fellow Christian music blogger Joanne Brokaw has an interesting post about recent cuts and layoffs at the Gospel Music Association and the just-annouced $1,000-a-plate Save the GMA fundraiser. Is Christian music’s umbrella organization in danger of going under?

Close, but not quite here: Yes, we do have Jeremy Camp coming Thursday night and Casting Crowns in a few weeks. But there are two Christian tours of interest not quite getting here, but they will be close if you’re the road tripping type.

~ If you’ve wanted to see Newsboys with Michael Tait out front, they get as close as Wilmington, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati, Nov. 15. Click here for Newsboys tour itinerary and ticket links.

~ You may also have heard plenty of TobyMac and Relient K live, but still find the concept of their Winter Wonder Slam tour together irresistible. It hits Louisville Nov. 29.

Ichthus Farm looked peacful Friday afternoon. It won't look that way next Friday. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Ichthus, has it really been 10 years?

The first year I covered the Ichthus Festival was 1999. The festival, which returns next week with its 40th edition, had just made the move out from the campground in Wilmore to the Ichthus Farm on U.S. 68, just outside town. It was still primarily run by student volunteers from Asbury College and seminary, and Christian pop was in the midst of tasting a steady stream of mainstream success.

In the ensuing 10 years, a lot of bands have crossed the stage: That’s about 30 headliners over the past decade, and lots of acts on the under-cards that certainly made a mark. So, with this personal anniversary and 10 years at the farm in mind, here’s my list of best-and-or most memorable performances at Ichthus over the past decade.

1. P.O.D., 2000: Before Satellite put P.O.D. atop the rock charts in 2001, the San Diego band came to Ichthus to play a late Friday afternoon set. Many people knew who they were before the set, but everyone was aware by the time it was over.

We said the Boys from the South played “the kind of show that makes you wonder whether the performers dropped dead when they walked off the stage.”

The band, which usually tours with hard-core mainstream metal bands, played an impassioned set, primarily from the album The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, seemingly fueled by the embrace of a Christian crowd.

Michael W. Smith on stage, in the snow, at Ichthus 2005. Photo courtesy of Ichthus.

2. Michael W. Smith, 2005: This was the final set on the day that changed Ichthus forever. Friday of the 2005 fest was warm and sunny until the evening, when severe thunderstorms ripped through, shredding the campsite and scuttling an evening lineup of TobyMac and Audio Adrenaline. The next day, temperatures plunged into the low 40s.

By the time Smith took the stage, snow was falling over Ichthus.

He was playing piano wearing gloves with the fingertips clipped off and a winter cap from his merchandise table. The worship set with Watermark was seen by few, but will never be forgotten by those who stuck it out.

The next year, Ichthus moved to June.

3. Audio Adrenaline, 2006: After this show, Audio A made one more Central Kentucky stop, at Rupp Arena, before breaking up for good in 2007. But this was the last time we saw together the core of the group, which formed at Kentucky Christian College.

Ichthus was Audio Adrenline’s first festival when the band was starting out, looking to be heard. Many, many hit songs later, playing the festival-closing main-stage gig, it was clear that the band remembered where it came from and appreciated that playing Ichthus for the last time was closing a major chapter in its career.

TobyMac in his 2002 Ichthus performance. Photo by Janet Worne.

4. TobyMac, 2002: Up until this year, Toby has played every Ichthus since releasing his first solo album — well, he’s been scheduled to play, as he’s been rained out twice. Those have included some great sets such as a Saturday night throwdown in 2007.

But his first solo gig at Ichthus, under chilly rainy skies with fans standing ankle deep in mud, was noteworthy in its scrappiness.

Not too far removed from his headlining days with dc talk, this slot and these circumstances could have seemed like a comedown to Toby. But he and his band attacked their set with an energy that warmed the soggy amphitheater. Giving it up for crowds like this is probably a big reason why Toby has returned to headliner status.

5. The Ascenxion Band, 2006: Contemporary Christian music fans known so much about everyone on stage at Ichthus, it is rare to find an act that can totally catch you by surprise. But that’s what Ascenxion did when they took the stage at Ichthus 2006.

The “all-star” act of Nashville session players was basically a set of unknowns to festivalgoers. But they quickly had everybody’s attention with stellar musicianship.

Ascenxion has returned to the fest each year since and delivered fabulous performances. But the surprise of that first outing made that set unforgettable.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot at Ichthus 2007. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

6. Switchfoot and Relient K, 2007: A dream lineup of crossover acts topped the ’07 fest with sets that showed why the bands have such broad appeal. Striking in the showcases were often goofy Relient K’s virtuosity and how clearly Switchfoot’s social justice and personal responsibility messages rang through the rock ’n’ roll.

