Children On The Run

"11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 1 Corinthians 13:11 (KJV)

This verse came to me as I have been listening to the latest release by Minnesota Punk Rockers Children 18:3. In short I could have called this "The Kids Grow Up". Now granted, my experience with Children 18:3 has been fairly limited, but I am acquainted with two of their radio singles Homemade Valentine (from the Self Titled Debut), and the frentically paced Cover Your Eyes (from Rain's A Comin').
 
On the Run isn't really fast or hard. Most of the songs are decidedly radio friendly and have gone punk in the vein of Bleach rather than say MxPx. Personally, I like it better, because it's a bit easier on the ears. I can save them for stuff like Demon Hunter and The Devil Wears Prada.
 
Harmonies abound on this album. That's not to say there's no hard stuff. There is: Moment to Moment, Drifter and I Tried to Do The Right Thing. Most of the songs are mid-range rock, and a number of them We'll Never Say Goodbye, Nowhere to Run, Always on The Run, and and Holding On are pop ballads.

Reviews seem to be either love it or hate it. It's either "What happened to Children 18:3?" or "The Best Punk Album Ever". I'm going to split the baby, metaphorically speaking. As I said, I really like the harmonies. Growing up in an era where rock meant Petra, Stryper, Rez and others that relied as much on harmony as volume, I love it. At the same time I wish It rocked a bit more. I'm going to give On the Run a final rating of 4.5 Emeralds. That will put it in contention for an Elpy (Platinum Vinyl Award) in Rock, and we shall she how it fares.

What are your thoughts? Do you think it stands up to their previous work, or is it a rare Tooth and Nail Misfire? Love it or hate it, we at The Night Beat want to hear from you. On the blog, on Twitter, and now on Facebook. Whatever the means, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Reconciliation

Welcome once again to Music Video Monday. We are racing through the 2nd Quarter Videos. We move on to Hard Rock and Metal. We begin with a fairly short video, as things go. This is Beware the Neverending taking it to The Next Level with Reconciliation.

I The Breather is next, warning against the False Profit.

Next up is Impending Doom and Murderer

And we finish up with Before Their Eyes and Lies

That concludes this edition of Music Video Monday. Next Monday we will close out the 2nd Quarter Videos with Rock. It's gonna be great. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: To Hell With The Devil

Now if there's an album title destined to send Parents, Pastors, and Administrators at Christian schools into conniption fits, this was it. I went to a fairly conservative Christian College. Granted, it was metro Boston, and the Church of The Nazarene isn't exactly the Amish, but there was to be no dancing and going to the movies was frowned upon. Of course there were plenty of Christian Films that one would get approval to show, but, having seen my fair share of them, they stunk.

I came to the Christian Metal scene at the start, introduced by my college friend John Cherry. (A side note: John and his wife Macie are part of an awesome metal band by the name of Slateface. I proudly consider myself to be a headbanger, though without the hair. Nothing against it, I tried, just couldn't do it. Probably a layering issue. Once it got to irritating I cut it short. Same thing with beards. Never could go a week without being clean shaven. It itches too much. A Nazirite I could never be.

Personal grooming habits aside, the louder the better when music. As I'm sure King David would agree, "it's not too loud unless your ears bleed."

To Hell With The Devil. In hindsight it is an entirely appropriate and proper Christian Music Title. Matthew 25:41 (KJV) reads "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Translation....To Hell With The devil.

Michael & Robert Sweet (Lead Vocal/Guitar and Drums respectively), Oz Fox (Guitar and Vocals), and Timothy Gaines (Bass Guitar and Vocals). Four names that changed the Christian Rock scene forever. Where Petra became the standard for Christian Rock, Stryper became the standard for Metal, at least the 80's "Melodic" style. (A second standard bearer was Whitecross).

The band formed in 1983 under the name Roxx Regime but quickly changed to Stryper which is based on Isaiah 53:5 and the phrase "By Whose Stripes We Are Healed". They also created a backronym Salvation Through Redemption, Yielding Peace, Encouragement and Righteousness. They were signed to Enigma records and in 1984 released their debut, an EP called The Yellow and Black Attack. The modest success of the EP encouraged Enigma and when the full length debut Soldiers Under Command went Gold, their spot at the top of Christian Metal was assured.

