In the quirky, unpredictable music industry, the same silly beast that launched William Shatner’s musical career in 1968 with the release of an album that boldly bombed where no man has bombed before, fame usurps talent as a reason to sign a major record deal. Dan Evans’ claim to fame [...]

Christmas albums are an artistic challenge: listeners expect to hear the traditional carols, but how do musicians present a fresh interpretation of songs that have been wrung through the washing machine so many times the velvet drapes are now threadbare scarves? In the best case scenario, as with Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas/Sarajevo 12/24″ or Michael W. [...]

Because Christ mandates in Luke 24 that repentance and atonement should be preached “to all nations,” and because census figures project that nearly one out of every three U.S. residents may be Hispanic within a generation, it is critical that the Christian music industry encourage and mentor bilingual worship leaders like Josh Lopez. With the [...]

According to Romans 11:29, “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” Every Christian artist should be working toward discovering his or her gift, whether it be leading live worship, composing anthems or worship songs, playing guitar for studio albums, singing tenor solos, etc. Although they’ve been making records together for nearly 20 years, the Katina [...]

Since the beginning of studio time, since even before Carly Simon eschewed foundational garments on the iconic album cover of No Secrets, marketing executives have known that sex sells music. And although it should not be the case, female Christian artists stand a better chance of being signed to a major record label if they [...]

The bane in many a Christian artist’s existence is that he or she is expected to produce overtly faith-based music. Although the line between religious and secular music is becoming increasingly blurred, many Christian radio stations only play songs that adhere to this strict definition, and many buyers of the genre expect the same when [...]

One of the greatest albums of all time begins with the soft murmur of an orchestra warming up instruments, then suddenly plunges into the raunchy “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and from that first song, you just know it’s going to be an exhilarating ride. (If you don’t know this artist and this album, [...]

Like the familiar parable, many musicians make the mistake of building their album on a foundation of sand: if the songs aren’t good to begin with, the record will never stand the rigors of time. Brenton Brown, the unsung hero behind “Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)” and 2008 Dove “Worship Song of the Year” nominee [...]

Worship leader opens up on his latest project, songwriting, and the challenges of leading.

Congregational praise music, with its single-minded themes and singable melodies, is inherently a dorky genre. The antithesis of rock music, it evolved from the primordial ooze of fresh-faced counselors strumming a guitar around a campfire while teens sang “Kumbaya.” Which is why it is such a ‘tall-glass-of-lemonade-in-summer’ relief when an artist like Jon Abel comes [...]