Alternative, independent DIY artist Alex Henry Foster and his band The Long Shadows will worldwide livestream all new music via his website and Facebook during the Live From Echo Mountain Studio event Saturday, April 23 beginning at 5:00 pm ET. The first time streaming from his studio in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Foster’s pre-recorded concert will benefit Music Saves UA, a Rolling Stone-featured non-profit fundraising project created to provide immediate humanitarian help to those who need it most right now in Ukraine.

All the new songs debuted during the livestream, including featured track “All the Violence in the World,” will be direct-to-vinyl lathe-cut and offered as a collectors limited edition LP first to Foster’s SFCC The Club members starting today (April 20) and then to everyone on April 22. All proceeds from this edition, along with other merchandise created around this event, will benefit Music Saves UA.

“We will be teaming up with our dear friends from the Music Saves UA organization in order to contribute to their humanitarian help and relief efforts towards the Ukrainian people’s most urgent needs,” says Foster. “Being united for human rights for all and the dignity of every individual does not only make a real difference in someone’s life, it is also a way to stand against all forms of tyranny, whatever it may be and wherever it may take place.”

Along with his website and Facebook, this meaningful and unique Live From Echo Mountain Studio livestream will be simultaneously seen on several partnering outlets’ Facebook pages, including Prog Magazine (UK), Visions Magazine (DE), MOWNO(FR), MyRock (FR) and Post Rock Community.

Following his livestream, Foster is set to honor the legacy of Lou Reed, bringing his own signature, dense sonic texture to a cover version of “The Power of the Heart” releasing May 6 to digital and streaming outlets everywhere from Hopeful Tragedy Records. The Prog Magazine-featured song was recorded at his Virginia studio along with a grandiose orchestration captured live in his Quebec-based The Upper Room Studio. Along with a four-minute radio-ready mix, there is an eight-minute-27-second version of “The Power of the Heart” included with the single and a lathe-cut vinyl, silkscreen-printed, signed and numbered limited-edition version.

Playing the new music and fan favorites while on tour, Alex Henry Foster & the Long Shadows return to Europe for a 27-city, 10-country Not All Wonders Have Been Losttour, including select encore appearances in markets played in 2021.

For all the latest Alex Henry Foster tour, music news and more, go to http://alexhenryfoster.com/, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and Hopeful Tragedy Records Store.

About Alex Henry Foster:

Rolling Stone, Paste, American Songwriter-featured Alex Henry Foster (AHF) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, author, producer and composer from Montreal and currently living in Virginia. He is perhaps best known as the frontman of Juno Awards nominee and Post-Rock / Noise band Your Favorite Enemies (YFE). In 2018, Foster launched his debut solo album Windows in the Sky, which hit No. 1 multiple times on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, staying in the Top 40 on the chart for a full year after its release. Last year, he released the live triple-vinyl / double-CD and concert film Standing Under Bright Lights amidst international critical and commercial acclaim and featuring the singles “The Son of Hannah,” “Winter Is Coming In” and “Summertime Departures / Sometimes I Dream.”

Using his music and lyrics to bring something greater than ourselves, and sharing from personal experiences about depression, dreams, grief and hope, Foster is a former street gang member who has become a fierce human rights advocate. He has teamed with Amnesty International for several campaigns, established the non-profit group Rock N Rights in 2004 and created The Hope Project following the Japanese Tsunami of 2011.

A recurrent contributor to the Canadian Musician Magazine, among others, he also published the book A Journey Beyond Ourselves in 2017, is the co-owner of Hopeful Tragedy Records along with his bandmate Jeff Beaulieu, is co-founder of The Upper Room Studio and is the founder of the conceptual creative group The Fabrik. A baseball fanatic and a counterculture kook, Foster also has two dogs and likes to simply be called Alex.

