“Prison Walls” is the second installment of Amanda Danzigers’s 2022 project, Seasons. “Prison Walls” tells the story of breaking out from the inside and worshiping in God’s promised land. Written by Amanda Danziger and Filipe Michael, the listener will experience an anthem of God’s salvation.

“When we surrender ourselves fully, we are at peace and in full trust with God. What we do here on earth can shake mountains,” Danziger explains. “I can either sit here and let the world entrap me, or I can do something about it and share God’s love. What would you choose? Being stuck within the walls or walking out of the rubble? I would rather stand up and walk free! Surrendering is just the first part to an eternal walk with God. God promises beauty from the ashes… He rescues, redeems and hears our cries. And because of this promise, I will rise up and sing.”

“Prison Walls” is a story of healing and breakthrough, and a different spin on Spring. One may think of birds chirping, flowers growing, and maybe even Vivaldi’s Spring movement, but Danziger decided to take Spring into a different direction.

“We started the Seasons project with a song that was clearly about winter, ‘Vindicate.’ But, for the Spring song, I didn’t imagine singing birds, or the joy of a spring dance… I wanted it to rock. When the warm air starts to hit my skin for the first time after the long months of winter, my first reaction is to be outside — I want the walls to break down, and I want to be free,” Amanda says.

Amanda wrote “Prison Walls” with her childhood friend and frequent collaborator, Filipe Michael. Filipe currently co-writes with Amanda and still maintains the responsibility of producing the artistry. They started to get serious with working on her projects in 2019 with her first EP, Head & Heart.

Filipe continues, “Amanda and I have known each other since we were teenagers, always involved in leading worship at our local churches. We were those nerdy type of kids who wanted to be involved in every possible way when it came to leading worship in youth groups…whether it was helping with the overhead projector, inviting kids to youth group, passing out the programs. We lived, breathed and worshipped in our communities. I believe that’s what bonded our friendship over the years.”

“Because of our upbringings, we continue to be inspired and to share the gospel of Jesus through music. We write these songs together because worship is a journey that goes beyond the church pews,” Amanda explains. “This musical journey is devotional — its devotional worship. Devotional worship starts when you worship God in your quiet space. These songs are written for the person who is looking for music that’ll take them into this journey.”

The Seasons project started with the first release of winter, “Vindicate,” on January 21, 2022. The second installment, “Prison Walls” (Spring) will release on April 29, 2022. All the seasonal songs will then be released under her Seasons EP in the Fall of 2022. The EP will explore the sounds and changes of the seasons, along with the tracks previously released.

Many artists enter the music industry to learn how to create and promote their music. Music industry professional Andrea René Williams started out with a goal to learn as much as she could for her own music ministry, but she soon found out that she enjoyed helping other artists pursue their musical dreams more. Now, she realizes that God has given her a song, and it must be heard. Known as a former GRAMMY Awards Manager and a publicist, who has represented artists such as Gladys Knight, Pastor Charles Jenkins and the late Andraé Crouch, Andrea is ready to step to center stage. The industry is now finding out that the Berklee College of Music summa cum laude graduate and award-nominated publicist and marketer is a musician herself. A singer, songwriter, composer, arranger and producer, she launched her recording career in 2019 with the instrumental single, “Won’t Work”. Williams returns with a vocal, inspirational jam called “Who Do I Run To,” and industry insiders have been raving about the track. The bouncy single is currently available on digital music outlets such as Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify. Listen to the track here: https://youtu.be/000ufiGxM7g

“Who Do I Run To”, a musical reminder that no matter what happens in life God is the one we should go to, was produced and engineered by Andrea. Mark Reiter of the GRAMMY Award-Winning Bias Studios in Springfield, VA, mixed and mastered the track. “This song is a real change for me musically,” says Williams. “It has a throwback vibe and a fun, danceable groove but I don’t want people to miss the important message of the song. When trouble comes, it’s so easy for us to pick up the phone and call a spouse, significant other or friend. I want to believers to remember that even though loved ones may be able to give us advice, God is the one with all the answers we seek. He needs to be the first one we run to when challenges come.”

