Stellar Kart and Sanctus Real free at The Fillmore

We all like free things, don't we? Yes, free is definitely good, and on March 20th, a Friday night, two great bands will be performing at The Fillmore at The Jackie Gleason Theater in South Beach. Stellar Kart and Sanctus Real are supporting an event called "Cross The Bridge" by gracing Miami with their music. These bands might not sound too familiar to some of you readers, but they are worth checking out if you have an open Friday night on the 20th. Stellar Kart's sound can only be described as punk, and fans of artists like Relient K might enjoy their style. Sanctus Real, however, is a more collected alternative sound. So if you're not a solid fan of punk music, there's still some healthy variety here. Did I mention the entire event is free?

If the prior reasons aren't convincing enough, the event's venue itself is beautiful and serves well for taking that special someone in your life on a unique and relatively romantic date, or simply to have a cool new place to hang out with friends for a weekend. The actual "Cross The Bridge" event will be held the entire weekend, but Stellar Kart and Sanctus Real are probably the more enjoyable bands from their entire showcase.

Christian Music News Source

TMW Fundrive 03 w/ Sanctus Real

Sanctus Real performs "Say It Loud" during the TVU 2003 fund drive.

Christian Music News Source

'Rock the Coast' Christian musical festival set for May 16-17

MUSKEGON -- Secular rock music group AC/DC once screamed "Rock n' Roll Ain't Noise Pollution."

At Muskegon's "Rock the Coast," it can also please the soul.

The annual Christian music festival will be May 16 and May 17 at Michigan's Adventure, Michigan's largest amusement park.

The featured headliner for May 16 will be Christian music chart-toppers Sanctus Real. The band is known for using its carefully crafted music, lyrics and melodies to deliver powerful, Christ-centered messages.

"Rock the Coast is back for its sixth year, and we are planning for the biggest and best weekend yet," Alive on the Lakeshore Chairman Roger Eikenberry said in a prepared statement. Alive on the Lakeshore is the event organizer.

"We will have more bands than ever before on the main stage for the evening show," Eikenberry said. "Having more bands on Saturday is another way to highlight the Christian message that is key to the event."

Other acts that will appear on the main stage include:

• The Afters, whose award-winning debut record, I Wish We All Could Win," included the single, "Beautiful Love," which became Christian music's No. 1 downloaded song of 2006.

• Fireflight, a female-led band of rockers that is one of the hottest new groups on the Christian music scene.

• Everlife, a three-sister group that has performed on the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana tour.

• Local band, The Fabulous, which has been touring nationwide since appearing at the 2008 Unity Festival in Muskegon. Their latest CD, "No Paradise," was produced in Nashville and receiving national airplay on Christian radio stations.

The combination of Christian music and amusement park rides has made the festival a popular family-oriented event, Eikenberry said. More than 3,800 people attended the 2008 festival.

Proceeds from the event are donated to Youth for Christ and area First Priority ministries.

Rock the Coast tickets can be purchased directly at Michigan's Adventure, or from Startickets by calling +18005853737 or online at www.startickets.com.

Christian Music News Source

Christian Music News Source

With six No. 1 hits and a dozen Top Five hits, Sanctus Real is one of the most popular contemporary Christian rock groups. The band's currently on tour in support of its latest CD, "We Need Each Other," and the tour includes a stop March 7 in Mountain Home.

Sanctus Real will perform as part of the North Arkansas Youth Rally at Mountain Home First Baptist Church. The rally also will feature speaker Doug Runkles.

Tickets for the event are $12 in advance and $15 at the door, with $10 tickets available for groups of 20 or more. Tickets are available at Christian Book Outlet in Mountain Home, Harrison and Fayetteville and at the First Baptist Church, 425-6961. They also can be ordered online at www.180uth.com or www.itickets.com.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. March 7 with the program and concert starting at 7.

Sanctus Real is a five-member group out of Toledo, Ohio. It features vocalist and guitarist Matt Hammitt, lead guitarist Chris Rohman, bassist Dan Gartley, guitarist Pete Prevost and drummer Mark Graalman. Hammitt and Rohman formed the group in 1996, when they still were in high school. The band recorded three independent albums between 1998 and 2001 — "All This Talk of Aliens," "Message for the Masses" and "Nothing to Lose" — before they were signed to Sparrow Records.

Their first release on Sparrow was "Say It Loud" in 2002, which produced four charting singles and received a Dove Award nomination as best rock album of the year. The band followed that with "Fight the Tide" in 2004, which won Sanctus Real a Dove Award for modern rock album of the year. The album also earned Dove nominations for rock and modern rock recorded songs of the year and was included among ChristianMusicToday.com's best albums of the year.

In 2006, the group released "The Face of Love," followed last year with the current release, "We Need Each Other," which received a Grammy nomination for best rock gospel album. The single "Whatever You're Doing" currently is in the top 10 on Christian music charts.

"There's a real sense of direction and momentum surrounding the band and the new album," said Hammitt on the band's Web site. "The past several months have been an exciting time for us. We feel like we've made the best record of our career and are looking forward to sharing these new songs with our fans."