To Hell With The devil far exceeded both Enigma and Stryper's expectations by going Platinum, and Calling On You, Free and Honestly were staples on MTV. This is a music video for Honestly, which had the emotional appeal strong enough to upstage Friends.

In God We Trust came next. It went Gold as well. I got to go to one of those concerts at the Centrum in Worcester in Massachusetts (now called the DCU Center) and sat 2nd row. Here is a video for Always there for you.

They released one more album Against The Law (1990), which was a radical style departure. It flopped, and the group disbanded until the 21st Century. They came back in 2003 and are going stronger than ever.

Three part harmonies and some of the best guitar work this side of heaven. Here's an Oz Fox guitar solo for you.


I hope you enjoyed this look back at one of the greatest Christian Metal bands ever. I have cut the videos for space, but there have been two more studio albums Reborn (2005) and Murder by Pride (2009) and have most recently produced a covers album simply called The Covering which was given a 5 Emerald rating here at The Night Beat, though was left off the awards because of it being a covers album, and I have no category for that yet. That's it for this week. Have a great weekend and come back for Music Video Monday. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Break Out

Welcome to the latest edition of Music Video Monday. We are just about done with the second quarter videos, just in time for the third quarter finishing up. Because of the small amount of videos and some crossover potential, we are combining Hip Hop and Dance Videos today. We start with a group that spans both categories, like techno-hop. This is Rhema Soul and Break Out.

Next up is Group 1 Crew and Live It Up. This is a perfect song for your summer travel playlist.

The High Society Collective Shows what it's like to be Young Again And Finally, we say Goodbye with Json This has been Music Video Monday. Next week we crank it up with Metal. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Where The Streets Have No Name

Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Flashback Friday, courtesy of Google Blogger, where we bring readers in the present up to speed on the favorite Christian Bands of the Past, though sometimes they are still around. This week we once again have a Crossover from the mainstream.

I was introduced to this band in College. I must confess, I never had heard of them. They come from Ireland. Their first album was called Boy. If you haven't guessed by now, they are Adam Clayton (Bass), Larry Mullen, Jr (Drums), The Edge (Guitar) and Bono, collectively known as U2.


U2's transformation came after their debut release, when Bono, The Edge and Mullen got saved. When there are only four people in the band and three become Christians, the direction is set. Good for us they played rock and roll, because that consigned it to the evening hours, when the administration offices were closed. Therefore fights with the college brass over playing "secular music" at WENC were avoided.


"I will follow" from Boy was their first ever hit, Talk about Boy, or boys, they were babies in 1980. Like most early releases, nobody would be able to tell these kids were going to make it big.

October came out the next year, and the change would be marked. Gloria went straight to the top of Christian Radio. Even Latin could be cool. The video shows that they may still be kids, but a new found maturity surrounds them. October made #41 of the CCM Magazine 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. It is still one of the most covered Rock Worship songs out there. I believe even Delirious may have done one.

Of course it took a War to bring U2 to the top of Christian Charts, and a Sunday, Bloody Sunday, which expertly blended Politics with Easter.

And then on the same album, was 40 (for those not in the know, it's Psalm 40)

Four Years later came the Joshua Tree and super stardom. Island Records was poised to bring the 77's to stardom when that came out. It was kind of a case where one Christian Band kind of upstaged another. U2 rose to the top and the 77's maintained their cult status in Christian alternative. Two bad Island didn't have the wherewithal to push both of them. This is Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For. The Joshua Tree is #6 on the CCM Magazine List.

The most successful bunch of Christian Musicians ever. Probably the most successful Crossover artists ever. Rock on. This has been a special edition of Flashback Friday. I am Awaiting Your Reply..

Summerfest: International Edition

This is a somewhat quick post for all the European and International readers of The Night Beat. You're out there, my blogger stats tell me. Other than the U.S. and Canada (#1 & #4), My top  10 includes Ireland, Russia, France, Germany, The United Kingdom and some others.

Most Christian Music Festivals are U.S. Centric, but not all. Some of the biggest known festivals are International, and while some of the U.S. and Canadian bands show up, a lot of these showcase local talent.