Starting her music industry career in 1998 at the Washington, DC Chapter of the Recording Academy, known for distributing the coveted GRAMMY Award, Andrea, along with the Executive Director, started the D.C. Branch and – from the ground up – made it the fastest growing GRAMMY Chapter in the history of the GRAMMY Awards. During her time with the popular industry association, she organized events with such mainstream artists as U2, Natalie Cole, John Mayer, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu, India.Arie, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Usher, Billy Taylor, Chris Brown, Raheem Devaughn, Chuck Brown, Nile Rodgers, Gloria Estefan, George Clinton, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy Jam and dozens of others.

Organizing dozens of events for the Chapter, including hosting eight GRAMMY Awards Telecast Parties and coordinating GRAMMYs on the Hill events, she assisted with GRAMMY Salute To Gospel Music Events for several years and held her own GRAMMY Gospel music event in DC resulting in a record-setting number of people joining the Academy. Also, during her tenure at the GRAMMY Awards, she brought legends of Gospel music into the Academy’s membership ranks. Artists like Kim Burrell, Tonex, Tramaine Hawkins and Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers became members at Williams’ prompting. In addition, through her efforts, Donald Lawrence and Richard Smallwood not only became members of the Recording Academy, but ultimately, served on the national board giving Gospel music a louder voice with one of music’s most influential organizations.

Since her GRAMMY days, she has penned hundreds of articles for Gospel music blogs and Christian publications. Long before becoming an interviewer of artists such as Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Yolanda Adams, Tramaine Hawkins and CeCe Winans, she honed her vocal skills in choirs for decades with renowned directors and Gospel greats such as Richard Smallwood, Byron Cage, Earnest Pugh and Ricky Dillard. She’s sung at many churches and in arenas, even rendering the National Anthem (and Black National Anthem) for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the WNBA Washington Mystics, the Georgetown Hoyas, and most recently, for the National Cherry Blossom Festival held on the Grounds of the Washington Monument in her hometown of Washington, DC.

A multi-faceted, serial entrepreneur, she’s been her own boss since 2006 with the full-time launch of Tehillah Enterprises, a two-time Rhythm of Gospel Award-nominated public relations firm, known for representing the finest in the music industry. She is now the owner of Andrea René Williams Music Ministries, Soar Music Publicity, The Fiery Pen and Soul Oasis Music Productions. In her almost 25 years as a music professional, she’s represented countless artists helping them to propel their music to countless audiences. Moving from the background to the limelight, she’s now taking her music to those same audiences, hoping to inspire and encourage them as well.

In addition to her single, “Who Do I Run To,” Andrea dropped an instrumental EP in August 2020, Soul Oasis. The four-song EP contains original material, all with the goal of relaxing the mind and soothing the spirit. All of Andrea’s music is released through her record label, Angels Wings Records. A 2020 Second Place Winner of the Make Music Montgomery Contest (held in Montgomery County, MD) and a 2020 & 2021 WAMMIE Award Nominee for Best Gospel/Inspirational Artist, Andrea will be releasing her first vocal album, I Believe, in late fall 2022.

RIAA Gold-selling, Dove Award-winning pop recording artist and songwriter Jordan Feliz reaches radio’s top position for the fourth time this week as his celebratory “Jesus Is Coming Back” hit No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay and AC Indicator charts. The song, and its remix version featuring both GRAMMY Award-winning Mandisa and Motown Gospel/Capitol CMG artist Jonathan Traylor, are featured on the 18-track deluxe version of Feliz’s acclaimed, third full-length album Say It from Centricity Music.

The multi-format radio single is also the second No. 1 song on Say It, following the American-songwriter-featured AC/CHR hit “Glorify,” and points to the hope of Christians around the world, giving voice to those longing for a home other than ones built on earth.

“I am so blown away by the response for this song,” says Feliz. “It’s been such an incredible journey seeing God do so many amazing things with it! I can’t thank radio and my team enough for their belief in me and ‘Jesus Is Coming Back.’ A massive thank you to Colby Wedgeworth and Paul Duncan for making this song come alive with me. Grateful beyond measure to elevate the Name above all names!”

Setting the tone for Say It as the opening track, “Jesus Is Coming Back” and the full album were co-produced by Jordan Mohilowski and Feliz’s longtime collaborator Colby Wedgeworth. The album combines pop, gospel and soul along with some of Feliz’s most transparent and personal lyrics to date.

