Following the release of his Too Blessed to Stress album in 2021, Jesse10s has been creating
acoustic versions to some of his popular songs and released some of them as singles that have
been well received so far.
He has compiled them into an ep “Acoustic Files” and hopes that people are reminded of
God’s unending love to each song on the EP.
You Find a Way, the powerful new album from Jenn Bostic is available Friday, July 15th. This will be the follow up album to her 2019 EP Take My Hand Part 1, which debuted at #11 on the Christian/Gospel iTunes chart. This project is a collaboration and passion project between Jenn Bostic and Grammy nominated songwriter and producer Lauren Christy (Avril Lavigne, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry).
Jenn and Lauren met after Bostic’s viral international hit Jealous of the Angels, which honors Bostic’s late father. Lauren became a mentor, collaborator, and friend to Bostic, with songwriting sessions being a beautiful way for them to share their faith. Stand out tracks from the album have already been creating a buzz, including Jealous of the Angels/Amazing Grace, a re-release of the hit, which reached Top 40 at Mainstream AC, and Top 10 on the Southern Gospel Chart. The latest single Leave it at the Cross is currently being played on 15 Christian Radio Stations around the US.
The music video release for the title track of the album is set to release Friday, July 22nd, which will be celebrated during the first leg of Bostic’s album release tour. Not only is she celebrating the birth of this album, but Jenn and her husband Michael are expecting their first child in November, making this year and the release of this album extra special.
Bostic has twice been named “International Touring Artist of the Year” by the British Country Music Association, and has won five (5) Independent Country Music Association Awards including “Best Songwriter,” “Best Musician,” and “Overall Winner.” She performs sold out shows across the US and Europe including venues such as the Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry, and Lincoln Center.
San Diego-based collective Awaken Music, from the 10,000 member, multi-campus Awaken Church, releases its sophomore, full-length album, Move Of Heaven, to digital and streaming outlets everywhere today (July 15) via The Fuel Music.
Produced by GRAMMY Award-winning Stephen Blake Kanicka (Kanye West, for KING & COUNTRY) and mixed by David Cook (Chris Tomlin, Shawn Mendes), Move Of Heaven pushes the artistic envelope with a modern pop sonic landscape mixed with spiritual warfare anthems. Leaning deeply on faith to drive action, Awaken Music intends to bring the body of Christ together when circumstances could otherwise drive them apart.
“The idea behind Move of Heaven is really to engage with God and believe that He is going to invade earth and affect change for all of us as believers,” says Awaken Church Executive Pastor Mike Yeager. “It’s a warfare album. We want all of our songs to really encourage people to move toward the front lines of the spiritual battle at hand.”
Ripe with honest and encouraging lyrics, the album features the Worship Leader-premiered lead single “Come What May,” the Awaken Conference-inspired “Revive Us” and focus track “Peter,” which is a first person account of Peter’s interaction with Jesus, his despair in failure and triumph in God’s restoration.
Along with the music, Move of Heaven expands on the concept of spiritual battle in its visual components. In addition to Awaken Music releasing stylized performance videos for each song, its new album’s cover is derived from the painting The battle of Marciano in Val di Chiana by Giorgio Vasari.
Yeager, who has a PHD in structural engineering and spent time in Florence, Italy studying cultural heritage and structural assessments of buildings and monuments before joining the Awaken Music team, shares how in the back of Vasari’s original fresco painting, there is a small green flag that says “cerca trova,” which means “seek and you shall find.” The wall of this painting is rumored to have been placed in front of, with an approximately six inch gap, the unseen painting by Leonardo da Vinci, The battle of Anghiari.
“Many believe Vasari left a clue to this hidden painting with the flag, alluding to the priceless treasure behind the depiction of battle. The idea of treasure and beauty waiting just inches past a war is much like the experience of Christians,” Yeager notes. “That’s one of the beauties of the Christian life, especially for us at Awaken Church. We talk a lot about ‘the battle’ and ‘the fight,’ but the paradox is that the more we’re engaged in spiritual warfare, the more we actually find rest.”
Exploring that paradox, Awaken Music’s Move of Heaven is a project that is meant to impact culture and inspire changed lives. “God is active, so the church and the music should be as well,” Yeager emphasizes.
The debut album from singer, songwriter, and performing artist Ryan Ellis is out now (Provident Label Group/Sony Music). The self-titled project (listen HERE) features six songs from his 2021 EP, Episode I (“Heart Of The Father,” “Keep My Eyes Up”), along with seven additional tracks such as “Son Of David” featuring Brandon Lake and his new radio single “All My Praise.”
The entire project, which showcases Ellis’ giant vocals and musicality, is a mood-lifting ride of truth, vulnerability, and encouragement. “What I want people to take away from this project is a deep relationship with the Lord,” he says. “I want them to be able to have conversation starters, to be able to jam out in the car but at the same time be thinking about heart stuff. I would love to be able to empower them wherever they feel in life, to empower them to take risks and be creative and go deeper in all relationships.”
