The biggest fan weekend in Christian music, the 2023 K-LOVE Fan Awards, got underway this evening (Friday, May 26) with a kick-off concert at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
The kick-off concert featured performances by TobyMac, Colton Dixon, Katy Nichole, Blessing Offor, and Terrian. See below for exclusive photos and videos from the event. To view our full photo gallery from all the weekend events,
The 2023 K-LOVE Fan Awards weekend will also feature worship in the round hour, an emerging artist’s showcase and a songwriter’s showcase on Saturday, and the annual Sunday morning worship service. Nashville’s iconic OPRY will welcome the Fan Awards on Sunday, hosted by CAIN, airing on TBN on June 2nd at 8 pm ET.
Trip Lee, Dallas-born rapper, author, former pastor, husband, and father, releases his 2nd single of 2023, Lay Down, following his announcement that he would be dropping a new single on the last Friday of every month in April.
Now 1 year after the release of “The End” in 2022, Trip explains he is now “speaking from a place of victory.” After highlighting the beauty of the Cross and what it represents for followers of Jesus in “At The Cross” ft. Madison Ryann Ward, Trip has continued the conversation with “Lay Down,” now speaking to “the secrets of his biggest wins,” which is trusting God is in control despite the chaos around you.
A powerful and introspective track, “Lay Down,” explores the themes of surrender, sacrifice, and faith. With his signature blend of thoughtful lyrics and smooth flow, Trip Lee takes listeners on a journey through his personal experiences of learning to let go of control and trust in God.
The intro of the song sets the tone with a calming group vocal singing, “Bullets may fly round, but I lay down; I feel safe and sound on solid ground; How can I lay down?”
“Lay Down is a song about rest in a world that constantly begs us for more and more. I love that it feels aggressive and calls for taking challenges head-on, but still “lay down” is the solution it comes to over and over again.
It’s not an anthem about avoiding our problems– it’s a call to be faithful and rest in the fact that God controls the outcome” says Trip Lee. “It’s scary when things are out of our control, but it can also be peaceful when we trust the One who’s in control.”
Lay Down – Trip Lee
Stream & Enjoy Below
Trip Lee’s storied career began over a decade ago after a chance meeting with Lecrae and the Reach Records team at a show. 6 full-length albums later and over 5 years of planting and pastoring churches, all while dealing with chronic fatigue, Trip is fully committed to music once again and ready to impact the world through hopeful lyricism and handcrafted sounds.
Looking toward the future, Trip’s aim is to “reframe and replace our vision of despair and deconstruction with hope and sanctification.” His new music is the fruit of his endurance and a reminder that even when we come to what feels like “the end,” There is More to The Story.
Worship artist and songwriter Steffany Gretzinger is releasing her newest offering, The Narrow Way, on July 7th. Today she has released the title track along with the lyric video.
“The Narrow Way.”
The Narrow Way features eight new songs that were birthed from prayers in the secret place as well as from conversations around the table with her family and friends. This new album follows her Forever Amen (2020) and Faith of My Father (2021) projects. Her hope is that the Lord would take these songs as far as He wants and that people will use them to minister to the heart of God, giving the Lamb the reward of our praise that He deserves.
Gretzinger is known for her honest and thoughtful lyrics with stirring melodies to lead a passion-filled generation to the Lord. Her heart is to minister to the Lord first, giving Him joy and adoration.
Planetshakers Releases “We Raise” From ‘Show Me Your Glory – Live’ Album Launching In July
Internationally recognized praise and worship band Planetshakers globally releases “We Raise” today (May 26) from Venture3Media (V3M). Available now at all major digital and streaming outlets via https://planetshakers.streamlink.to/weraise, the song is featured on the highly anticipated, full-length Show Me Your Glory – Live album set to debut in July.
Recorded live during the Show Me Your Glory Planetshakers Conference held in Melbourne, Australia in January 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, “We Raise” was produced and written by Joth Hunt. Along with a funky rhythm provided by drummer Andy Harrison, bassist Josh Ham, Hunt on guitar, and a percussive horn section, an exclamation on the track is provided by a jazzy piano solo, the full Planetshakers band and the voices of thousands attending the conference.
The new song follows the release of the dynamic “Show Me Your Glory” the title track to the upcoming album and Planetshakers’ first radio single of 2023, “The Rock.” Featuring Hunt on lead vocals, “The Rock” was co-written by Hunt along with GRAMMY-nominated and Dove Award-winning Jordan Sapp (who also produced the track) and Krissy Nordhoff.
Taking the new music and fan favorites on the road internationally, Planetshakers’ Show Me Your Glory tour stops in Krakow, Poland (June 21), Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 23, 24), Le Blanc-Mesnil, France (June 25) and Manila, Philippines(July 21, 22, 23) before traveling to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for a sold-out conference (July 28, 29).
What would happen if we began to believe that God could do the miraculous through us? Can you imagine what might happen? These are the questions GRAMMY® Award-winning collective Elevation Worship asks on their anticipated 15th career project, CAN YOU IMAGINE? With these eight new live songs, they are poised to reignite the hearts of believers.
“Praise” stands as a standout track on the album “Can You Imagine,” showcasing Elevation Worship’s unwavering commitment to delivering anthems that inspire and move audiences while basking in God’s Glory.
Praise – Elevation Worship Ft. Brandon Lake, Chris Brown & Chandler Moore
Billboard chart-topping and RIAA Certified Gold songwriter and critically acclaimed artist Jimi Cravity release his first full-length album, The Last Amen, today (May 26) through his own label The Outlier Agency.