Provident Films announces their movie, “Blue Miracle,” won the Epiphany Prize, Movieguide’s most inspirational film award. Commonly referred to as “The Christian Oscars,” the Movieguide Awards’ 30th annual show aired this past Sunday, April 17, 2022, honoring the best family-friendly movies and TV shows of the previous year.

“I’m so encouraged that movies infused with strong biblical content continue to make waves in theaters and on streaming,” says Movieguide Founder and Publisher Dr. Ted Baehr.

“Blue Miracle” was selected as the Epiphany Prize as “Most Inspiring Movie of 2021” because it makes it clear that works and superstition cannot bring miracles, only God’s loving grace can.

“The main theme of the movie to me is found in Scripture, where it says true religion is those who take care of widows and orphans,” shares Trey Reynolds, “Blue Miracle” producer and VP of Provident Films. “It’s kind of a modern-day story of how God’s heart is close to orphans and the most vulnerable in our society. It was a beautiful story of how God intervened and turned a really bad situation into something good.”

“Blue Miracle” tells the incredible, true story of Casa Hogar, the Mexican boys’ home that entered the world’s biggest fishing tournament to save their orphanage. The prize-winning film stars Dennis Quaid (“I Can Only Imagine,” “Soul Surfer”), and was released as a Netflix Original on May 27, 2021.

The film quickly became the second most-streamed movie in the world according to FlixPatrol.com, a website that provides daily VOD charts for 362 streaming platforms in 123 countries worldwide. The film is available exclusively on Netflix in over 190 countries worldwide and available in over 30 languages.

Kevin Olusola, beatboxer of the 3x GRAMMY award-winning, multi-platinum selling a cappella quintet Pentatonix, has teamed up with author, life coach and entrepreneur Donovan Dee Donnell, for the debut of their inspirational podcast,  “Imagine Faith Talk”, launching today on That Sounds Fun Network. With new episodes releasing weekly, “Imagine Faith Talk” will be accessible on Apple Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox (soundcloud), radio public, and pocket casts.

“We’re so excited to launch our podcast ‘Imagine Faith Talk’,” shared Olusola. “This has been over a year in the making. In this podcast, Donovan Donnell and I (with the help of our producer Kory Nelson) go through the Bible and try to unpack what it has to say about success and how faith in God can unlock everything we’re called to be. We laughed and cried so many times as we experienced breakthroughs in our own life during the recordings. We hope the episodes speak to you as much as they spoke to us when we recorded them!

“Imagine Faith Talk” features two men on different paths: Donnell, a former male-exotic dancer turned life coach, and Olusola, a pre-med student turned musician who came together on the same realization: that you don’t have to sell your soul to obtain your dreams and that the key to unlocking everything you’ve been dreaming to be was found through faith in God. The faith-based podcast features conversations for holistic success with each episode giving a deep dive into the Bible, as the two men discover how to maximize uniqueness, weaponize the imagination and leverage faith in God for success. The hope is to find the tools to optimize your performance through partnership with God.

Donnell is a published author, life coach, keynote speaker, missionary, personal fitness trainer and photographer. He has spoken and hosted trainings in the fields of leadership, entrepreneurship, personal development, pre-marital preparation, depression and suicide prevention in multiple cities in California, Texas and Internationally in Brazil and South Africa. With his first two published books, “Before the iDo ” and “Evolving the Entrepreneur,” Donovan was able to integrate his lifelong faith in God with his drive for success to inspire others to create value in their lives.

Olusola is an American musician, beatboxer, cellist, producer, singer, and songwriter. Kevin is best known as the beatboxer of a cappella band Pentatonix and has performed at classical musical festivals such as the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, opened the TED Conference in Vancouver, and was chosen by Quincy Jones to represent him in concert at the 2012 Montreux Jazz Festival on the same program as Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea.  Olusola was raised in Owensboro, Kentucky, in a Christian home by his father, a Nigerian psychiatrist, and his mother, a Grenadian nurse. Along with his brother and sister, Olusola was taught to put his faith in God. An outspoken Christian, Olusola uses social media and technology to connect with and minister to Christian creatives all around the world. Olusola faithfully follows God’s plan, choosing to use his platform to guide aspiring artists who strive to include God in secular industries.

