Winter Jam '09 fills Crown with joyful noise

In an evening that featured breakdancing, beatboxing and rock ’n’ roll, it was clear that Saturday’s Winter Jam concert at the Crown Coliseum was not your father’s youth ministry event.

The performance, headlined by 2008 Gospel Music Association Artist of the Year tobyMac, brought in close to 9,000 fans of contemporary Christian music, the majority of whom braved windy and chilly weather by standing in line for at least an hour before the 6p.m. start time. The coliseum’s parking lot was packed with church vans and buses of all shapes, sizes, and — in testament to Winter Jam’s mass appeal — denominations.

A high-energy, fast-paced affair, Winter Jam proved why it’s the largest annual Christian music tour.

The evening began quickly with songs from up-and-coming Christian artist Francesca Battistelli, whose angelic vocals and infectious smile carried her piano-pop sound into the hearts of the appreciative audience.

Immediately afterward, NewSong, the founders and host of Winter Jam, took to the stage, further energizing the already-on-its-feet crowd. Led by Billy Goodwin, the quartet performed several fan favorites, including “Blessed Be Your Name,” “Arise, My Love” and “Psalm 40.”

“We sing not just because we like to sing,” Goodwin explained to the crowd. “We sing because we’ve experienced the transforming power of Jesus Christ. Amen!”

It would be a night filled with “amens,” as Winter Jam deftly mixed music and message to spread the gospel.

“It’s great to see so many young people responding not just to the music,” said Francis Kinley, “but to the message.”

The 43-year-old school teacher said she traveled from South Carolina to see the concert with her husband, Roy.

“It makes my heart glad that so many teenagers and young people can come to know God this way — and it doesn’t hurt to have a great time while doing it,” Roy added.

There were plenty of good times to be had. Hawk Nelson, the night’s next act, brought an incredibly active stage show that bordered on a Blink-182 level of energy.

The quartet took the stage to Queen’s “We Will Rock You” and they weren’t kidding. Lead singer and guitarist Jason Dunn had the crowd — especially its female members — on its feet, clapping and singing.

A rollicking and rockin’ number, “Bring ‘Em Out” was a crowd favorite that surged with exuberance. It probably provided the evening’s closest equivalent of a mosh pit on the front row.

The band also performed “Let’s Dance” and “Ancient History,” both of which were favorites of Anna Salazar. The 17-year-old came to Winter Jam with other members of her church, though she’s not a member of a youth group — yet.

“This is a lot of fun,” Salazar said. “But I like how they talk about living for God and they’re not talking down to us. It makes me think about church differently.”

That can only be good news for Winter Jam organizers and pastors alike. If not, then the several hundred in attendance who pledged their lives to Christ Saturday has to be a good sign that Winter Jam is accomplishing its goals. And it was only the third night of the 10-week tour.

Special guest speaker Tony Nolan led the evening’s outreach efforts, balancing his message of redemption with moments of levity.

“You can’t text message or e-mail God,” Nolan said. “But the good news is that God’s already texted us; the Bible is the biggest text message in the world!”

After Nolan spoke and an offering was passed, Brandon Heath, 2008 GMA New Artist Of The Year, performed. Heath’s mix of rock and acoustic on songs such as “I’m Not Who I Was” and “Give Me Your Eyes” provided additional highlights in an evening already filled with them.

And then tobyMac, decked out in purple and black and sporting a clever fedora, took the stage at 8:30 p.m. accompanied by air raid sirens, a trio of singers, two guitarists, a drummer and a DJ.

“All of you Jesus freaks scream!” tobyMac yelled before tearing into “One World.” The crowd uproariously responded as told, making quite the joyful noise.