Ellis is able to share his musical talents live on the Kingdom Tour: Maverick City Music x Kirk Franklin while performing with Housefires, which runs through the first week of August. Click here to find a tour stop near you.
Equippers Worship is proud to announce the release of their album Still Waters & Shadows (DREAM Worship). The Aukland, New Zealand worship team for Equippers Church recently started pre-orders for the album that also saw their new track “Fall Afresh” release as both an instant gratification and an individual single release to all digital service providers. Songs from the album were produced by Joshua Huirua, Kepz Tumai, and Kenan Stephenson.
“Still Waters & Shadows is a collection of worship songs that were largely inspired by Psalm 23. We felt led to this passage of scripture and we trust that God has a purpose for these songs. We have loved singing some of these songs with our church and we are so excited to share them with everyone. We pray that these songs help to connect people with Jesus.” – Kenan Stephenson, Equippers Worship
Still Waters & Shadows is available now.
Melanie Penn releases her sixth studio album with the long-awaited music video for the feature track, “Follow You.” The beautiful and unique video began as a concept from Aaron Craig, the founder of We Are Films, who is also Penn’s long-time cinematographer and video producer.
He suggested filming the video in Iceland and Penn was immediately on board. The two-day shoot embraced the vivid contrasts of climate and geography, while sparkling glaciers, rugged mountain ranges and hot geysers made an impactful background for the video. When you add in Penn’s beautiful vocals and lyrics, it really becomes a work of art.
“I’m so excited to bring you a video that was months in the making. From the start, we knew we wanted to capture a journey through the wilderness—something all of us can relate to from the last two years,” said Penn. “May this video bring you a painting in motion for ‘Follow You,’ and bring you comfort as you follow where God leads you.”
Fans will be able to view the “Follow You” music video at Spirit TV, The Christian Beat, JubileeCast and NRB TV will play the video on July 18, 21 and 22.
At the same time, the video has such a great connection with the song that was co-written by Penn and the song’s producer, Ben Shive. “Follow You” spotlights the musical message describing how we deal with the emotions of our heart that can eventually become an open door from God. Like a pillar of fire/That lights my way/Your love leads like a cloud by day/It’s Your voice I’m listening to/If You say “go” I will follow You/
I’ll follow You.
Penn’s journey with the songs and music of her new album, More Alive Vol. 2, comes with heartbreak, since the music was written during the long Covid era when she was caring for her father’s battle with cancer, who eventually passed away in 2021. However, it is evident that the strength of Penn’s faith poured into her songs.
Houston native and gospel recording artist and songwriter Michael Dixon’s latest effort How Are You Healing? (VGNBae Music Group/MNRK Music Group/indiblu) is out now on all music retail outlets. Upon its release, the album landed in the top 5 on the iTunes Christian/Gospel Top 200 Digital Albums chart and peaked in the top 100 on its all-genre Top 200 Digital Albums chart.
The 12-song collection of songs is fueled by Michael’s own struggles with mental health, and his therapy sessions, which he hopes begin to spark conversations across our community.
“My therapist challenged me to start journaling, which inspired the title How Are you Healing,” states Michael Dixon. “Every day I was tasked with writing about the steps I took toward healing for that day. Those journal entries became the songs on this album.”“With this album, I hope to start the conversation around mental health in some circles and continue it in others. Healed people heal people.”
Known for penning rousing ballads How Are You Healing? features songs like “Keeper” and “Here.” Michael’s lyrical prowess is showcased in the songs “Mistakes” and “Perception,” and notable cameos on the project include singer and actress Christina Bellon “Be Alright,” Kathy Taylor on “It Is Well”, Nakitta Foxx (of Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers), and newcomer Tatiana Barnett on “Make A Way,” Isaiah Templeton on “Looking Out For Me,” and a poignant introduction from Pastor Dr. Timothy W Sloan.
About Michael Dixon:
An overcomer who’s experienced losing his hearing in both ears due to an ear infection in 2012, which left him deaf for two years – Michael is grateful. As seen on Jamie Fox’s hosted Beat Shazam, Michael Dixon got his start in the music industry professionally by doing studio background vocals, which developed into live background singing, working with an array of artists spanning genres including Yolanda Adams, Chris Tomlin, Lady Gaga, Reba McIntyre and Lyle Lovett to name a few and has written for Grammy-nominated artist Gene Moore. He also serves as one of the Worship Leaders at The Luke Church in Humble, TX.
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Today, genre-melding, music powerhouse Tye Tribbett delivers his new trailblazing album, All Things New via Motown Gospel. The two-time Grammy Award, Soul Train Music Award, Stellar Award, and Dove Award-winning artist has rapidly become one of the most relevant voices of his generation.