For more information on Imagine Faith Talk podcast, please visit ​ imaginefaithtalk.com.

US-based Nigerian gospel music minister and recording artist Dare David receives multiple award nominations at the forthcoming Stellar Awards 2022.

The Nigerian-born gospel music maestro gets nominations for Category 11, “Contemporary Male Artist of the Year,” and Category 24, “Praise and Worship Album of the Year,” for the album project, “The Name Of Jesus.”

Votings for the Stellar Awards are now open for you to vote; Dare David is on the ballot for Categories #11 and #24. Kindly vote for the listings below;

Category 11 – Artist ~ Dare David; Album Title ~ The Name of Jesus; Label ~ Dvibes Concepts

Category 24 – Album Title ~ The Name of Jesus; Artist ~ Dare David; Label ~ Dvibes Concepts

To vote, please follow these steps carefully;

Step 1: – CLICK “STELLAR AWARDS” – https://www.thestellarawards.com/

Step 2: – Scroll down and click on “Stellar Ballots”

Step 3: – Kindly locate Dare David in categories 11 and 24

Step 4: – You need to vote in all Categories.

Highly-regarded music executive Phil Thornton has been appointed Senior Vice President of Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG), it was announced today by the company’s co-presidents, Brad O’Donnell and Hudson Plachy, to whom Thornton reports.  In his newly created position, Thornton will focus on New Business development, signing talent and the development of label, media and touring partnerships on behalf of Capitol CMG artists.  Thornton assumes his new position on May 3, and will be based at Capitol CMG’s headquarters in Nashville.

According to O’Donnell and Plachy, “We are thrilled to welcome Phil to the Capitol CMG team. He has an amazing track record for finding, developing and breaking artists and an entrepreneurial approach that we know will benefit our entire roster. We couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead for all of us.”

CMG Chair & CEO Michelle Jubelirer added, “I’ve known Phil almost since he started in our business, and I’ve watched him channel his ideas, abilities and energies into a great career as a music executive.  I’m thrilled that he’s joined Capitol CMG as its Senior Vice President, and I know that his contributions will make the best company in faith-based music an even better one.  I look forward to working closely with him, Brad and Hudson in the years ahead.”

Thornton said, “I want to thank Brad, Hudson and Michelle for this incredible opportunity to work at a label group that is the undisputed leader in faith-based music.  Joining the Capitol CMG/CMG family, I’ll be working with an amazing array of forward-thinking artists and partners, and drawing upon all of my experience, to create opportunities that will continue to grow our market and impact culture on a global scale.  I can’t wait to get started.”

Prior to joining Capitol CMG, Thornton was Senior Vice President/General Manager of RCA Inspiration—the Nashville-based Gospel music label that operates under Sony Music’s Provident Music Group—a position he held since 2016.  Among his many recent accomplishments at that label, Thornton signed a deal with Mariah Carey to release a new Christmas tune, “Fall In Love At Christmas” (featuring Khalid and Kirk Franklin) via her MARIAH imprint; he paired H.E.R. and Tauren Wells (now signed to Capitol CMG) for the GRAMMY-nominated collaboration, “Hold Us Together (Hope Mix)”; collaborated with The Orchard to sign Tribl Records, home to genre superstars Maverick City Music worked with Republic Records and Quality Control Music/Motown for the recording and launch of Lil Baby’s and Kirk Franklin’s “We Win (Space Jam: A New Legacy”; partnered with Pharrell Williams for his Voices Of Fire choir, which was chronicled in a Netflix documentary series.

Thornton also paired Kirk Franklin with Live Nation Urban for his Exodus Music & Arts Festival, developed and produced Kirk Franklin’s Good Words podcast, partnered with Snoop Dogg for his devotional Bible Of Love album, and signed breakout artist Koryn Hawthorne.