Taking his new hits and a bevy of fan favorites on tour, Feliz finishes a dozen-city tour with Matthew West April 10 before launching his own headline, Jesus Is Coming Back Tour April 21. His tour features Curb Records’ Dan Bremnes and newest labelmate Katy Nichole, who Feliz introduced to Centricity Music before they signed and released her online viral and debut radio hit “In Jesus Name (God of Possible).” Feliz’s tour schedule includes:

Apr 07 Raytown, MO
Apr 08 Alma, AR
Apr 10 O’Fallon, IL
Apr 21 Tempe, AZ Tickets
Apr 22 Scottsdale, AZ Tickets
Apr 23 Surprise, AZ Tickets
JUN 2 Dublin, GA Theatre Dublin Tickets
JUN 4 Mechanicsville, VA  Fairmount Christian Church Tickets
JUN 11 Norfolk, NE Christian Cross Festival, Skyview Lake Free
JUN 15 Nags Head, NC His Generation Summer Concert Series Tickets

GRAMMY Award-winning and multi-platinum-selling Hillsong Worship has announced their withdrawal from a planned cross-country arena tour with Casting Crowns and We The Kingdom that is set to kick off later this month. Their withdrawal comes in the wake of some “difficult days” at Hillsong Church, per the band’s official statement (which you can read in full below). Hillsong Church co-founder Brian Houston recently resigned from his role as Global Senior Pastor amidst complaints of misconduct involving two women.

In response to the tour announcement, Casting Crowns and We The Kingdom offered this message on social media: “Our prayers are with the Hillsong Church as they walk through a really tough season. Hillsong Worship is staying home and loving their people through tough times. Casting Crowns & We the Kingdom are moving forward to encourage people on the road.” For the latest tour itinerary and to purchase tickets, visit PremiereProductions.com.

Hillsong Worship full statement (4/6/22):

With the generous and gracious support of our friends and partners Casting Crowns and Premier Productions, Hillsong Worship has asked to be withdrawn from the upcoming Casting Crowns/Hillsong Worship tour with We The Kingdom. Whilst we are deeply disappointed to have to make this difficult decision, we do feel that is the right one at this time in our history and the decision that, for us, requires the most faith.

Uniquely, Hillsong Worship is not and has never been a band. We are an extension of and expression of Hillsong Church – a collective of our local church worship teams. All of us are either on staff at Hillsong Church or volunteers at our local campuses. Right now, our church is walking through some difficult days and navigating significant change. Our community is hurting but hope-filled. With the full support and endorsement of our senior church leadership, we believe the decision not to go on tour this  month is the one that puts the health and well-being of the people of our team first. Now is the time for us to humbly seek the Lord, to grieve in hope and to heal in community, together.

We are devastated to have to withdraw from this tour we have been planning and praying into for over a year, to let down our friends Casting Crowns, We the Kingdom and Premier Productions who mean the world to us, and to let down all of you who were planning on coming. We are so sorry. We would love to encourage you to hold onto your ticket and head along to these nights which are going to be so full of life, joy and encouragement in God’s presence. We know you will be ministered to deeply by the Lord through our friends Casting Crowns and We the Kingdom, who are absolutely incredible.

God bless you all. We truly look forward to worshipping with you again and celebrating what the Lord has done in our midst as we fully surrender to His will and purposes. – Hillsong Worship

Integrity Music songwriters Mitch Wong and Dwan Hill win a GRAMMY Award with Cece Winans’ song “Believe For It” which was also co-written with Kyle Lee and Cece Winans.

They take the award home in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song category, which was announced during the Premiere Ceremony of the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards held in Las Vegas, NV. Alongside this win, Mitch Wong was also nominated for co-writing “Voice of God” by Dante Bowe and Nathan Jess, who is also an Integrity Music songwriter, was nominated for Chandler Moore’s “Man of Your Word.”

After last year’s ceremony happening online due to the global pandemic, sheer excitement, joy and thankfulness were palpable at this year’s ceremony and resounded in Mitch Wong’s acceptance speech: “This song is all about belief. We believe for a better world, we believe for peace, we believe in the unconditional, no strings attached love of Jesus and we want to thank Him.