This is only further amplified by his latest release, which so clearly encapsulates the ways Tribbett honors the musical tradition in which he operates, all while continuously redefining and stretching its limits within a modern musical landscape. On All Things New, the singer, songwriter, and producer collaborates with some industry heavy hitters, including PJ Morton, Kierra Sheard, Mali Music, Jekalyn Carr, and Zacardi Cortez to name a few. The LP also includes number one gospel radio mega-hits “We Gon’ Be Alright” (Tribbett’s interpolation of Kendrick Lamar’s anthemic 2015 song) and “Anyhow.”
“I made this album to fight against the feeling of defeat in light of everything we have all been through these past few years” says Tribbett. “I wanted to put a joyful experience out in the world to remind not just me, but all of us that there is still beauty to the world.” He continues, “Like my first single New says, ‘We not dead, we livin… Newer times for newer gifts.’ Hopefully we can use a jubilant album to renew and refresh our souls!”
genre-melding, music powerhouse Tye Tribbett delivers his new trailblazing album, All Things New via Motown Gospel. The two-time Grammy Award, Soul Train Music Award, Stellar Award, and Dove Award-winning artist has rapidly become one of the most relevant voices of his generation. This is only further amplified by his latest release, which so clearly encapsulates the ways Tribbett honors the musical tradition in which he operates, all while continuously redefining and stretching its limits within a modern musical landscape. On All Things New, the singer, songwriter, and producer collaborates with some industry heavy hitters, including PJ Morton, Kierra Sheard, Mali Music, Jekalyn Carr, and Zacardi Cortez to name a few. The LP also includes number one gospel radio mega-hits “We Gon’ Be Alright” (Tribbett’s interpolation of Kendrick Lamar’s anthemic 2015 song) and “Anyhow.”
“I made this album to fight against the feeling of defeat in light of everything we have all been through these past few years” says Tribbett. “I wanted to put a joyful experience out in the world to remind not just me, but all of us that there is still beauty to the world.” He continues, “Like my first single New says, ‘We not dead, we livin… Newer times for newer gifts.’ Hopefully we can use a jubilant album to renew and refresh our souls!”
In the past year, Naomi Raine has taken a leading role in the GRAMMY Award-winning collective Maverick City Music. Today (7.8), she releases her solo album ‘Journey’ via TRIBL Records. Across 15 songs produced by Raine with G. Morris Coleman, and seven intimate “car chat” recordings, the album dives into Raine’s life journey through the ebbs and flows of marriage, motherhood, mental health and more. Through her most vulnerable and personal songwriting yet, Raine embraces life’s discomfort and finds acceptance in every stage of her journey.
Listen to ‘Journey,’ here: orcd.co/nrjourney
“’Journey’ is finally here,” says Raine. “I’ve been working on this project for some time and it really is an expression of my heart — the processing, the discovery, the growth, creativity and collaboration through song. This is such a vulnerable project for me, and I’m grateful to share it with the world. My hope is that anybody who hears these songs will get the courage to love, live and be free from the fear that holds us back from living apologetically and inauthentically.”
Raine, a GRAMMY, Billboard Music, Dove and Stellar Award-winning artist, has always felt a calling to music, performing since the age of two. Throughout her life, it has served as a coping mechanism. ‘Journey’ explores trauma from her past, while offering optimism and hope for moving past it. She began writing these songs in the aftermath of a miscarriage and in the midst of attending marriage therapy after her 2020 tour was canceled due to COVID. Nearly all 22 tracks are self penned, with a few written alongside Adale Jackson, co-producer G Morris Coleman, Gary Coach, Kayla Thompson, Taylor Drevan Hill and Tywan Mack.
“Hold On” is an anthem of strength to fight for yourself and each other during the hardest moments in life, while “Good Story” equally honors the beautiful and broken parts of a relationship. “World On Fire” reflects on a seemingly endless stream of tragic headlines that have covered the news these past few years, while “Won One” is an positive, upbeat anthem about keeping your head up. She confronts the consequences of bottling up feelings on “Still Alone,” and then finds freedom to put herself first on “Choosing Myself.” Raine closes the album with “Merrily,” a song that finds joy in the craziness of life and “Brand New,” which confirms the security she has as a result of her faith.
The album is sprinkled with “car chats” that she recorded while driving. In these intimate recordings, she talks about surrendering self-dependence, the heart’s uncertainties, staying strong through tribulations, hard goodbyes, self-discovery in the midst of pandemic-induced isolation, sacrifices and more.
Raine recently performed at the 2022 Essence Festival in New Orleans and has made appearances at the BET Awards, The TODAY Show and The View with Maverick City Music who she is currently on tour with. For more information, visit naomirainemusic.com.
Reach Records releases its summer 2022 playlist titled, You Are The Moment. The project features tracks from Reach Records artists including WHATUPRG, Tedashii, 1K Phew, Lecrae, and many more.
You Are The Moment is available now.
