Welcome to the NRT Now PodCast, giving you the latest in Christian music news, topics and artist interviews directly from the largest Christian music site online, NewReleaseToday.
I've grown up hearing the phrase "In the world, but not of it." Does that mean that we're a part of our culture or do we separate ourselves from it? In his latest EP, Propaganda talks about the concept that we are a part of our culture, but we also have the choice to change our culture. We discuss this and how Daniel was a great example of this in the Bible.
It feels weird to put this episode in the Next Big Thing series because Alex Henry Foster is so accomplished. His mainstream band Your Favorite Enemies was nominated for a Juno (Canadian music award) and his solo project hit #1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums list several times. His performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2019 is considered one of the best in festival history and is also the subject of his upcoming film. With all this mainstream success, his faith as remained at the center for him. In this episode, we talk about the artistry of this album and working through grief.
It's been said that that the best gift that you can give someone is your presence. It's so easy to get distracted and give our attention away freely. What would happen if we were intentional about giving our presence to those around us? What would happen if we were intentional about giving God our presence? One thing about worship is that we have the opportunity to give our full attention to God as we come into his presence.
When you grow up with siblings, you know exactly what buttons to push to make each other go crazy... unwanted hugging and stolen drinks just to name a couple. On the other hand, you can also become each other's biggest cheerleaders. The harmonies that the siblings in the band CAIN have developed as they've grown up extend past the stage. They share that it's very rare that all three of them are down at the same time, making it hard to stay down for very long.
The phrase "the new normal" can come with a dark cloud and bring a fear that everything we don't like will last forever. However, a new normal can also mean that we take the lessons we learn to help shape a healthier future. This last season has had no shortage of lessons to teach us... what would it look like if we took the lessons to heart instead of being so quick to get back to the normal we knew before? Luke Smallbone talks about what he has learned through this season and writing music that comes from real experience.
What would it look like if we truly took the time to pray for our enemies? What would it look like if we were kind to others the way that Jesus was? What would it look like if we stopped worrying about everything all at once? What would it look like if we stopped feeding the negativity in the comment sections? Dave Frey of Sidewalk Prophets about these questions and their new album 'The Things That Got Us Here,' which is what got them a We Love Awards nomination.
In this episode, We Love Awards nominated artist We Are Messengers talk about championing others. They have produced a video for 2 consecutive Together We Love shows that champion the music of other artists. We talk about championing others, both in the Christian Music space and around our spaces.
Often times, we find ourselves comfortable in the order of what we understand and believe. When we allow ourselves to explore the disorder of what we don't know and have conversations with others with different viewpoints, God can reorder our hearts to be closer to his. Jason Gray talks about this as he discusses his newest album.
It's so easy for us to get too busy and to allow too many voices to divide our attention. As we allow more of this clutter, it becomes more difficult to focus on what is important. It is harder to allow God to play the role in our lives that he is meant to. Phil Joel wrote the song Sailing Speed talking about slowing down, clearing the clutter, and making room for our relationship with God. Phil also shares about creating this EP on his own, a challenge he had yet to take on, and his heart behind this project.
We talk quite a bit about how music can have a massive impact on our lives, but it's still mind-blowing when we hear that music has saved someone's life. The words "Can you hear me?/Does anyone around me feel the way that I feel now" from Hawk Nelson's 'Take Me' brought Grace Graber out of a depression and onto a path of becoming a Christian artist herself. We talk about her story and we reminisce about early 2000's bands that had a major impact on us.