• Frizon Festival (August 8-12, 2012) This is in Orebro, Sweden, smack dab in the middle between Oslo and Stockholm. Most of the artists are Scandinavian, though MxPx is among the few artists from the United States.
• Flevo Festival (August 16 - 19, 2012) Once you're done in scandinavia head on over to the lowlands. This one is in the Netherlands. Lights is at this one. Need I say more.
• Greenbelt Festival (August 24 - 27, 2012) This is a euro-centric festival with no major U.S. Artists appearing. Bruce Cockburn is a Canadian, but I don't think in the top tier anymore. There is quite a lot to take in at this U.K. fixture.
• Parachute Festival (January 24 - 27, 2013) For all those in the Other Hemisphere, this is your festival. It's in New Zealand. Considering the procrastination time that avails you, there is very little on their official site yet. I'll keep you posted.

That does it for the festival preview. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Summerfest: The 4th and Beyond

Continuing with Summerfest. Our first post clued you in on the "Gatecrasher" opportunities, those Festivals which occur within the month of June, and some of them within a week of the post. We took a slight detour with our second post, as we focused on one series of festivals in particular, The Rock The River/Rock The Lakes Minifestival put on by Franklin Graham and The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.  Just a further tidbit about these. They are free, non-ticketed events, though I am sure there is some Capacity rules at Coca Cola Park and Sahlens Stadium, since they are sporting arenas. The other two are literally in parks, so just walk in. Actually there shouldn't be a problem at the two stadiums. Most will be sitting on the field and then there are the bleachers.

We return to our coverage of the Festivals which are occurring throughout the Summer months. Of course these are all in the United States. There are a few International Festivals, however, and I shall cover them in another post.

Great Lakes Region

There's no better place to begin than with Farewell. Cornerstone Festival (C-Stone to music fans) is calling it quits this year. They started way back in 1984, so its kind of bumming that they at least didn't wait until next year, when they could have gone out on the 30th Anniversary. It's more of a bummer that it's ending, because they were one of the few, if not the only festival, to actively recruit the fringe, techno, hard rock, industrial Christian Bands. I hope the other festivals will pick up the slack on that front, but I am not that optimistic on that front. The festival goes from July 2-7. It's best to go to the site for this one as things are still in flux.

There are two other Festivals for those wishing to go to the Great Lakes region this summer. Lifefest is in Oshkosh, WI from July 11-15 and Unity Christian Music Fest is in Muskegon, MI from August 8-11.

Midwest Region

Moving west, there are a number of big festivals in the Midwest and plains. The biggest here is Sonshine Festival from July 11 -14 in Wilmar, Minnesota, West of Minneapolis. They have an HM Stage, which should have a lot of the C-Stone favorites.


After Sonshine, another big festival here is Lifelight on Labor Day Weekend just outside Sioux Falls, SD. One major selling point. It's free. Skillet will be here along with other top bands.

There is one festival in the southern Midwest, and it's Rock The Desert in Midland, TX from August 2-4.  Texans should check this out. They say Tickets are only $25.

Northwest Region

Only one festival of note in this region, and that is Creation Northwest in Eunemclaw, WA outside of Tacoma. Pretty much the same bands that came to the eastern festival will be here as well, so I won't say much. They are celebrating their fifteenth anniversary this year.

Southwest Region

This region has seem some major Festival Contractions. Spirit West Coast in Del Mar has occurred already back around Memorial Day. The Monterey festival was cancelled this year. There are two California festivals still to come, but they test the limits of Summer. Joshua Fest is in Plymouth, California, which is in the vicinity of Sacramento. It takes place from August 31- September 2. The Rock of Ages fest will occur in October, but I will deal with that later.

Northeast Region

Most of the major festivals in the Southeast and Middle Atlantic region occurred in May or June, so we move on to the Northeast region, where the Summer really rocks. The two major festivals in the region finally got their scheduling act together, allowing you to have eight days to rock. New England is celebrating the 15th Anniversary of Soulfest at Gunstock Mountain in Gilford, NH near Laconia from August 1-4. This festival has grown every year since it began in 1998 at Loon Mountain. I think it is arguably the premiere festival in the Northeastern United States now, even though it still trails Kingdom Bound (August 5-8 Darien Lakes, NY outside Buffalo) which is celebrating its 25th Year. If you can't decide, and you've got money to burn, go to both.