Previously, Thornton served as Vice President and General Manager of Urban Inspirational at eOne Music from 2012 through 2016, where he oversaw a diversified list of Gospel and R&B artists, including Erica Campbell, Shirley Caesar, Jonathan McReynolds, Tweet and Lalah Hathaway, whose album, Lalah Hathaway Live, held the Number 1 spot on the R&B radio chart for nine weeks and won three Grammy awards.

In 2007, Thornton settled in Los Angeles and partnered with Marcus Spence and Paul Coy Allen to form the successful Ten2One Entertainment, a multimedia, television production, and artist management company. While there, Thornton led the management team and guided the careers of Michael B. Jordan, Faith Evans, Michelle Williams, Kenny Lattimore, and Mack Wilds. After graduating from Norfolk State University in 2003 and moving to New York City, Thornton started his first company, Bright Star Entertainment, an artist management/consultancy firm where he represented artists such as Bad Boy Records’ GRAMMY award-winning group 112 and singer Lil’Mo.

Phil Thornton was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, and graduated from Norfolk State University in 2003 with a degree in Marketing.

As one of the principal songwriters for one of America’s more accomplished and top- selling groups, Hootie and the Blowfish, Jim (Soni) Sonefeld (drummer and writer of the hits) has had a lot of ups and downs, struggles and bad ass highs. As he toured the world, fell into drugs, alcohol, sex and more, he hit the ROCK Bottom so many in this lifestyle do. After the ego and wild days got a shock treatment, he has emerged as a man focused on his faith, his family and a message of hope and redemption.

From his beginnings in the Chicago area as a storied, yet troubled soccer phenom to his days as a player for University of South Carolina to an unexpected ask to drum for the college “band” – he never really slowed down and applied his true talents. But once he did, he excelled. In sport and in his music/songwriting and the rest is history, as they say.

His recovery found him a new man with new meaning, a shift in his songwriting that has led to a catalogue of CCM-eques music. As he takes time to speak to groups on his path to recovery, he sprinkles in some music, and it is a strong and powerful place to be. Soni will precede the release of EP Remember Tomorrow with the release of his first book (memoir) ‘Swimming with the Blowfish: Hootie, Healing, and One Hell of a Ride’ on June 28, 2022.

The first single, “Bow To Him,” was released last month (Mar 25). The full tracklisting is below.

1. Bow To Him
2. Unafraid
3. I See Heaven on Earth
4. Good to Get Back
5. Jesus
6. A Little Revival

How Far, the long-awaited full-length debut from one of Christian music’s leading female artists, Tasha Layton, is set for release May 13 from BEC Recordings. Produced by GRAMMY and Dove Award winner Keith Everette Smith, the definitive 10-song set brims with soaring ballads and bright pop gems, putting Layton’s signature vocals front and center to extol themes of Hope and encouragement.

Anchored by Layton’s #1 single “Look What You’ve Done” and her 2020 breakout hit “Into the Sea (It’s Gonna Be OK),” How Far showcases four newly recorded selections, including the debut single and title-cut set to impact radio April 29. A victorious anthem of assurance that God’s grace cannot be outrun, “How Far” proclaims: “A million miles of my mistakes still couldn’t keep Your love away/However far away I am from home/that’s how far Your love will go.”

“The whole album is summed up in the message of the title track, ‘How Far,’” Layton shares. “It’s about how God continues to reach out and pursue us even when we run from Him. It was God’s love for us that propelled Him to give His life on the cross. Arms stretched open wide—that’s how far He will go.”
 
Layton co-wrote nine of the project’s 10 tracks, and How Far also features songwriting contributions from such names as Matthew West, We Are Messengers’ Darren Mulligan, Matt Hammitt, Aaron Shust, Ethan Hulse and Andrew Bergthold (We The Kingdom), among others.