Integrity Music is honored to celebrate this win at the Recording Academy’s GRAMMY Awards, which featured 6 special performances and more than 70 GRAMMYs awarded across music genres ranging from classical and jazz, to R&B, Global music and more. Mark Nicholas, Head of Label at Integrity Music shares, “It is our great privilege to celebrate Mitch and Dwan’s good gifts and songs, particularly “Believe For It,” which is a resounding anthem to trust in God during precarious times. To see this song honored with a Grammy award is a testament to the world’s need of songs that offer ultimate hope.”

Integrity Music is overjoyed to see Christian music represented at Music’s Biggest Night and promises to continue to seek and release songs of substance that glorify God. Int The 64^th Annual GRAMMY Awards were held last night, Sunday April 3^rd, 2022, on the CBS Television Network, and hosted by Trevor Noah for the second year in a row. For a full list of all the wins, visit grammy.com.

Congratulations to Elevation Worship for receiving a GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for Old Church Basement, their collaborative album with Maverick City Music. This is their first GRAMMY Award win. They also received two additional nominations going into the awards: Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “Jireh” and Best Gospel Song/Performance for “Wait On You.” Both songs are featured on Old Church Basement.

Upon receiving their award, Chris Brown of Elevation Worship—joined by both Elevation Worship and Maverick City Worship—shared from the stage, “I will never forget that little basement where this beautifully wild season between our two groups began. This has been the most amazing thing watching our two ministries create something together that we could’ve never created separately.”

The awards were presented yesterday live in Las Vegas by The Recording Academy for the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards. As the only peer-selected music accolade, the GRAMMY Awards are voted on by the Recording Academy’s voting membership body of music makers who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, producers, mixers, and engineers. This year’s winners were voted on by Recording Academy voting members from nearly 22,000 eligible entries and reflect the wide range of artistic innovations that defined the year in music (Sept. 1, 2020–Sept. 30, 2021).

Just last month, Elevation Worship released LION, their 14th career album. The 15-track collection blends high-energy power anthems with stripped-down quieter moments, unconventionally mixing studio selections and live recordings. The project takes listeners on an inspiring journey, offering songs primed for church, for everyday worship, and for personal reflection. Click on the album cover to take a listen.

Kicking off April 26, Elevation Worship—along with their pastor, Steven Furtick—will hit the road with their spring arena tour Elevation Nights Tour, bringing the experience of Elevation Church to cities around the U.S. The tour begins in Chicago and will wrap in Boston on May 5.

Multi-platinum selling performer and award-winning songwriter Dante Bowe can now add GRAMMY Award winner to his already extensive list of accolades. The Best Contemporary Christian Music Album award stems from his work on Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music’s chart-topping album Old Church Basement.

Adorned in a custom, Dolce & Gabbana white gabardine suit styled by Charles Rose, Bowe relished his GRAMMY win with gratitude alongside Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music.

“I give God all the glory, and I feel like this win is for every black kid that feels misunderstood because of where they come from and what they’ve gone through,” says Bowe on his GRAMMY win for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album with Elevation Worship & Maverick City Music. “This is bigger than me, it’s for the culture. Breaking records is the new norm. Now I feel like I can accomplish anything!”

On April 1st, leading up to music’s biggest night, Dante Bowe released his latest single, “Nail Scarred Hands,” written by Bowe, Ethan Hulse and Chuck Butler via Bethel Music. The moving single marks his first new solo music since his critically acclaimed album circles was released in 2021.  Listen HERE.

Bowe is currently on the road with four-time GRAMMY Award winning duo for KING & COUNTRY on the “What Are We Waiting For? – The Tour” which wraps on Sunday, May 22nd in Franklin, TN.  Tickets are available HERE.

The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular is coming to your home or church in 2022! A brand new on-demand streaming option for the tour launches on April 9th, featuring Skillet, Tauren Wells, KB, Colton Dixon, I AM THEY, Newsong, Kevin Quinn, Zane Black, Abby Robertson, Bayside Worship, and Megan Duke.