That pretty much covers the major festivals this summer, at least in the United States. There are a few upcoming International Festivals for the jet set crowd. I will cover those in a later post. Click on the links for ticket information. Until next time I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Summerfest: Rock the Lakes Edition

If you could catch some of the top acts in Christian Music today for free, what would it be worth to you? This isn't a trick question. You can volunteer at a festival for the festival promoter or for a lot of the exhibitors and you can usually get your ticket for free, but that's not what I'm talking about either. If you get that opportunity, though, go for it. I attended one Soulfest (I believe it was 2000) where I worked with Sparrow Records. A few hours a day saved me about $100 or so for the festival pass.

Back in the early days of Christian Rock the Music and The Ministry were of equal importance. An altar call at the end of the concert was not uncommon. It's not that common these days. Unless a ministry sponsors the concert.

Rock the River (or Lakes or Pond) is a minifest (2 days does not make a festival, just like 2 movies in 2 days does not make a miniseries) put on by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The lineup is top notch. There is a short sermon by Franklin Graham. (You were expecting Billy?). There are four of them this year.

• Rock The Lakes, Rochester, NY June 16 & 17 - Sahlens Stadium - Newsboys headlines this one, along with Michael W. Smith, Canton Jones, The Almost and Trip Lee.
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• Rock The Lakes, Green Bay, WI August 18 & 19 - Leicht Memorial Park  - Skillet has Saturday all to themselves. Did I mention it's free. Sunday Michael W. Smith, The Afters and The City Harmonic.
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• Rock The Lakes, Buffalo, NY September 22 & 23 - Coca Cola Field - Fireflight makes Saturday worth the wait, and on Sunday, Rend Collective, Smitty, and Reilly (Three words: Dueling Rock Violin)
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• Rock The River, Ottawa, ONT September 29 & 30 - Parc Brittania Park - For the Canadians. Saturday, Three words: THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH. Michael W. Smith and the Afters lead up Sunday.
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At all of these events Lacey Sturm, lead singer for Flyleaf, will be speaking along with Franklin Graham. Unfortunately Flyleaf themselves will not be performing.

The concerts start at 4pm and go to about 9 or 10. I was privileged to watch the Calgary and Edmonton Concerts on the Internet back in 2010, the 2 hour time zone change made for late watching.

If you're in the area I would recommend turning out to see these great artists. You can sit through a sermon. You'd sit through a time-share pitch for a Disney or Vegas Trip, and this would be of more lasting consequence. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Forevermore

We're slowly getting back to normal here at The Night Beat. To all who helped in the success of the 2nd Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards, I say thank you. (That means you Blog Boldly).

We move on to Music Video Monday. Today we are featuring Pop Music. We begin with a "spacey" video from Canadian Jon Bauer (no relation to Jack as far as I know). This is forevermore.

Sixteen Cities, which used to be called Issachar until they figured out it was a pain to spell and pronounce, put out an album this winter entitled Love Is Making A Way. This is the Official Music Video for the Title Cut.

Another new Artist this winter is Adam Cappa,who came out first with an EP and then a full release entitled The Rescue. This is also the Title Video.

Well finish off things with a Pre-Release Video from New Artist Holly Starr (yes, that's her name, but her talent fits). This is Don't Have Love from her third full length release, Focus which comes out in October of this year. That puts it out of the third PVA's but it is eligible for the fourth.


That does it for this weeks edition of Music Video Monday. I hop you enjoyed the music. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Night Beat Summerfest 2012: Gate Crasher Edition

It is "Summer" in the USA (unofficially the season begins on Memorial Day in the States, we know it doesn't really begin until June 22 or thereabouts.


For those interested in Christian Music, Summer means one thing. Music Festivals. Of course that used to mean SUMMER Festivals, or at least June, but with Purple Door moving from August to April, that's out the window. That reminds me, what part of music festival says indoors. Yes you may get soaked, but that's part of the deal when you are enjoying fresh air, good music and overpriced concessions.

Today I will do a gatecrasher edition: These are festivals within June, and may be within 7 days of this post. Sorry about that.

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I will begin with the Southeast. Atlanta Fest is at Stone Mountain Park from June 14-16. Toby Mac will be getting things started and other artists on the schedule are Mikeschair, Hyland, Icon For Hire and Disciple. Tickets are $99 at the gate for adults and $60 for children 3-11. This is good for all three days and includes admission to the park as well as the festival.


