comments
0

Mary Mary OKC concert cancelled

Posted by
on December 6, 2011 at 12:25 pm

The “Have a Mary Mary Christmas ” tour has been cancelled, a spokesman for the gospel group Mary Mary (pictured) confirmed today.

Sisters Erica and Tina Campbell, who make up Mary Mary were set to perform Sunday night at Douglass High School in Oklahoma City. The Christmas concert was sponsored by BLAC Inc.

A spokeswoman for the group said concert tour has been cancelled due to doctors’ concerns about Erica Campbell’s pregnancy. Erica Campbell and her husband are expecting their third child in February.

“The singer has been advised by doctors that she cannot continue working at her current pace without risk ofpotential premature delivery,”  Gabriella Cudjoe Wilkes said in a news release. “After careful consideration, the ladies have determined it is best to cancel the entire tour at this time, including their New Year’s Eve show. Up to now, the ladies have been on an exhaustive cross-country schedule of promotional activities, and, given the medical opinion, recognized what the priorities must be.”

Hopefully the metro will get another chance to host the pair, who made their debut on the gospel music scene with their 2000 crossover hit “Shackles (Praise You).    

“Our commitment to our passion of music and our fans is without question, but allowing wisdom, common sense and our commitment to family to take the lead at this point is necessary,” Tina Campbell said in the group’s prepared statement.

“We fully intend to return to our passion and our commitment to music in late spring and look forward to rescheduling the ‘Have a Mary Mary Christmas Tour’ in 2012.”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

 

comments
0

Concert watch: Switchfoot

Posted by
on August 11, 2011 at 4:20 pm

We have another round of contemporary Christian  and gospel concerts coming up, beginning with Switchfoot  on Saturday, Aug. 13 at Frontier City.

The concert will be from 7 to 10 p.m. It’s free with paid admission to the park.

Other concerts heading to the Oklahoma City metro area include:

FFH, 6 p.m. Sept. 25, Southern Hills Baptist Church, 8601 S Pennsylvania. For more information, call 682-1636.

Sandi Patty & Friends, 6 p.m. Sept. 25, Crossings Community Church, 14600 N Portland. Event includes Wayne Watson, Heather Payne, Larnelle Harris and Jim Lyon. For information, go to www.crossingsokc.org. 

And in Tulsa:

Third Day, 7 p.m. Oct. 8, Mabee Center. For Mabee Center information, go to www.mabeecenter.com. 

Gaither Homecoming Tour,  6 p.m. Nov. 5, Mabee Center.

Michael W. Smith’s “Two Friends” tour with Amy Grant,  Nov. 12, Mabee Center.

comments
0

Concert alert: Winter Jam 2011

Posted by
on January 5, 2011 at 5:46 pm

OK, it’s that time of year.

We’re preparing for snow and/or ice, breaking out the hot chocolate and the extra warm coats … and Winter Jam  2011 is just around the corner.

It’s one of the largest Christian music tours but with a relatively tiny price tag.

This year’s jam is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 26 at the Oklahoma City Arena. Admission is $10 per person (remember I said the price is tiny). 

The concert host is contemporary Christian band Newsong (pictured).

And this year’s slogan is pretty catchy and also pretty hard to resist for the frugal: “10 bands for $10.”

So, let’s count them. We’ve already listed Newsong.

Here are the others:

2. David Crowder Band.

3. Red (pictured below).

4. KJ-52.

5. Newsboys.

6. Kutless.

7. Francesca Battistelli.

8. Sidewalk Prophets.

9.  Chris August.

10. Chris Sligh

Sligh, August and the Sidewalk Prophets will perform at the pre-jam party sponsored by the American Bible Society, so concertgoers are encouraged to go early to catch these artists.

Doors open at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit www.jamtour.com.

The Oklahoman will provide more information, including interviews with some of the artists in future editions of  Weekend Look and the Saturday Life section.  