If you missed the live event or want to relive the experience, the streaming option is perfect for individuals or groups. A variety of on-demand ticket options are available now. Once you purchase a virtual ticket, you will have access to stream the show as many times as you like through Easter. Additionally, if you sponsor a child through Compassion International, you’ll receive a free virtual viewing pass as well as a copy of Dominion, the latest album from Skillet.

Grammy winning Christian artist Chris Tomlin releases new music today with a 2-track single entitled “Always”, including the songs “Always” and “YAHWEH (No One) [with Elevation Worship],” ahead of tonight’s ‘Tomlin UNITED Tour’ launching in San Diego, California at Pechanga Arena.

“Hebrews 13:8 says, ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever,’ and that is the heart behind my new song ‘Always’” shared Chris. “The God we read about in the scriptures… The God of signs and wonders is the same God we worship today and is the same God we put our trust in for the future.”

The song “Always,” co-written by Chris, is uploading to Christian radio immediately and adding to radio airplay on May 13. The 2-track single is available now at all digital retailers and can be found HERE.

Chris continued, “I have always tried to write songs that help give people a voice to worship God and my prayer is that when people hear this song, their faith is strengthened, and they are reminded of the steadfast and unchanging hope we have in God.”

• “Always” – (writers) Chris Tomlin, Jess Cates, Daniel Carson, Jeff Sojka, Ben Glover
• “YAWEH (No One) [with Elevation Worship]” – (writers) Chris Tomlin, Steven Furtick, Jason Ingram, Chris Brown 

Always” follows recent single “God Who Listens,” featuring country artist Thomas Rhett, and Chris’ 17^th #1 single (that reigned for six consecutive weeks) “Who You Are To Me,” co-written with and featuring Lady A. Both songs are from the 2020 Chris Tomlin & Friends album that debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Christian Albums Chart and #9 on Billboard’s Top Current Albums Chart. A companion EP was released last summer with four additional songs.

This spring, Chris will headline ‘Good Friday Nashville’ on April 15th in between legs of the 20+ city ‘Tomlin UNITED’ tour and play back-to-back concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver on May 23 and May 24. This will be Tomlin’s fifth visit to the iconic Colorado venue, after becoming the first Christian artist to headline two consecutive nights; he repeated history in 2019. His GFN concert returns to Bridgestone Arena after postponing an in person shows in 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic. Since its inception in 2017 GFN has sold out each year and smashed attendance records by becoming the largest ticketed Christian concert in the history of the venue and continuing to accomplish similar feats each year.  Plans are currently in place for Chris to continue the Good Friday concerts indefinitely. Tickets for all concerts available at christomlin.com.

The 3rd Annual Grizzly Awards are set to stream on Facebook at facebook.com/thegrizzlyawards on April 3 at 7:00 PM Central, featuring performances from Seventh Day Slumber, Remedy Drive and Nate Parrish, alongside presenter appearances from artists including Brian “Head” Welch (Korn, Love & Death), Trevor McNevan (Thousand Foot Krutch), Austin Carlile (Of Mice & Men, Whosoevers), James Mead (Kutless), Andrew Stanton and Josiah Prince (Disciple), with more to be announced throughout this week. The evening will be hosted by lauded speaker, spoken word poet and songwriter Egypt Speaks.

The Grizzly Awards exist to celebrate faith-based rock and metal, and this year’s event will continue in that tradition by not only celebrating the winners in this year’s 15 categories, but celebrating the community as a whole. Each performance, presentation and special segment is meant to present a collage of this industry’s impact in 2021.

“We are so humbled and honored to share this platform with such exceptional creatives in the rock and roll community,” Mary Nikkel says on behalf of The Grizzly Awards team. “Every performer and presenter has been so generous in volunteering their time and their talents. We truly believe that the end result will be a moment that recognizes the ways in which this music is healing and changing the world. Our desire has always been to encourage those who pour their blood, sweat and tears into making music that matters. We hope you’ll join us!”

The winners were selected through thousands of fan votes. The full list of results will be announced in a press release following the livestream, including the write-in Fan Choice category. The awards special will also be available to stream on The Grizzly Awards’ Facebook and YouTube after it airs.

The Grizzly Awards is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and you can donate to support their work at http://bit.ly/TheGrizzlyAwardsDonate.