View Larger Map We'll move on to the Mid-Atlantic region next. Icthus fest in Wilmore, Kentucky is probably the longest running Christian Festival ever. It started in 1970, one year after Woodstock. Kutless, Switchfoot, Red, need I go on. It's from June 20-23 and you can still save a bit. Through June 15 you can Pay $89/adult and $48/Child (7-10) for the entire event. Tickets rise to $99/$56 on the 16th.


View Larger Map Lastly we'll go into the Northeast. Creation Northeast in Mount Union, PA takes place from the 27th to the 30th of June. It is the first of the mega-festivals to take place in the Northeast (Soulfest and Kingdom Bound are in August). Thousand Foot Krutch, The City Harmonic, Group One Crew and others. It's $107 Adults/$49 6-11 until the 11th when prices go up to $120/$59 at the gate.

I wanted to get this one out quickly, and if you can't make any of these festivals don't worry. I will be coming out with a post on the later summer festivals very shortly. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Toto, I don't believe we're in Kansas anymore

It's Friday, and the 2nd Platinum Vinyl Awards are finished. That means it is time for another edition of flashback Friday. For those new to The Night Beat, Flashback Friday is where we go back in the time machine, and bring a new generation up to speed on some of the bands of the past. While for the most part we feature Christian Bands, this week we step into crossover territory.

In the 1970's in the Heartland of America a Progressive Rock band was formed by Dave Hope (Bass), Phil Ehart (Drums) and Kerry Livgren (Guitars, Keys, Synths). It was called Kansas. From the beginning the album was gold (or actually Platinum). One album in particular, Leftoverture (1976), was certified 5x Platinum in 2001. While that is a pretty good record, pardon the pun, by way of reference Evanescence debut Fallen is over 7x Platinum with only about half the time needed. Success is relative. The biggest single on Leftoverture was Carry On Wayward Son.

A Funny thing happened on the way to success. A few of Kansas "wayward sons", specifically Hope and Livgren, got saved. Beginning with Audio-Visions, Kansas entered a sort of Christian Phase. By the time Vinyl Confessions was being written things came to a head, and vocalist Steve Walsh quit after refusing to sing Crossfire.

Kansas had to quickly find a new vocalist and they hired John Elefante, who, in a bit of a surprise coincidence, also happened to be a Christian. Vinyl Confessions got a lot of airplay on WENC, but my favorite wasn't crossfire but instead Play the Game Tonight.

The Christian era of Kansas soon ended, and Livgren and Hope left the band and founded what was one of the most innovative Christian Rock bands of the era. AD. Officially they put out Three albums: Timeline, Art of The State, and Prime Mover. To most fans the second is the best. AD wasn't afraid to take on the issues of the day, but unlike most bands, they married the message to top notch production and music. In the Christian Music world this was as far apart as Kansas was from Oz.

This is Slow Motion Suicide from Timeline

And finally, this is Progress from Art of the State.

There aren't many bands like AD today, willing to take creative risks, on either side of the music aisle. Perhaps they were right. Progress is marching backward. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Night Beat Summer Music Preview

It's Summer, at least in popular thinking. It being only in the 50's and 60's for most of this week here in the Northeast you have to forgive us if we think it's still Winter. Still, we have passed Memorial Day.

While you are out enjoying the warm weather (hopefully), you're going to need some fresh tunes to enjoy on your iPod. Though they aren't as fresh as the ones I will mention in the post, may I heartily recommend any of the Winners of the 2nd Platinum Vinyl Awards (look at 2011). If you want something a bit more Current, these albums will be released throughout the Summer months.

During the Rebecca St. James Transform tour, one of the opening acts was brother/sister duo LaRue (Consisting of Natalie and Phillip LaRue). While Phillip has had a career as a solo artist, we haven't heard from Natalie since the band broke up in 2002. That changes this month with an EP entitled Even Now. It's currently scheduled for release on the 19th of this month.

July brings a bunch of new releases, but none more anticipated by The Night Beat than a pair of re-releases for a new generation. Petra is one of the most well known and loved Christian Bands of all time, and to many could even be called the fathers of Christian Rock. Two of Petra's most loved releases (I don't know of one that is hated, though the first couple were definitely works in progress), More Power To Ya (1982) and This Means War (1987) are being released among milestone anniversaries. You read that right 30 and 25 years respectively. Clicking on the title links will bring you to the mp3 page on Amazon, where you can get some of the best Christian Rock ever made right now on your iPod or computer. The special anniversary Cd's will be released on July 3, right in time for your 4th of July cookout. I will say I got these albums when they originally came out. I know that makes me sound old.