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

comments
1

12 Days of Christmas: Music brings joy

Posted by
on December 23, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Former Religion Editor Pat Gilliland recently posted her thoughts about Point of Grace’s new Christmas album on her In The Spirit blog.
I thought her comments were worthy of sharing in this format.
The contemporary Christian recording group Point of Grace has Oklahoma ties. Here’s what Pat had to say about the popular trio’s homage to the holidays:
—-
I’m glad I listened past the almost too country and too cute Christmasy songs at the start of Point of Grace’s new Christmas CD, “Home for the Holidays,” to get to some with messages and/or arrangements that gave my spirit a lift.

One of my favorites, both for the words and the way they are delivered, is “Immanuel.” I couldn’t find a transcript of the lyrics, but this is the first verse and chorus:

No decorations, no tree with tinsel, no lights this year at home
The rooms are silent, no carols play.
It’s the first time she is all alone.
But what a wonder; she says there’s comfort …
Immanuel: Our God is with us.
Yes, He is with us still.
Immanuel. He has not left us, and He never will.

It’s about people facing the festive season with emptiness, loss and heartache; the broken and lost. It seems I’m aware of more people than ever in those kinds of situations. Some, as in the first verse, remind themselves, and others need to be reminded that even in those circumstances, God is with them. And His people, including me, can help be that reminder.

Is it that simple? Does understanding and remembering that God is with us, whatever comes our way, really make a difference? Does sharing that message with someone else by taking time to call, visit or help, really make a difference? Well, it did today. It did last Sunday. In fact, it has daily. Just thinking of the reality that God is with me really does make a difference.

Joy to the world. The Lord has come. And He is still here!

What a gift! And, as the final song on that CD reminds me, what a Gift-giver. For indeed, God is the Giver and the Gift. Not only on one holy night, but always. May I always be grateful. May I rejoice and sing. And may I share that gift!

Pat Gilliland
——
Here’s a link to Pat’s blog: http://thats-the-spirit-patricia.blogspot.com/
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
comments
1

Concert alert: Marvin Sapp

Posted by
on October 7, 2010 at 4:52 pm

TULSA — Gospel recording artist Marvin Sapp (pictured) is set to headline the Most Powerful Voices Gospel Concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Mabee Center, 7777 S. Lewis.

The concert is part of a seven-city tour featuring Sapp, Myron Butler and Levi,  Ted Winn and Brian Courtney Wilson. The event is sponsored locally by St. John Hospital.

The Most Powerful Voices Gospel Tour is designed as an evening of empowering music fused with healthy lifestyle messages. It is part of the American Heart Association’s Power to End Stroke campaign to educate the black community about its increased risk for stroke.

Sapp’s 2007 hit single “Never Would Have Made It” held the No. 1 spot on gospel radio for nearly one year. His latest hit single is “The Best in Me” from his 2010 album “Here I Am.” 

Cost is $20. People who purchase their tickets before Oct. 27 will receive $5 off the ticket price.

To purchase the tickets by phone, call (918) 495-6000; online at www.MabeeCenter.com or in person at the Mabee Center Box Office.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor  

comments
0

Concert alert: Amy Grant

Posted by
on September 14, 2010 at 11:38 am

Contemporary Christian recording artist Amy Grant will perform in concert Oct. 28 at the Oklahoma History Center in Oklahoma City.

Grant brings her “Pieces of Our Lives” tour to the city to benefit Compassion International’s Leadership Development Program. The program is designed to take young people out of poverty by equipping them with a college education and empowering them to return home as leaders who can influence their own families, churches, communities and nations.

A “Pieces of Our Lives” Art Gallery Reception will open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.  The concert will be limited to 300 guests and some items from the art gallery will be available for auction after the concert.

Tickets are $250 for the concert and art gallery reception, meet and greet with Grant, an exclusive gift book and preferred seating at the concert.

Tickets for the concert only are $150.

All tickets may be purchased by calling (615) 829-8472 or online at www.PiecesOfOurLives.com. Special prices are available for groups.