The multi-faceted creator has been a part of Billboard chart-topping singles and albums, as an artist, producer, and songwriter since his inception in the music industry.
His contributions to music have garnered him a Gold RIAA certification with Tasha Cobbs-Leonard’s “You Know My Name featuring Jimi Cravity”, a song that dominated the Billboard Gospel Streaming Chart at #1 100+ weeks and he was also a composer on RIAA PLATINUM R&B single “Dead Man Walking” by Brent Faiyaz.
He’s collaborated with a number of artists including Faith City Music, Tim Bowman Jr, Michelle Williams, Alien Ant Farm, Ludacris, Usher, Passion, Tedashii, Brent Faiyaz, Jac Ross, Nouri, Brian Kennedy, Guvna B, Matt Redman, Jason Ingram and 116. His songs have been heard on major networks and streaming platforms including Netflix, HULU, ESPN, Facebook, NBC, FOX, and more. Collectively, the bodies of work that Cravity has worked on as an artist and songwriter have garnered over 1 billion+ streams from around the world.
DREAM Label Group is proud to announce that it has signed Germany-based artist Good Weather Forecast to its growing DREAM Records roster. Their new song “The Future Looks Good (Safe and Sound)” with Neon Feather is now available on all digital service providers. The group is putting the finishing touches on their debut album to be released later this year.
“We grew up listening to all these amazing artists from the States like Toby Mac, Skillet, and Switchfoot. Later we toured with most of these artists in Europe dreaming of playing shows in the US and winning a Dove Award ourselves 😉 We are excited to partner with the Dream Label Group for this next chapter and hope to inspire a bigger audience through our music. And who knows, maybe this brings us closer to the Dove Award, we dreamed of… ” – Good Weather Forecast, Florian Stielper
“When I first heard GWF I immediately reached out. Just hearing the heart behind why they are doing what they are doing for the Kingdom was enough for us to want to sign them. We believe together we will do great things for His glory.” – DREAM Label Group, Lance Brown.
Their debut song is an incredible track full of hope. It’s upbeat, it’s fun and its summertime feel is a must-have to your music library.
What would happen if we began to believe that God could do the miraculous through us? Can you imagine what might happen? These are the questions GRAMMY® Award-winning collective Elevation Worship asks on their anticipated 15th career project, CAN YOU IMAGINE? With these eight new live songs, they are poised to reignite the hearts of believers.
“Runnin” stands as a standout track on the album “Can You Imagine,” showcasing Elevation Worship’s unwavering commitment to delivering anthems that inspire and move audiences while basking in God’s Glory.
You don’t have to wait anymore – new music is here from CAIN! Their new song, aptly titled “Any More,” is out now. The award-winning sibling trio, comprised of Madison Cain Johnson, Taylor Cain Matz, and Logan Cain, is excited to release new music following the February release of their latest project, Honest Offering.
Sharing about “Any More,” which the three wrote along with Jeff Pardo and Matthew West, Madison explains, “We had a songwriter friend tell us, ‘When you try to write a song from the perspective of God, write towards your kids because that’s our closest understanding of the Father’s heart.’”
Taylor adds, “As a new mom, I’m starting to understand the love of God a little bit better. When I look at my daughter Stevie, I don’t need anything in return from her. There’s nothing she could do to change the amount of love that I have for her.
The enemy lies to us, tries to tell us that we’ve made too many mistakes, that we’re too far gone, and that God couldn’t love us anymore. We hope when you hear this song, you can sing it victoriously knowing the truth is that God couldn’t love you any more than He does right now.”
Following today’s release of “Any More,” CAIN is hosting the upcoming 10th Annual K-LOVE Fan Awards this Sunday, live from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. CAIN is also nominated in three categories for the K-LOVE Fan Awards: Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (I’m So Blessed”), and Group of the Year. Attendees will be in for a great time as Logan, Madison, and Taylor lead the fan-voted awards show on an unforgettable and fun evening.
Throughout the summer, CAIN, who all became parents over this past year, will continue to release new music while touring around the U.S. to perform at various festivals and venues.
Six-time GRAMMY nominee and two-time GMA Dove Award-winning singer, songwriter, and musician DOE release a new song today, “Lead Us Again” (RCA Inspiration/Life Room Label). A music video also accompanies the single and can be viewed below.
The song, penned by DOE along with Ethan Hulse and Tommy Iceland, is the introduction to an inspirational story about community. “Lead Us Again” sings of laying down distractions to make room for the direction God designed our paths to be.
The powerful song also invites the listener to journey into worship, pursue wholeness, practice humility, seek healing, and revel in thanksgiving.
“I’m so excited about this release,” DOE shares. “This song is an introduction to the conversations that I believe are essential to our community. ‘Lead Us Again’ is a pointed conversation initiated from the Community of Earth to the Community of Heaven, praying, ‘Lord, we don’t want to build our services around our formulaic or emotional preferences. Holy Spirit, please, ‘Lead Us Again.’”
In her illustrious career to date, DOE has achieved three No. 1 singles (“Brighter,” “When I Pray,” and “Cuán Bueno”). She has performed at the Stellar Awards, Gospel Super Fest, and the GMA Dove Awards, and to date, her music has received 36+ million streams. “Lead Us Again” is the first to release from her forthcoming sophomore album, slated to release this fall. The album follows her debut, 2022’s Clarity.