Additional highlights of How Far include the shimmering synth-pop opener “Help Me Let Go”; “Catch My Breath,” a plea for respite amidst the stress of life; and a new rendition of the worship anthem “Joy Comes In The Morning,” which Layton originally recorded with Franklin, Tennessee’s Church of the City worship team.

“I didn’t shy away from any hard emotions with these songs, and I really tried to lean in and hear what God had to say about each of them,” Layton says of How Far. “My hope is that listeners feel a sense of freedom in this album, understanding that God meets us even in the darkest of hours. The album speaks to God’s intimate involvement in our lives, from the mundane to the biggest moments, throughout each and every season. God is in all of those things with us. He cares; He’s kind; and He’s working all things out for our good.”

Layton’s 2021 smash hit “Look What You’ve Done” reached the pinnacle of Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart and earned her recognition as one of the publication’s Top 5 female Christian artists of the year. She has been featured on ABC’s GMA3: What You Need To Know, discussing how past struggles have shaped her life and inspired her music; and Layton served as co-host of the 52nd GMA Dove Awards Pre-Telecast last year. Her six-song holiday EP This Is Christmas bowed in October and her guided prayer journal, “Boundless: Moving Freedom From Your Head To Your Heart,” also released last fall.

In 2020 Layton was first named one of Billboard’s Top 5 female Christian artists of the year on the heels of her breakthrough single “Into The Sea (It’s Gonna Be OK),” which was among the biggest hits at Christian radio that year. Prior to her solo career, Layton appeared on Season 9 of American Idol and spent four years as a back-up vocalist for pop superstar Katy Perry. A South Carolina native, her voice has been heard in productions for Disneyland and Cirque du Soleil; she has served as an instructor at the National Praise and Worship Institute at Nashville’s Trevecca Nazarene University; and Layton is featured in pro-audio company TC Helicon’s book, “The Ultimate Guide to Singing.”

Alternative, independent DIY artist Alex Henry Foster honors the legacy of Lou Reed, releasing a cover version of “The Power of the Heart” May 6 to digital and streaming outlets everywhere from Hopeful Tragedy Records. Along with a four-minute radio-ready mix, there is an eight-minute-27-second version of “The Power of the Heart” included with the single. There is also a lathe-cut vinyl, silkscreen-printed, signed and numbered limited-edition version.

Perhaps Reed’s most underrated song, “The Power of the Heart” was also a favorite of creative pioneer Laurie Anderson who was his longtime partner and wife until his death in 2013. Bringing his own signature, dense sonic texture to the song, Foster recorded “The Power of the Heart” in part at his Virginia studio, where he currently resides, along with a grandiose orchestration captured live in his Quebec-based The Upper Room Studio.

“I’ve been a fan of Lou Reed’s music ever since I found that strange-sounding LP titled Transformer in the prime section of my father’s vinyl collection when I was a kid,” shares Foster. “It took me years, streaming into the bleakest turbulences of my own inner voyage, to envision the prospect of making a monument of sincerity such as ‘The Power of the Heart’ mine.

“Being liberated from the anguish to be seen for who I am is the reason why I didn’t feel the pressure to mimic Reed’s incarnation of the song. Nor was I constrained by the burden of having to emulate his intimate intent,” continues Foster. “Musical arrangements evolved into some sort of spiritual uplift for me, turning it all into a celebration of what can’t be owned, measured or defined; a boundless and infinite transformative ascension that can only be experienced once shared and given away.

“That is for me the true everlasting nature that is the power of the heart,” summarizes Foster. “Liberating in its contemplation. Compassionate in its acceptance. Transformative in its incarnation.”

Playing the new music and fan favorites while on tour, Alex Henry Foster & the Long Shadows return to Europe for a 27-city, 10-country Not All Wonders Have Been Lost tour, including select encore appearances in markets played in 2021.