Project 86 follows up their Platinum Vinyl Award Winning Live Album 15.Live, itself an anniversary release, with a new studio release to be titled Wait for the Siren. You'll have to wait for August for that one.

Finally, we will close out the Summer releases with a Plum of a release. Actually that's Plumb (aka Tiffany Arbuckle Lee) and the album will be called Faster Than a Speeding Bullet. Actually, the title itself is somewhat ironic since it has been anticipated for about a year now and is setting vaporware records. When it does come out (and the latest date is around Labor Day) it should be awesome. Nobody can do dance like Plumb.

While that is not the entire list, it is all I will go into detail on. Summer is also the time we will get releases from Toby Mac, P.O.D., The Museum, and Kerrie Roberts. Most of the artists will be on tour at the many Music Festivals throughout the country this Summer. Of course, that's another post. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: May 2012

We're almost caught up. This is great, I managed to get the Platinum Vinyl Awards out this weekend (well, Thursday to Sunday) and I may get May wrapped up within the first week in June. WOO HOO!!!

For those new on The Night Beat, each month I put out a "quick hits" post wrapping up the releases of the past month and assigning an Emerald Rating to each. Let's get to it for May.

Missing The Mark

• Karen Davis - Songs In The Dark 3.75 Emeralds
• Jennie Lee Riddle - People and Songs, Opus 1 Collective 3.75 Emeralds
• Switchfoot - Vice Re-Verses 3.75 Emeralds

If you've read my rewind posts, you know I don't hold back on the attitude. Sometimes it gains me a little notoriety. Sometimes even the artists themselves comment. With the case of Karen Davis, I think the phrase "Hillsong in Hebrew" should suffice. Even though the majority of the songs were in Hebrew, the sound reeked of Hillsong, which is good for itself, but not in all situations. For someone whose experience in Messianic Music is Lamb and the Liberated Wailing Wall, I expected better.  For Riddle, I was unimpressed with the Opus. Sometimes it was too country, sometimes good. I thought it was uneven. I will save my biggest criticism for Switchfoot. WHY?? I loved Vice Verses, I gave it a perfect rating, but this. I usually love remixes because it makes it Techno, and I love techno. No to the remix in this case. Stick with the original.

Pure Platinum

• Lara Landon - Overcome 5 Emeralds

One Perfect album this month. What a voice. I still have my fantasy concert lineup of Lara Landon backed by Denver and The Mile High Orchestra in a speakeasy. I mean, the girls got pipes, and a voice that melts ice. Look up Torch singer and you'll find her picture. Buy Overcome or Beloved on Amazon by clicking on the links.

Semi-Precious Metal

• Bluetree - Kingdom 4.5 Emeralds
• Ben Cantelon - Everything In 4.25 Emeralds
• The Choir - The Loudest Sound Ever Heard 4.75 Emeralds
• Coopertheband - Kings 4.25 Emeralds
• Patrick Dopson - Open The Heavens 4.5 Emeralds
• Family Force Five - III.V 4.5 Emeralds
• For Today - Immortal 4.25 Emeralds
• Deitrick Haddon - A Beautiful Soul 4.75 Emeralds
• Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes (The Acoustic Sessions) 4.5 Emeralds
• Mat Kearney - Young Love (Deluxe Edition) 4.5 Emeralds
• The Letter Black - Hanging On By A Remix 4.75 Emeralds
• Martha's Trouble - A Little Heart Like You 4.5 Emeralds
• Mary Mary - Go Get It 4.5 Emeralds
• Jon McLaughlin - Promising Promises 4.5 Emeralds
• Mewithoutyou - Ten Stories 4.5 Emeralds
• Mercy Me - The Hurt and The Healer 4.75 Emeralds
• Owl City - Shooting Star EP 4.5 Emeralds
• Phillips, Craig and Dean - Here I am to Worship 4.25 Emeralds
• Point of Grace - A Thousand Little Things 4.5 Emeralds
• John Schlitt - The Greater Cause 4.5 Emeralds
• To Speak of Wolves - Find Your Worth, Come Home 4.5 Emeralds
• Rita Springer - The Playlist 4.5 Emeralds
• Stuart Townend - Ultimate Collection 4.5 Emeralds
• 12 Stones - Beneath The Scars 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Mighty To Save 4.5 Emeralds
• The Washington Projects - Space Time Continuum: The Remixes 4.75 Emeralds
• Phil Wickham - Singalong 2 4.5 Emeralds