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Brandon Heath’s “Give Me Your Eyes” Reaches 20th Week at No. 1 on iTunes with 200,000 downloads

Brandon Heath’s “Give Me Your Eyes” Reaches 20th Week at No. 1 on iTunes with 200,000 downloads: Along with being one of the biggest songs of 2008 at Christian radio, “Give Me Your Eyes” reached its 20th week at No. 1 on iTunes with 200,0000 downloads of the song. This month Heath will be featured on Nashville's CBS affiliate NewsChannel 5+ “Issues of Faith” discussing Contemporary Christian Music with Christian radio personality WAY-FM's Wally. The show will air at the following times on NewsChannel 5+ (cable channel 50):

Saturday, January 10 at 5:30 am & 5:00 pm (CT)
Sunday, January 11 at 4:30 pm
Monday, January 12 at 9:30 am & 12:30 pm
Thursday, January 22 at 1:00 pm
Saturday, January 24 at 5:30 am & 5:00 pm
Sunday, January 25 at 4:30 pm
Monday, January 26 at 9:30 am & 12:30 pm

For more about the show, please visit:
www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=5373419

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Eight hot concerts to keep winter doldrums at bay

Dead of winter is easily the worst time of the year to be a concertgoer.

One typically has to hunt and peck through slimmer pickings while waiting for warm weather.

That's when we get the first batch of Verizon Wireless Amphitheater concerts and Live On (or Off) the Levee shows, and hopefully even a few Busch Stadium performances will join the list of concerts.

Until then, we've lined up eight shows at eight venues to keep music lovers happy.


— I Am Music Tour with Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Keyshia Cole, Gym Class Heroes, Keri Hilson: 7 p.m. Thursday at Chaifetz Arena, 37.75-$77.75, MetroTix

— A Taste of Chaos with Thursday, Four Year Strong, Bring Me the Horizon, Pierce the Veil: 6:30 p.m. March 11 at the Pageant, $24.25, Ticketmaster

— Celine Dion: 8 p.m. Feb. 4 at Scottrade Center, $65-$125, Ticketmaster

— Mardi Gras Mambo with the Neville Brothers, Dr. John: 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Sheldon Concert Hall, $55-$75, MetroTix (on sale at 10 a.m. Jan. 10)

— Winter Jam with tobyMac, Hawk Nelson, Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli, Stephanie Smith: Jan. 25 at Family Arena, $10 at the door only, www.jamtour.com.

— Tony Bennett: 8 p.m. May 8 at the Fox Theatre, $55-$250, MetroTix

— Terence Blanchard Quintet: 8:30 and 10:15 p.m. Feb. 4-7 at Jazz at the Bistro, $30, MetroTix.

— Take Action Tour with Cute is What We Aim For, Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, Meg & Dia, Anarbor: 6 p.m. Feb. 11 at Pop's, $16-$20, Ticketmaster.

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Brandon Heath Gives SourceOneTV.com A Shout-Out!

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Private Brandon Heath Concert Zarepath NJ he explains how he started out

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Brandon Heath Gives Hope to Deserving Children in Denver This Christmas Season

Brandon Heath Gives Hope to Deserving Children in Denver This Christmas Season: Based off the title of his new, GRAMMY-nominated album, What If We, K-Love and Brandon Heath partnered to give K-Love listeners and Brandon Heath fans an opportunity to bring community together and work toward helping those in need. Brandon, K-Love and the Denver Rescue Mission hosted a toy drive and VIP free concert on Tuesday, December 2 to gather gifts for thousands of deserving children this Christmas. For more information on Brandon Heath, please visit: http://www.brandonheath.net/.

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Brandon Heath Wraps ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE Tour to Stellar Reviews and a Non-Stop Single

Brandon Heath Wraps ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE Tour to Stellar Reviews and a Non-Stop Single: This fall Brandon Heath along with Sara Groves, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken and author/artist Charlie Peacock, hit the road for the ART*MUSIC*JUSTICE tour. This tour benefited both the International Justice Mission (IJM) and Food For the Hungry (FH). The tour was such a success on so many levels that plans are already underway to put together a follow-up tour in the fall of 2009. �The sound and feel of the night couldn�t have been more like a family joining other families to end slavery,� said Brandon Heath. In over 20 cities, the artists brought a unique concert opportunity to �add to the beauty, seek justice and give God praise,� each evening, desiring to further educate the church on God's heart for justice, gain advocates for the oppressed, and show evidence of a God at work in this world. Each evening brought with it inspired music and videos of God's people in action and their heroic experiences across the globe. Incredible stories of rescue from the International Justice Mission were told. As the tour wrapped, 550 kids had been sponsored in the Rwandan Village of Gisanga, and their goal to raise $50k for the International Justice Mission was surpassed.

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