Whether for Parachute Festival in New Zealand, in the Middle East to play for troops, or visiting our northern neighbors in Canada for a conference, this week saw a lot of artists traveling out of the country. As always, there was plenty of activity on U.S. home soil as well. Catch on the latest from around the world adventures below.
As always, if you'd like to keep tabs on over 1,200 Christian artists, check out our
NRTwitter page to read the latest tweets from the Christian music community.
TOP TEN TWEETS
#1 - Contentment Killers
@kirkfranklin: Wanna know what the death of contentment is? Comparison. (January 22)
Kirk Franklin likes to tell it how it is on his Twitter feed. He kicked off last week with this truth bomb.
#2 - Coming Soon
@TFKTrevor: It's true...we're officially having a baby boy McNevan!!! So stoked!! Lil' gangsta on the way!! #teerawkjr. (January 22)
If you watched NRT's interview corresponding with Thousand Foot Krutch's acceptance of the We Love Award for best indie group (
find it here), then you may have already heard this awesome news, but Trevor McNevan shared it on Twitter for the rest of the world.
#3 - Silver Medal Tweets
@jrmeadkutless: I thought of a really funny tweet earlier today, then told myself to wait until later... Now I can't remember it. I promise it was great. (January 23)
At the very least, James Mead of Kutless can get points for effort on this one, right?
#4 - Friends in Many Places
@brianheadwelch: I wanna thank all the KoRn, Head and Love & Death fans for supporting this new Love & Death album. The sales are going very good so far! (January 23)
Love & Death's album Between Here and Lost had a strong opening week, thanks to fans from a wide variety of areas.
#5 - Job Perks
@jamiegraceh: it's when you dressing room is next door to @matthew_west's and you hear his kids singing #holdme at the top of their lungs...#makinmyday (January 25)
Being a musician comes with an unusual-- but sometimes significantly more rewarding--benefits package.
#6 - Trusted Sources
@coltondixon: So I wanted to get the least spicy chilli. Dad pointed a good one out. As I was pouring it, the lady said "now you know that's hot right".. (January 26)
Sometimes it's good to check your sources before taking their advice, especially when it comes to matters like chili.
#7 - Overachieving
Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot (otherwise known as "one of the greatest over-achievers in Christian music"), will be celebrating a new release from one of his two side projects, Fiction Family. If you can't get enough of his voice, or if you want some folk-inspired tunes, this would be a good thing to check out.
#8 - Measuring Up
@macpowell: My 12 inch footlong Subway sandwich was only 11inches. Thinking about suing. #firstworldproblems (January 26)
Maybe the real question here is this: how many people even bring a ruler while grabbing fast food in order to figure this out?
#9 - Practice Routines
@BarbieAriel: Spent the morning dancing & lip syncing in the mirror to our new homemade demos. You know, just practicing. (January 27)
In case you wondered what rockstars do in their time off the road... Ariel of Icon For Hire just gave you a little glimpse.
#10 - Well Trained
@HWmusictweets: As the microwave hummed a solid note Skye &Gideon (in that key) began humming the Star Wars Theme Song. *wipes a tear... I have done my job. (January 27)
Having a professional musician (and one with possible nerdy tendencies) as a mother does have some side-effects. It would seem that Heather Williams is doing her job well.
TOP TEN PICTURES
#1 - Certified
The impact of Casting Crowns' music continues to spread, as recognized this week by a double platinum certification for their self-titled album. In case you wondered, that means the album has sold over 2,000,000 copies in the United States.
#2 - Getting Lecraezy
This week many Christian artists traveled to New Zealand for Parachute Festival. Lecrae enjoyed the chance to play for some die-hard fans half a world away from home.
#3 - To the Chopper
Anberlin broke a week's Twitter silence to reveal that they'd been spending that week playing for our troops in the Middle East. Many action-movie worthy pictures have been showing up on their instagram since then.
#4 - Hanging in Hobbiton
@FamilyForce5: Nerdin wit dim Hobbitsez. http://instagr.am/p/U6I_9kG0nW/ (January 25)
Family Force 5 was one of many bands who took advantage of the New Zealand trip in order to visit the set of Hobbiton from the Lord of the Rings and more recently released The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
#5 - Canada Collaborations
A truly stellar teaching team gathered in Canada this week, featuring worship leaders Paul Baloche and Andy Park and Casting Crowns lead singer Mark Hall.
#6 - The Covers' Cover
For several months now, Anthem Lights has been releasing a monthly cover of a pop song on their YouTube channel. Now they are making those songs available for download, and they revealed the cover via Twitter. To check out past covers, see their YouTube
here.
#7 - Skillet-ception
Korey Cooper shared this picture of Skillet's frontman holding an adorable picture of a young fan dressed as Skillet's frontman (did you follow that?).
#8 - Socially Awkward
Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North works hard to push you past your comfort zone-- spiritually and socially.
#9 - Going the Distance
Mike Barnes of RED takes his workouts pretty seriously.
#10 - Everyone's a Critic
@jonnydiaz: Dear iPhone budget app: I know I spent too much on gas this month. I don't need you to give me attitude. http://instagr.am/p/U9Rkxpx4Ui/ (January 26)
Sometimes "smart" phones get a little too smart.