That's it, I am officially caught up. The June releases await. Until next time I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Music Video Monday: Run and Don't Stop

It's Monday, and that means that it is time for Music Video Monday, where we at The Night Beat Share the Best Christian and GRAC Music Videos out there. Before we begin today, I wish to give a shout out to all my friends on Triberr for bearing with me as the Platinum Vinyl Awards commenced. You all helped make it a big success. I guess I should also give a shout out to the google blogger team for fixing the scheduled post issue in time. Never mind last years marathon posting, even this could have been a disaster.

We're going to start out with a fresh video. Bryce Avery (aka The Rocket Summer), is coming out with a new album tomorrow entitled Life Will Write The Words. As a matter of full disclosure The WENC Night beat is an Amazon Associate, and if you click the highlighted link above and purchase the CD or downloads, a portion of the sale will come back to help The Night Beat. Thank You for your support. Here is the music video for Run and Don't Stop.

One More fresh video, though shorter. Write This Down releases Lost Weekend tomorrow, and this is the album teaser, just like in the movies.

You can listen to Lost Weekend in its entirety this week on AOL Music

Now onto the regularly scheduled videos. First up is Eisley, which recently released the Deep Space EP, which will be considered for a Platinum Vinyl Award next year. This is a live performance of Deep Space.

For King and Country is next. This is Joel & Luke Smallbone, RS James Brothers. This is the music video of Missing.

Sarah Macintosh came out with Current in March, and Oh what an album. Perfection. These are live studio videos. I would love to share them all, but I will chose Damaged.

And finally, we close it out with Sidewalk Prophets. This is the Video of the Title Cut of their new album, Live Like That.

That concludes this edition of Music Video Monday. Until next Monday, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Elpy's: Album of The Year

We are closing in on the end. Only five more awards to be handed out. This year has been a bit more hectic, but the results are much more enjoyable.

We continue with some General Field Awards with the awarding of the Elpy for Group of The Year, which this year, the Elpy goes to: The Devil Wears Prada

Best New Artist is the next to be awarded. This year the Elpy goes to: Icon For Hire

The Artist of The Year Elpy for 2011 goes to: The Civil Wars.

Song of The Year is next, and the nominee list was long. The Nominees were:

• Are You Ready?, Destiny, Beckah Shae
• As For Me and My House, As For Me and My House, John Waller
• Children of God, Move, Third Day
• Hymn for The Missing, Until We Have Faces, Red
• This Love Is Free, Weights and Measures, Hyland
• Manifesto, Introducing The City Harmonic, The City Harmonic
• Poison and Wine, Barton Hollow, The Civil Wars
• Who But You, Music Inspired By The Story, Mark Hall and Megan Garrett
• Window, Dominionaire, Canton Jones

And the Elpy for Song of The Year goes to: Manifesto by The City Harmonic

The Final Award. Album of The Year. The Nominees:

• Barton Hollow, The Civil Wars
• Destiny, Beckah Shae
• Dream With Me, Jackie Evancho
• Music Inspired by The Story, Various Artists
• This Time Around, Heather Williams
• Until We Have Faces, Red
• Vice Verses, Switchfoot
• What if We Were Real?, Mandisa

And the Elpy for Album of The Year for 2011 goes to (drumroll): Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars. Congratulations to them and to all the nominees and winners for making this second awards a great one. We'll see you again next year. Goodnight.

The Elpy's: Part Three

Welcome to Part Three of the WENC Night Beat's exclusive coverage of the 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards, also known now as the 2nd Elpy's (The Nickname is due to quirks with Triberr and Twitter). These next two posts will be a bit more detailed, since we have only 10 more categories to go, but they are some of the biggies.

In our inaugural year last year, which could be dated PT (that's pre triberr, though not social media, since the results were tweeted), an abundance of rock entries necessitated a split of the category into Rock and Hard Rock/Metal. 2011's entry pool confirmed that I made a good choice and 2012 is turning out that way as well. Right now it's just for the Album of the Year Awards. Song of the Year is still combined Rock and Metal.