Around last year’s tour, PROG Magazine (Manchester, UK) noted that Foster has “a solid bond with his followers by opening up on the topics of depression, loneliness and mental illness, but mostly, by inviting them to care for others, to hope for a brighter day and to keep on dreaming.”

Trójka Radio (Warsaw, PL) adds, “Swans, Radiohead or Nick Cave? What if we could combine the results of their sounds? Then we would have Alex Henry Foster…One of the best concerts in my life.”

Slam Alternative Music Magazine (Budapest, HU) says, “… there is almost no lost translation of the burdensome feelings from the charismatic artist to a captivated audience and the display of musical intensity culminates in a perfectly orchestrated symbiosis of emotional experience and an overwhelming concert experience” as Rock&Folk Radio (Paris, FR) shares, “We are welcoming a Canadian artist who has literally filled up the Élysée-Montmartre.”

For all the latest Alex Henry Foster tour, music news and more, go to http://alexhenryfoster.com/, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and Hopeful Tragedy Records Store.

Chattanooga, TN: Writing Rounds is a budding, influential two-year old virtual community of creatives whose voices are being heard through its songwriting retreats, recording label, and audio production /consultation services. In a short time, it’s amassed a global following stretching from North America to Australia. Co-founded by singer Jessica Hitte and producer LeBron Arnwine, Writing Rounds is expanding its enterprise via a partnership with  Tyscot Records, recording partner with Grammy® Award winner PJ Morton’s Morton Records label, and gold-selling acts like Anthony Brown & group therAPy, and VaShawn Mitchell. “We do all genres of music, this union is to expand opportunities,” Hitte says. “We’re partnering with like-minded people to provide more opportunities for these songs. We feel a connection with Tyscot. If we feel any fatigue, having the Tyscot family come and help hold up our arms is a benefit to us.”

“Initially, I was interested in Jessica as an artist,” says Tyscot President, Bryant Scott. “ I love her voice, but when she invited me to peek in on what they are doing at one of their retreats, I said, `Wait a minute, there’s something bigger here.’ I saw a different opportunity.” A couple of years ago, Tyscot staffers began discussing ways to tap into the growing worship music movement that Maverick City Music, Bethel Music, and other entities had already cultivated. “We were already planning to do worship camps and to do some of the same things Writing Rounds already does,” adds Tyscot A&R Director, Claudius Craig. “We thought they do it so well, so why try to reinvent the wheel? Why not partner with them? We believe in what they do and we’re looking to see how we can help each other grow.”

One of the first joint ventures is an upcoming Writing Rounds Experience that will take place April 28-30 in Franklin, TN. During the retreat, there will be song co-writing sessions, educational sessions about various aspects of music creation and administration, song-share performances to critique new works, and a live recording of the music created during the gatherings . “It’s a big hang-out of creatives,” Hitte adds. “We encourage each other’s gifts. At 2 am or 4 am, people are still up writing songs together. We’re advocating for people who have gone through what we’ve gone through with getting doors slammed in our faces or not being able to get into a certain room because they don’t have a resumé full of Grammy® awards.  We are creating a platform where your songs get heard. They don’t have to collect dust.”

Indeed, the songs do not collect dust. Writing Rounds staffers actively pitch songs to artists looking to record new music such as Stellar Award-winning gospel artist Isabel Davis who recently agreed to record three of the community’s songs for her forthcoming album. In addition, Writing Rounds has created its own recording label to release music from the community. It will be distributed by GoDigiPath Distribution which partners with ADA (a Warner Music Group company) for the mainstream market and with New Day Christian Distribution for  the Christian retail industry. Writing Rounds also offers full production facilities and can also be contracted  to consult with private firms and churches.

