By Kurt Neuswanger 07 Mar, 2024
In January, we told you about four new artists at the KJOL music blog . This month, we have four more new artists. Jordan Smith “This Is Jesus” Jordan Smith is a 30 year old Kentucky native who grew up singing in the church choir. In 2015, he won NBC’s The Voice. He sang “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and "Mary Did You Know." Natalie Layne “Amen” Natalie Layne is a 24 year old Colorado Springs native, where she was a worship leader at New Life Church. She received a masters degree in piano from Belmont University in Nashville. In 2019, she won Belmont’s Christian Showcase. She continues to serve as a worship leader at her church in Nashville. Terrian “Big God” Terrian (Woods) is a singer/songwriter from Memphis. She is also a member of TobyMac's band Diverse City. And she serves on the staff of AngelStreet in Memphis, which mentors girls as part of an all girls choir. Seph Schleuter “Counting My Blessings” Seph Schlueter ( pronounced “seff shleeter”) spent 7 years as a missionary. In 2020 he formed the worship collective Damascus Worship, in conjunction with the organization “Damascus” which conducts two-year programs to develop leaders who will impact their generation for Christ with the aim of bringing revival to the Catholic Church.
By Dave Andrews 04 Mar, 2024
He had noticed we had been off the air on 94.5 FM in Delta…and I related to him it was one of “those” weekends for our poor equipment. Not only did our AM 1400 Delta transmitter go down causing us to make a very expensive replacement only weeks before, but our FM transmitter in Delta went down at the same time as our Montrose 91.9FM transmitter, and only hours after our whole network went down across the Western Slope!
By Dave Andrews 05 Feb, 2024
The other day a kindly woman knocked on my door asking for a donation to help build the local swimming pool. I came back with a glass of water. Doesn’t it feel great to give to a good cause??
By Kurt Neuswanger 31 Jan, 2024
The English version of the hymn “How Great Thou Art” turns 75 years old in 2024. To mark the anniversary, a new recording has been released, including a brand new verse by Matt Redman. First a little history… Swedish pastor Carl Boberg wrote the original lyrics in 1885. Boberg said that after a strong thunderstorm passed by, he opened his window and heard church bells ringing. He immediately was inspired to write his poem, set to the tune of a Swedish folk melody. It was translated into Russian, where English missionary Stuart Hine heard it while in Ukraine in 1931. He wrote two new verses (3 & 4) and translated it into English in 1949—which is the 75 th anniversary. British missionaries around the world soon began to spread the song. Eventually it reached Billy Graham and George Beverly Shea , who performed it during Graham’s 1957 New York Crusade. The audience liked it so much, they asked Shea to sing it over and over. Graham then used it every week on his Hour Of Decision radio program. Fifteen artists have now collaborated to record the 75th anniversary edition, called “How Great Thou Art (Until That Day)” . When you hear the song on KJOL, the first two voices are from Chris Tomlin and Hillary Scott . The remaining voices include: Kari Jobe and her husband, Cody Carnes Naomi Raine (Maverick City Music) Taya (formerly with Hillsong) Blessing Offor (from Nigeria) Matt Maher (who also plays piano) Matt Redman For the 75 th anniversary, the Stuart Hine Trust commissioned Matt Redman and Mitch Wong to write a new fifth verse: Until that day When heaven bids us welcome, And as we walk this broken warring world, Your kingdom come, Deliver us from evil, And we’ll proclaim our God how great You are! And we’ll proclaim, our God how great You are Redman said they wanted to tie the verse to Stuart Hine’s work in Ukraine, especially in light of the current conflict there. “I wanted the word ‘war’ in there,” said Redman . “It’s kind of a gritty word. But we have to sing about both the everyday and the eternal.” Time will tell if the fifth verse becomes a staple in hymnals. But few will argue that “How Great Thou Art” is one of America’s favorite hymns. And with this new rendition, hopefully it will continue to be loved by future generations.
By Kurt Neuswanger 19 Jan, 2024
KJOL has introduced a number of new artists for the new year. Here’s the first installment. AYANDA KJUMALO & TARA CRUZ Joyful, Joyful (You’re the One) Ayanda Kjumalo (“koo-MALL-uh”) is from Zimbabwe. He attended Moody Bible Institute and was a worship leader at Moody Church. He is now a worship pastor in Michigan, and leads worship workshops around the country. He describes his music as “a unique Afrocentric vibe fused in with various genres, who can shift from hymns to contemporary songs while also being multicultural.” Tara Cruz was a founding member of Vertical Worship at Harvest Bible Chapel. Today she travels around the country leading worship and worship workshops. You may recognize Ayanda from his high-energy calypso-styled song (see link above). CHRIS RENZEMA Just As Good Chris Renzema grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After a mission trip to Guatemala, he moved to Nashville where his songs soon drew a following. His music is described as “acoustic at heart, shifting seamlessly from indie rock to folk worship to Americana; gritty but accessible, profound but infinitely listenable with a voice that yearns like a desert island man singing for a cup of water.” Renzema signed with Centricity Records (home of Lauren Daigle) and in 2020 he was nominated for New Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards. (The winner was We The Kingdom.) INNARAY ROCHA Sanctify Innaray Rocha is a native of Brazil. She graduated from Berklee College of Music, and is a worship leader in Massachusetts. She also works as a social media marketing manager. JEREMY ROSADO Come and See Jeremy Rosado grew up in a large Puerto Rican family in Queens, NY. When his family moved to Florida, he became a worship leader at church. When he was 21, he got the chance to open for Andrea Bocelli in Germany, and was just about to enter the music world when his family needed him to become the guardian for his 11 year old niece. After she turned 18, he returned to music. In 2012, he was an American Idol finalist, and in 2021, he appeared on The Voice. The next year he signed with Capitol Christian Music.