Oklahoma City is one of only 10 cities across the country being targeted for the tour. 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor  

comments
0

Concert alert: NewFire, 33 Miles, Tenth Avenue North and more

Posted by
on June 24, 2010 at 4:20 pm

Chris Tomlin and tobyMac started the Christian concert summer season off with a bang last week.

Good news is there are more concerts coming.

Contemporary Christian rock band Tenth Avenue North (pictured) will perform at the State Fair on Sept. 20. That info was just released. 

Here are more concerts, many of them coming to an arena near you soon:

The contemporary Christian duo NewFire is making their way across the state in a series of concerts. I’ve listed several here.

NewFire

July 4, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Cushing;

July 11, Interactive Ministries, Sapulpa;

Aug. 8, Lakeside Church of God, Norman;

Aug. 29, First Baptist Church, Newkirk 

–

Food for the Hungry Block Party with 33 Miles, Aaron Shust, Among the Thirsty and NewFire

July 17, 5:30 p.m. Southern Hills Baptist Church, Tulsa. Tickets: $5 at the door.   

–

Lincoln Brewster (pictured) with Leeland and Group 1 Crew

Aug. 14, Christian Family Day at Frontier City.

–

Stay tuned — I’ll share information on other concerts as I receive it.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

 

comments
0

Rock and Worship Roadshow Revealed

Posted by
on April 13, 2010 at 10:30 am

As promised, I thought I would share more information about the Rock and Worship Roadshow headed to Oklahoma. The concert featuring several contemporary Christian recording artists is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at downtown Oklahoma City’s Ford Center, and then move on to Tulsa’s BOK Center on Saturday. Cost is $10 at the door.

Here are some facts you should know:

1. This is the second annual roadshow. Last year, more than 170,000 fans attended the Rock and Worship Roadshow at cities across the country.

2. The roadshow was created by MercyMe (pictured). “We are so excited to be back for this tour with such an incredible group of artists. We’re going to have a great time,” MercyMe’s Bart Millard said in a news release.

3. The tour is dedicated to a charitable purpose.  The tour hopes to help children with  juvenile diabetes through “Imagine a Cure,” a nonprofit organization that raises awareness. Also the concert hopes to raise awareness about Compassion International, a Christian child advocacy ministry.   

4. Sidewalk Prophets and Remedy Drive will perform 40 minutes before the show’s scheduled start in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. That’s incentive to get there early.

———

And just in case you forgot, here’s the lineup for the roadshow: MercyMe, the David Crowder Band, Family Force Five, Fee, Francesca Battistelli, Remedy Drive and Sidewalk Prophets.

For more information, visit www.rockandworshiproadshow.com.

comments
1

David Crowder Band coming to OKC

Posted by
on April 12, 2010 at 12:22 pm

Fans of the NewSong’s Winter Jam might be interested in the Rock and Worship Roadshow coming to the Ford Center at 7 p.m.  Thursday. The show will be in Tulsa on Saturday at the BOK Center.

Like Winter Jam, the roadshow features a lengthy diverse lineup and a low ticket price.

The Rock and Worship Roadshow ‘s 25-city tour kicked off March 18 and includes MercyMe, the David Crowder Band, Family Force 5, Francesca Battistelli, Fee, Remedy Drive and Sidewalk Prophets. Cost is $10 at the door.   

I recently talked to David Crowder of the David Crowder Band about the  upcoming mega-concert and here is what he had to say:

Q: What lead you to get involved with the Rock and Worship Roadshow?

A: Most of it has to do with the friendship aspect of it. MercyMe is the host band, the folks that put this tour together. We’ve been on a tour with them a number of years ago. We did a summer  tour with them and Michael W. Smith and had the greatest time with them on the road. A lot of it has to do with the people. We’re looking forward to getting to hang out with those guys again. The Family Force 5 guys are good buddies with us and we kind of trade musical ideas back and forth. It’s always a creative encounter whenever we’re around them. And then Steve Fee is a good buddy from Atlanta, Ga. that we’ve known forever, it seems like, since we first started doing this. It’s going to be a good time.   
 