The Nominees for Best Hard Rock Album were:

• Celestial Completion by Becoming the Archetype
• The Covering by Stryper
• Dead Throne by The Devil Wears Prada
• Disambiguation by Underoath
• Dynasty by As They Sleep
• Thegodmachine by Phinehas
• Until We Have Faces by Red

And the Elpy for Best Hard Rock Album Goes to: Celestial Completion by Becoming the Archetype. Congratulations.

Next up is Rock Song, and it was quite a field. The Nominees were:

• Beautiful Ashes, Beautiful Ashes, Eowyn
• Beautiful Things, This Time Around, Heather Williams
• The Cheval Glass, We Do What We Want, Emery
• Dark Horses, Vice Verses, Switchfoot
• Destroy/Savior, Love Riot, Worth Dying For
• Faceless, Until We Have Faces, Red
• Gone, Move, Third Day
• Illuminator, Disambiguation, Underoath
• The Magnetic Sky, Celestial Completion, Becoming The Archetype
• Make A Move, Scripted, Icon For Hire
• Mammoth, Dead Throne, The Devil Wears Prada
• Through Your Eyes (feat. Trevor McNevan), Love Riot, Worth Dying For

And the Elpy for Best Rock Song goes to: Beautiful Ashes by Eowyn.

Best Rock Album is next, the nominees were

• Beautiful Ashes by Eowyn
• Love Riot by Worth Dying For
• Move by Third Day
• Scripted by Icon for Hire
• This Time Around by Heather Williams
• Vice Verses by Switchfoot
• We Do What We Want by Emery

And the Elpy for Best Rock Album goes to: Beautiful Ashes by Eowyn. It never hurts an award when a Beautiful Woman has to come on stage twice in a row to accept the award. (We can dream).

Next up is the Award for Male Vocalist of the Year. And the Elpy Goes to: Canton Jones

Finally, for this post, the Elpy for Female Vocalist of the Year goes to: Ginny Owens.

One more post to go. Keep it locked here. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Special Elpy Edition

It's never good to rush things. While rushing a bit yesterday I hit publish instead of save and my first Platinum Vinyl Award/Elpy (still not sure about the nickname, but since it avoids my post being flagged as promotional, I'll go with it until I find a better one). Needless to say, though I did my best, I'm no Apple when it comes to corporate secrecy, and the cat is out of the bag (will someone please tell me why the cat was in the bag, who put him or her in it in the first place). My regular Flashback Friday will return next week, and I will continue today with Platinum Vinyl Award Coverage.

In the Category of Best Dance/Electronica Song (all song categories are new this year) there were eight nominees

• Hero (The Legion of Doom Remix), Awake and Remixed, Skillet
• Kamikaze, All Things Bright and Beautiful, Owl City
• Let it Out, World Anthem, Press Play
• Music, Destiny, Beckah Shae
• Not Enough (Remix by Paradoxx), Time and Space, Miss Angie
• One Girl, One Girl, Katelynne Cox
• #putyourloveglasseson, Destiny, Beckah Shae
• Sleep to Dream, Water Colours, Swimming With Dolphins

And the Elpy went to: Not Enough (Remix by Paradox) by Miss Angie.

The Best Dance/Electronica Album went to Beckah Shae for Destiny.

The Best Hip Hop/Rap Song had seven nominees this year

• Alive (Remix), The Whole Truth, DA Truth
• Bet Ya House, Neveroddoreven, Shonlock
• Just Like You feat J. Paul, Rehab (Deluxe Edition), Lecrae
• Regenerated feat E.Tizz and Guvna B, The Still Living Mixtape, Jehaziel
• Revolution, My Time, Byron "Mr. Talkbox" Chambers
• Riot, Blacklight, Tedashii
• Surrender feat V. Rose, Captured, Flame

And the Elpy went to: Just like You feat J. Paul by Lecrae

The Best Hip Hop/Rap Album went to: Neveroddoreven by Shonlock

That concludes the second post of the 2nd Annual Elpy's also known as the Platinum Vinyl Awards. I will finish things off with a post on Saturday and Sunday. Keep it tuned here and I am awaiting your comments on the awards.