1. Summer feels like a long way away, but Creation Festivals are already getting excited about the festival season, having announced its first confirmed headliner for their Northeast and Northwest festivals. Looks like Lecrae will be making a return to Pennsylvania and Washington State.
2. Congratulations to KJ-52, who announced he and his wife are having another baby--and this one's a boy--joining the couple's three other boys. He said he now had to go from man-to-man defense to zone, and now onto dime. That's a football analogy for those who have no idea what I'm talking about.
3. When Blanca Callahan announced she was leaving Group 1 Crew, she hinted that some solo music could be coming, and now, we know that's indeed the case. Going by just "Blanca," she released her first single as a solo artist, "Who I Am," this week. Lots of other artists are excited as well, reposting and retweeting the announcement to their fans. Blanca will be on the 2015 Winter Jam tour to share some of her new tunes.
4. Musicians can be fans, too. Paul Colman has attended every one of U2's tours since 1984, and this year is no different. He's catching Bono and the gang for a two-night event in Chicago next year as part of the Innocence and Experience Tour.
5. Trace Adkins has invited Jason Crabb to join him on the final leg of his Christmas Show Tour starting December 10th in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Jason posted a text exchange with the deep-voiced country superstar, where Trace asked Jason to come on the road to help him celebrate a birthday--Jesus' birthday. The pair will travel the Southeast on the tour before ending in Florida.
6. Steven Curtis Chapman undoubtedly is singing praises to God as the charity he and his wife, Mary Beth, started--Show Hope--raised $1.2 million at the organization's 11th annual fundraising banquet last month. And that beat Show Hope's goal of raising a million dollars at the event. The funds will go towards helping orphans around the world find forever families by providing funds for Adoption Aid grants. So far more than 4,500 orphans from more than 50 countries have found homes through Show Hope. Great news!
7. NewReleaseTuesday.com, in conjunction with new Christian music streaming service The Overflow, has announced its nominees for the third annual WE LOVE CHRISTIAN MUSIC AWARDS, which will be given out on the Rock & Worship Roadshow Tour in February and March. Leading the nominations is for KING & COUNTRY, who are in the running for Group of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Find the full list of nominees and VOTE NOW at www.weloveawards.com. Fan votes will determine the winners so vote early and often to make sure your favorite wins!
8. Christian artists are real people just like the rest of us. On her way back from wrapping season 2 of her show It Takes A Church, Natalie Grant experienced an extremely turbulent flight that caused her to have a panic attack. Fully transparent about the experience, she admitted at the end of it, she's a work in progress. She said that encouragement from friends and fans on Facebook brought her comfort.
Quotes (3)
1. "Most of the time songwriting isn't easy, and it can be painful, but it almost always leaves me feeling more alive." - Jenny Somers of Jenny & Tyler
2. "Truth always trumps fear. Now if I could just apply that at all times. I'm a work in progress." - Natalie Grant
3. "My heart hurts for this world that we live in, and for those that don't know the God who gives us our breath. As long as their is sin on this earth, we are all suffocating in our flesh. The current events only magnify our need for the Gospel... Turn from your sin, and place your faith in Jesus. Amen." - George Moss