Q: Can you talk about your album “Church Music.”
A: We released it in September (2009) and we did a tour supporting it and had just a great time. What we do is we write music for congregational singing so by calling it church music, we were actually being incredibly literal. What we’re writing to do is to try to use music to articulate faith and respond to God through. That all comes out of our experience with our church (University Baptist) in Waco, Texas. We’re the band that helps facilitate the singing on most of our Sunday mornings. We travel quite a bit but we make it back for most of our services. We maybe miss 15 of our services a year is all. But we’re just a band thats at the church.
 
Q: Why did you decide to name the album “Church Music”?        
A: We thought it would be fun to call it what it is — that we could fall under such a name as that, that the music of the church could be so diverse and broad. That the Crowder band could fall under that just makes me grin from ear to ear. When you think of the church in a global sense, all of the different cultures that music is coming out of and that people are using music to respond to God to and through, it’s amazing. The diversity is a lot greater than we typically imagine. We usually think of church being similar to the people that we live life with and that’s definitely not the case when you think of it in a global sense. So what we want to do is help bring that awareness to people through a couple of words placed on a record that’s pretty electronic and pretty aggressive. That it could actually be considered church music and congregational singing is pretty awesome, I think.  
 
Q: Your band is pretty popular not just among Christians, but in secular circles as well? Why do you think that is?
A: I have no idea really. (laughing) My best guess is that there is an authenticity to what we’re doing. We’re calling it what it is, for one. We’re not trying to be subtle at all. I think there’s a greater degree of acceptance of things coming from a different world view than your own just because there’s more exposure due to the Internet. When you put that with music that I feel like is pretty current and at least in conversation with what’s going on currently on the sound landscape of things, I think it makes for an interesting and thought-provoking listen, in my perspective.
 
Q: What can fans expect from you during the Roadshow? Will you perform a mix of older and newer songs?
A: Yes, for sure. Especially in a setting like this when you’ve got a whole lot of bands, we’ve probably got about 40 minutes that we’ll be doing. We’ll probably try to hit all of it. We try to grab from each album, it seems like. We’ll have a mix of old and new. The main thing we’re trying to do is be that moment in the night that we allow people to use music and sing and respond to God as a collective. That’s sort of our role in the concert and we’re embracing it. That’s what we do on a daily basis anyway so it’s going to be a good time.
 
Q: Any future projects coming down the pike that you want to talk about?
A: We’ve got summer festivals. We’re not going to be in the studio to record for a good bit of time. For the most part, we’re going to be enjoying this tour and then there’s summer.     
———————————-                         
 
Come back tomorrow for more information about the Rock and Worship Roadshow. Tickets will be sold at the door, but if you want to know more, call 602-8700 or go online to www.therockandworshiproadshow.com.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

For more information caoub the concernt, call 602-8700 or go online to www.rushconcerts.com.

comments
0

Concert alert: Natalie Grant and Jeremy Camp

Posted by
on October 26, 2009 at 2:04 pm

Here’s the latest in concert news:

Contemporary Christian recording artists Natalie Grant (at bottom left), Jeremy Camp (below right) and Bebo Norman are to perform in concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at First Baptist Church of Moore, 301 NE 27 in Moore.jeremycamp

The Speaking Louder Than Before” tour will feature Grant opening for Camp.

nataliegrantGrant has won four consecutive Dove Awards for best female artist for her signature song “Held.” She’s released four albums since 2001, including “Stronger,” “Deeper,” “Awaken,” and “Relentless.”

After finishing the “Make it Matter” tour in July 2009 with Chris Sligh and Meredith Andrews, Grant was invited to open for Camp’s fall tour.

For ticket information, go online to iTickets.com or purchase tickets at the Moore church, Lifeway Christian Store or Mardel. For more information, call 793-2600 . 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Next Page