"There are some spots on this record where I just pushed the limits of what I can do vocally, whether it be on a soft, kind of rustic sounding vocal or whether it be this overdriven, rock high-range kind of vocal," Hammitt said

sgarrett@baxterbulletin.com

Christian Music News Source

MATTHEW WEST, SANCTUS REAL HEADLINE WAY-FM/WORLD VISION TOUR

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) Jan. 26, 2009 – Award-winning Sparrow Records acts Matthew West and Sanctus Real will join WAY-FM and World Vision for the organizations’ first-ever national tour. Designed to bring World Vision’s ministry to the local station level, “The WAY-FM/World Vision ’09 Tour,” also featuring special guest Jason Gray, will kick off Jan. 28, 2009 in Charleston, SC, and visit 12 WAY-FM radio markets through Feb. 20, 2009.

“I’m ready to hit the road this spring with Sanctus Real,” says Matthew West. “WAY-FM has some of the greatest listeners in the world, and it’s going to be a blast visiting all these WAY-FM cities. Of course, the chance to team up with an outreach like World Vision is an honor, and we hope these concerts will be more than just music but a chance to change the world by teaming up with such an amazing ministry.”

“As we’re getting ready for the ‘WAY-FM/World Vision ’09 Tour,’ we see this as a unique opportunity for us to reach a whole new audience with our music,” says Sanctus Real frontman Matt Hammitt. “We’re great friends with Matthew West and so appreciate the ministry of both WAY-FM and World Vision. To be partnered with such great people is an honor and a pleasure. We know this will be a great tour on all levels and hope a ton of people come out and join us!”

“As the World Vision - WAY-FM partnership came together, we realized a national tour would be a great way to bring the story of the ministries of both organizations directly to our audience,” says Lloyd Parker, WAY-FM Chief Operating Officer. “Because both Matthew West and Sanctus have a heart for what we do, and they also receive a lot of airplay on WAY-FM, having them co-headline the tour made sense.”

“The World Vision Artist Associates Department has hoped for a tour with WAY-FM for many years,” says Jenny Lockwald, World Vision channel/product executive director, artist associates & volunteer programs. “This year along with the World Vision radio department we have produced a tour specific to the WAY-FM markets in conjunction with Maxx Live. The tour features Matthew West and Sanctus Real and introduces Jason Gray. We felt that the combination of these artists in concert would be attractive to the WAY-FM audience, as well as share World Vision ministry and need in serving the vulnerable and needy in over 100 countries on a daily basis.”

The WAY-FM/World Vision Tour ’09 itinerary:
January 28 Charleston, SC
January 30 Tallahassee, FL
January 31 Huntsville, AL
February 5 Panama City, FL
February 6 Ft Myers, FL
February 8 West Palm Beach, FL
February 10 Rome, GA
February 12 Bowling Green, KY
February 13 Clarksville, TN
February 14 Louisville, KY
February 19 Wichita, KS
February 20 Denver, CO

MATTHEW WEST:
West catapulted onto the Christian music scene in 2003 with his debut single, “More,” which was the most played Christian AC song of 2003. The multi-Dove Award nominee and sought-after songwriter released two critically-acclaimed recordings, Happy (2003) and History (2005); has been a mainstay at Christian radio with memorable hits like “Only Grace,” “History” and “Next Thing You Know”; and has toured with such artists as tobyMac and Jeremy Camp on the wildly popular 2008 “Boomin’ Beyond Measure” tour. In addition, West has penned songs for Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Natalie Grant and Mandisa, among others. West’s third studio recording, Something To Say, released January 15, 2008 and debuted on Nielsen SoundScan’s Christian Retail Chart at #10, while West was the best-selling Christian artist on iTunes the week of its release. The album’s debut single “You Are Everything” additionally peaked at No. 1 on Christian AC radio and was the most played Christian song of 2008, while “Something to Say” climbed to No. 7 at AC radio. Most recently, West wrapped the 27-city “Something to Say” fall tour featuring label mate Josh Wilson. For more information on Matthew West, visit www.matthewwest.com or www.myspace.com/matthewwest.

SANCTUS REAL:
One of the top Christian rock bands today, five-member Sanctus Real’s breakthrough album, The Face of Love, released in April 2006, landing at No 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and amassing a string of radio hits including No. 1 songs “I’m Not Alright” and “Don’t Give Up.” While The Face of Love was inspired by real-life heartache and rediscovered joy, the band’s fourth studio release, We Need Each Other, marks a completion of that healing process and is a call for unity. Described by multiple media outlets as Sanctus Real’s best project to date, the record’s title track was a No. 1 hit on Christian Hit Radio. We Need Each Other also received a 2009 GRAMMY Award nomination for Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album. Popularly known for its captivating live performance, the group toured with Third Day last spring and headlined the “We Need Each Other” tour with special music guests Tenth Avenue North and VOTA in fall 2008. For all the latest Sanctus Real news, go to www.sanctusreal.com, www.myspace.com/sanctusreal, and www.emicmg.com.

WAY-FM MEDIA GROUP:
WAY-FM Media Group was founded in 1987 by Bob Augsburg and his wife Felice as a single station, WAYJ, in Fort Myers, FL. Today WMG, including CHRSN, has over 100 signals in 26 states. Markets served by WMG include Denver, CO; Nashville, TN; West Palm Beach, FL; Louisville, KY and Charleston, SC. For more information visit www.wayfm.com.

WORLD VISION:
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. For more information visit http://www.worldvision.org/.

For more information on Matthew West, visit the JFH Artists Database
For more information on Sanctus Real, visit the JFH Artists Database

Christian Music News Source