Writing Rounds’ genesis begins with Tennessee natives Hitte and Arnwine who first met as students on the campus of Lee University circa 2008. They reconnected in 2013 when she was a Chattanooga schoolteacher awaiting her big break as a singer-songwriter and he was learning all he could about audio production. “She needed a producer to take a chance on her [as a vocalist] and I needed an artist to take a chance on me [as a producer],” Arnwine says. “It was a perfect fit. We learned together – all of the mistakes, all of the let’s-not-do-that-agains. That built  a camaraderie between us that you won’t have just walking into somebody’s studio.  We had nothing. All I had was an interface and a broke down laptop.”

Their collaboration resulted in Hitte’s 2016 debut album, You Never Give Up, which was released independently. “I thought it was going to be easy putting out an album and that everyone was going to love it and that it was just going to blow up,” she laughs. “When it didn’t, I was like what did we do wrong?” She learned that much more goes into making records hits than simply making the music itself. She also realized that the album didn’t fully reflect who she is an artist. “That’s when I realized every song that I write isn’t for me and I started writing for other people,” she adds.

Writing Rounds was born during the COVID 19 pandemic. “I went to a Maverick City Music writing camp in March of 2020 right when everything was about to shut down,” Hitte recalls. “I was so terrified. I thought, `How am I going to write with these strangers’, and I ended up loving it.  I didn’t want it to end. Then, I thought, `How can I keep doing this?’ I talked to a couple of people who were at the camp, Drew Scott and Steve Davis. I asked them if they want to meet on Zoom the next Friday. They said yes and in three to four weeks, we had like 50 people showing up.” She was overwhelmed and told Arnwine about the demand for the Zoom Writing Rounds songwriting sessions.  and he volunteered to help structure them. Soon, they were coordinating multiple parallel Zoom songwriting sessions.   They brought in noted singer-songwriters such as Leon Timbo, DOE, Ay’Ron Lewis, Kim Cruse, Catherine Mullins, Tywan Mack to host virtual writing sessions by the end of 2020, around 800 creatives had participated in the sessions.

After COVID began to decline in 2021,  one of the community members suggested that Writing Rounds do an in-person writing retreat. When the first one was announced, they planned to rent a single Airbnb residence. They ended up having to rent three of them to accommodate the 70 people who showed up. For the first one, Hitte’s mother and sisters came through to handle cooking chores. “There were people overseas who wanted to come but they couldn’t because of the COVID travel restrictions,” says Arnwine.

After the success of the first in-person retreat, Writing Rounds began charging for their online community to find the writers who were serious about their craft. “In the beginning it was everybody,” says Hitte. “We wanted strong writers who hadn’t really had a shot. Even people who felt like their careers were over. There’s a place for everybody here. You heard a song on the radio, but you don’t know what it takes to get it on the radio. We show you all of that in our Writing Rounds Experiences.” For more information, visit: https://www.writingrounds.com

Capitol CMG recording artist and songwriter Anne Wilson has landed her first Billboard Music Award Nomination for “Top Christian Song” with her breakout hit single “My Jesus,” making her the only female nominated in the category. The 2022 Billboard Music Awards will be held live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 15th at 7pm CT/5pm PT and air on NBC.

“I am blown away and forever grateful that I was nominated for a BBMA,” says Wilson. “I never dreamed this would happen but I’m so thankful for it. Thank you Billboard for supporting my music and believing in me!! All glory to God.”

“My Jesus” was the longest-running No. 1 song on the Billboard Christian Airplay Chart of 2021 for seven weeks total. The song also made Wilson the first female artist to hit the top of the Billboard Christian Airplay chart with a debut song. Her soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics have garnered the emerging artist more than 160 million career streams, making her one of the most successful debut acts of 2021.

Recently, Wilson announced the release of her upcoming major-label debut album, My Jesus, available everywhere next Friday, April 22nd. Pre-sale and pre-save for My Jesus is now available HERE.

Additionally, this Saturday, April 16th, Wilson will be making her second appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Wilson is also out on the road with Zach Williams and will join the “My People Tour” this summer with Crowder, We The Kingdom, and Patrick Mayberry.