7. Jennifer Knapp, 2001: The bluesy rocker’s amazing Ichthus set is one of the main reasons I keep wondering whatever happened to her.

8. David Crowder Band, 2008: Is there a group better tailored to bring worship music to a crowd of 18,000?

David Crowder performs at Ichthus 2008. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

What’s amazing is how Crowder can have you laughing at a keytar (one of those guitar-looking contraptions with a keyboard) one minute and lost in a song like O Praise Him the next.

9. OC Supertones, 2001: The ’Tones were a big act in ’01, big enough that they were invited to play the Dove Awards that year. Problem was, the Supertones were also booked to headline Ichthus the same night.

They played the Doves, but the next night, they came to play Ichthus. There was no room on the main stage, so they played the second stage (there was only one, back then) giving fans as intimate a Supertones show as they could ask for, back then.

John Varnadeau (Xanadu) of Atlanta, Georgia, dances with Family Force 5 on the Main Stage at ichthus in Wilmore, Ky., on Saturday, June 14, 2008. Photo by Emily Spence | Staff.

10. Family Force 5, 2008: What better band for a Saturday afternoon party than the boys from Marietta, Ga. The band that has quickly become a fan favorite put an any early punctuation mark on Ichthus ’08 with its late afternoon set featuring bright renditions of well-worn tracks from its album Business Up Front, Party in the Back and some new stuff.

This year, FF5 closes out the proceedings Thursday night. Will it be another set for the decades?

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.

• 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.

Outsider has been a familiar role for Tobymac.

Tobymac. Photo courtesy of Forefront Records.

As a student at Liberty University, he would get into trouble for his appearance, sporting hip hop fashion at the conservative school. In dc talk, he was the rap guy, introducing sounds unfamiliar to many Christian music fans unless they were associated with urban violence and misogyny.

Bucking the system was fairly routine as he entered his solo career, bringing hip-hop to the forefront of Christian pop - a white artist championing a distinctly African-American genre.

But now, Tobymac is the reigning artist of the year in the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Awards, and he’s nominated for the honor again. And last month, he picked up his first Grammy award as a solo artist: best rock or rap gospel album for his live set, Alive and Transported.

So, is Tobymac the establishment in Christian pop?

“I don’t feel like the establishment,” says the artist, who is headlining the Winter Jam concert Saturday night at Rupp Arena. “If anything, I feel like I push the establishment, not in a rebellious sense, but in that I believe we’re diverse, and I believe that diversity should be flexed, and the edge of the music we make and the fashion that we put on can be exhibited, but you can still be passionate about your faith.

“I know it can look like, ‘Hey, he’s the artist of the year. How can he say he’s pushing the limits?’ I think if you just look over the artist of the year, thank God and thank gospel music that they’ve stretched toward us.”

After all, while Tobymac’s sound might reflect what is on Top 40 radio around the nation, hip-hop is still something of a novelty in contemporary Christian music. Read the rest of this entry »

Bluetree is (l-r) Andy McCann (bass), Aaron Boyd (lead vocals/guitar), Pete Kernoghan (DJ) and Johnny Hobson (drums).

Review: Bluetree, God of This City

The rest of this story will not come from Paul Harvey, the Irish band in question is not U2, and you know the song, but it is not Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

God of This City became a Christian worship anthem last year through a compelling performance by Chris Tomlin on the 2008 Passion CD named after the tune and later on his Hello Love album. It became a logical chorus for churches seeking change the world around them:

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city

But learning the story of the song’s authors illuminates the lyrics. These were not just writers hoping to transform towns that struggle with crime, poverty and other problems. The song was inspired by the home of Irish worship leaders Bluetree: Belfast, a city used to almost casual violence in its ongoing civil strife. It was also inspired by and mostly written in Pattaya, Thailand, a notorious city with a flourishing prostitution industry. It was inspired by dark, dark places.

Writing the song brought Bluetree to the attention of Tomlin, and brought the band a recording contract that culminates with the release of the Bluetree’s U.S. debut today. God of This City doesn’t contain anything else quite as instantly catchy as the title song, but it is an extremely well thought out album from the opening about God’s voice breaking through the noise of our world, and the album grows on you with songs such as Each Day and Your Love.

Bluetree were clearly ready for their moment of discovery, and hearing the group for the first time, it sounds like it may be positioned to take up the mantle for Delirious as the longtime British worship leaders prepare to disband. Like those guys, and another band from Ireland that releases an album today, Bluetree is inspired and inspiring.

About that other Irish quartet: As always, though for the first time in blog format, I’ll weigh in on the faith side of U2’s new album soon. But for now, I commend Walter Tunis’ review of No Line on the Horizon to you.

Winter Jam: Watch later this week for a feature on Winter Jam headliner Tobymac and then Sunday for some photo-heavy coverage of the event at Rupp.

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.