Press Play

Social Justice Spotlight
With its debut record chiming in at No. 2 on the Christian sales charts and No. 45 on Billboard’s Top 200, high-profile media appearances like “The Today Show” and “Fox & Friends” and a massive digital presence, Press Play’s street week press release reads like a new artist dream.
But out-of-the-box popularity isn’t the [...]

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Israel Houghton

One Man, One Passion
Christian music isn’t quite sure what to do with Israel Houghton. And for good reason. The man who ministers to thousands on a weekly basis at Houston’s mega Lakewood Church has also created quite a name for himself in the gospel music industry as the founder of the gold-selling phenomenon Israel & [...]

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Melissa Greene “Next Step”

Successful National Debut From Avalon’s Stellar Soprano
Melissa Greene is no stranger to Christian music. Spending several formative years as the standout soprano in the now-defunct, but legendary gospel music training ground known as Truth, Greene has spent her most recent history as one-fourth of the gold-selling powerhouse Avalon.

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Building 429

Building 429 Redefined
Building 429 isn’t exactly a new band. Five years and four records into its national career, the rock trio’s résumé reads more like that of an industry veteran with numerous radio singles—including the record-breaking “Glory Defined”—a handful of Dove Award nominations, a “New Artist of the Year” win and nationwide tours with the [...]

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Leeland

Making a Way
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)
Some of them may still be waiting for a full beard to grow in, but the five young men that comprise Leeland [...]

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Mary Mary “The Sound”

Sister Act Continues Celebrity Climb With Explosive New Album
It has been almost a decade since Mary Mary released its brand of soul to the masses, taking gospel music by storm and creating a remarkable impression on the greater music arena. Its bio is a comprehensive listing of GRAMMY, Dove, Stellar and American Music Awards as [...]

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Nevertheless “In the Making . . .”

Indie Ensemble Pours Life Into Record No. 2
What started out as a high school hobby band just outside of Chattanooga, Tenn., has turned into a full-fledge killer rock outfit. Sure, the median age of Nevertheless is 23, but during the last six years of graduations, marriages and road life, the arresting quintet has had more [...]

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Big Daddy Weave

Great Expectations
Mike Weaver doesn’t really know how he got to where he is today. As one-fifth of Big Daddy Weave, one of Christian music’s most endearing bands, he readily admits, “I don’t think we’ve ever known what we were doing.” A bold statement for the lead singer, songwriter and acoustic guitarist of a band [...]

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Amy Grant “Lead Me On: The 20th Anniversary Edition”

Christian Music Celebrity Reissues Time-Honored Disc
In the same way Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water diagnosed an entire era of civil strife and Carole King’s Tapestry prescribed an age of peace, love and repair, Amy Grant’s paramount 1988 release of Lead Me On defined a new generation of truth seekers, thoughtfully and unashamedly maturing [...]

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Kutless “To Know That You’re Alive”

Dynamic Rockers Mature, Push Bold Message With Aggressive New Disc
Over five years have passed since Kutless surfaced as one of Christian music’s premier rock bands. Catapulted by the sudden success of the quintet’s self-titled debut and paramount single “Run,” the longest charting song in the history of R&R’s CHR chart, the Portland-based crew capitalized on [...]

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