By Kurt Neuswanger 14 Dec, 2023
Keith and Kristyn Getty have begun a Christmas tradition of performing their Christmas concert called “Sing! An Irish Christmas.” The Getty’s are currently in their fifth year of taking the concert on tour. It features a variety of Christmas carols and hymns, including a healthy dose of the Irish music of their homeland—“a blend of festive joy and solemn reverence.” The Gettys are known as modern hymnwriters, and Keith says Christmas carols are also hymns. “Part of it is the rhythm of the Christmas season, and the sentimentality of it means we sing hymns over and over again, so we get to know them deeper, and that's something we should learn from for the rest of the year too. The great carols of the faith tell the story of redemption, but they also emphasize incarnation, Christ's life, His words, His vulnerability and His story.” If you would like to catch the Getty Christmas tour this year, you’re probably out of luck. Their nearest appearance is in Cedar Falls, Iowa on December 18. However, you can still hear the original Getty Christmas concert, “ Sing! An Irish Christmas Live at Grand Ole Opry ” from 2019 on KJOL Wednesday, December 20 at 7:00 pm. It includes Venezuelan flutist Pedro Eustache, and Phil Keaggy playing "Silent Night" on guitar.
By Dave Andrews 06 Dec, 2023
Have you ever heard of “Ethan the Ezrahite?” Neither had I. In the Hebrew Bible, it mentions the author of Psalm 89 as a boy at King David’s court who was known for unusual wisdom....
By Kurt Neuswanger 01 Dec, 2023
You will hear a lot of new Christmas songs on KJOL again this year. We have at least 20 new songs for this year, along with 50 (yes, fifty!) songs we added last year! Here’s some of the new additions: Prince of Peace Celtic Worship Celtic Worship is a collaboration of Christian Scottish musicians “Messiah take the crown here in my heart I’ll drop everything and run to you Spend my life declaring this good news Glory to God, Glóir a bhith dhut ” Because of Bethlehem Matthew West Inspired by the book of the same title by Max Lucado “From a child in a cradle, to a king upon a cross He knew the road was leading Him, To pay a crimson cost And when no other arms could carry, The weight of all our sin He took the fall and it happened all, Because of Bethlehem” Hope Is Here Alive City Alive City is the youth worship band at Metro City Church at Detroit “Thank God for heartbreaks, and how they tend to bring me to my knees Cause maybe that's where I'm supposed to be Let the earth rejoice, as heaven draws us near On that starlit night, Your love shown crystal clear From a baby's cry to Your arms stretched wide, Hope is here.” Ring Them Bells Ben Fuller with Jonathan Traylor Ben Fuller, after recovering from drugs and alcohol, moved to Nashville to be a country singer. Instead he met Jesus and now shares his testimony in his songs. Jonathan Traylor is a gospel musician from Dallas. This song is loosely based on “Carol of the Bells.” “Gather round far and wide Every nation, tongue and tribe Hear the call and lift your eyes I hear 'em ringin', Hear 'em ringin” Light Has Come Sarah Kroger Sarah Kroger is a Catholic worship leader and songwriter with Integrity Music “What a wonder, God is moving, All around us, Lift your eyes In the darkness, Of this weary world, Hope is starting to rise God is with us, Behold His son, Dawn of glory, Light has come” Go Tell It (Gloria) Matt Maher Co-written by Matt Maher and Dwan Hill, a songwriter with Integrity Music (he wrote “Believe For It” by CeCe Winans) “Over the hills and everywhere (Go tell it on the mountain) The heart of the Father has heard our prayer (Go tell it on the mountain) Joy to the world, praise to the Lord, The Savior is born Over the hills and everywhere, Go tell it on the mountain”
04 Nov, 2023
Vineyard Worship has released a new album featuring songs by Tim Brown , the worship leader at Canyon View Vineyard Church (CVVC) in Grand Junction. The first release was “ King of Heaven ,” written and performed by Tim Brown and Anabeth Morgan , worship leader at the Arvada Vineyard. Brown has been at CVVC since 2007, and has been worship leader since 2012. He previously recorded some of their songs with Kaleo, the name of the CVVC worship band at the time. In recent years, Brown has collaborated with Vineyard Worship collective projects which bring together Vineyard worship leaders from churches across the country for retreats and recording sessions. Brown said Vineyard Worship strives to sing about the Kingdom of God, expecting that the Lord is going to move and expressing the desire of believers to see the Lord work in their lives. The new album with Brown and Morgan is called “ This Joy .” It was recorded at a church near Chicago where Vineyard leaders assembled from across the country. “King of Heaven” may be heard now on KJOL, and “This Joy” is available everywhere Christian music is sold and streamed online. 
By Kurt Neuswanger 26 Oct, 2023
Vineyard Worship has re-released one of its landmark albums, “Come Now Is The Time,” to celebrate the album’s 25 th anniversary. In the late 1990s, Canadian worship leader Brian Doerksen spent two years living in England where he mentored worship leaders and songwriters, including Brenton Brown and Kathryn Scott . On February 22, 1998, they recorded a live worship album for the newly created Vineyard Music UK. It contained several of the most popular Vineyard songs in history, including “ Come, Now Is The Time To Worship ,” “ All Who Are Thirsty ” and “ Lord Reign In Me .” (The following year, Doerksen and Vineyard UK released their bestselling album “ Hungry .”) The 25 th anniversary edition of “Come Now Is The Time” includes the original songs plus new acoustic versions of four key songs. Doerksen has also recorded his own 25 th anniversary edition of the song, joined by Matt Maher.
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