Although summer festivals are still in full swing, this week Twitter served as a platform for artists to talk about some exciting upcoming Fall tours. They also chronicled some memorable experiences from both on and off the stage.
As always, if you'd like to keep tabs on over 1,200 Christian artists, check out our exclusive
NRTwitter page to read the latest tweets from the Christian music community.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
@b_reith: Just officially decided the release date of the new record, but I'm not going to leak it yet, to keep you all hanging a little bit :) (July 18)
Hip-hopper B. Reith has been independently tracking a new album, and with great power comes great ability to hold information over fans' heads. He will be releasing a new album, but the release date is locked in his underground lair. We can hear B. Reith cackling.
@switchfoot: #darkhorses - 1st time on the radio http://instagr.am/p/IGNUg (July 20)
This week, Switchfoot released the first two singles from their upcoming release,
Vice Verses. The rocking “Dark Horses” was released to mainstream radio, and also is streaming on their site, while the more emotional track, “Restless” was released to the Christian radio format.
@FamilyForce5: An audio blog w a cool picture + the skinny on our new video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhVhtQ1hP2c http://fb.me/15ILUkaNl (July 23)
Family Force 5 released an audio/video update. They informed fans that on Monday (July 25) they will be making a mostly fan-filmed video for upcoming song “Get On Outta Here” available. The track itself also will be offered for free.
ON THE HORIZON
@Manafest: You asked for it: MANAFEST & THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH CANADIAN TOUR THIS FALL!!! Tickets and more info... http://fb.me/WHCTEzQs (July 18)
Canadian hip-hop artist Manafest and fellow Canadians Thousand Foot Krutch will be touring their homeland this fall.
@brianheadwelch: "Over my Head" tour, part 2, west coast run, coming in September! Please make plans to come & support us. We appreciate you! (July 19)
Hard-rocker Brian “Head” Welch also announced a continuation of his “Over My Head” tour. If you're a rocker along the West Coast, keep an eye on http://brianheadwelch.net for dates.
@anberlin: New @switchfoot song kills! So stoked to tour with these dudes. Listen here: switchfoot.com/c/index-b -NY (July 21)
Anberlin gave a shout-out to the aforementioned Vice Verses single, “Dark Horses”--a song they'll hear a lot of when Switchfoot and Anberlin co-headline a tour this Fall. Tour dates should be announced within the next week or two. Both bands are exceptional performers, and this will definitely be a tour worth catching.
@philwickham: Just got off the phone with @shaneandshane. Making big plans for our Christmas tour this December! Gonna be so fun!! (July 23)
Phil Wickham joined the ranks of artists announcing Fall tours this week. Phil Wickham and Shane & Shane will be teaming up for what promises to be a very chill, very worshipful Christmas tour.
TOURING STYLE
@TFKTourMgr: Well its official. @TFKTrevor will no longer have his spine mic stand. I am using it to replace mine after 10 yrs of lifting gear. (July 20)
Thousand Foot Krutch's tour manager seems to have found a new use for Trevor McNevan's custom gold spine microphone stand. Touring is hard work.
@disciplerocks: Wonder who they're picking up? http://fb.me/16uhUIflp (July 23)
Disciple got to ride to their California show in style this past Saturday. Ironhide from the first two
Transformers films picked the band up from the airport. Some promoters definitely know how to make the experience more memorable for the artists.
WHAT MUSICIANS REALLY MEAN...
@AndrewDisciple: "i'm gonna do a U2 sorta thing there" (i just got a new delay pedal) #whatmusiciansreallymean (July 19)
@jonsteingard: "This was custom built!" (I made it in my garage.) #whatmusiciansreallymean (July 24)
@adamagee: @AndrewDisciple "We write all our own songs." (we co-wrote one album track... actually we came up w the title) #whatmusiciansreallymean (July 24)
Andrew Welch of Disciple started a Twitter topic hashtag, which gained momentum as the week went on. Several more artists joined in, and fans started contributing their own.
Search the hashtag or visit their Twitter pages to see more.
EXPERIMENTS
@thejasondunn: #catupdate Haven't seen nor heard from Brad all day. I am saddened. Could this be love? (July 20)
Jason Dunn of Hawk Nelson took in a stray cat this week and has continued to update on his adventures along the way. To get the full account plus fan commentary,
search the #catupdate hashtag on Twitter.
@karijobe: OH MY GOOODNESS..me and @mattbronleewe just microwaved a cd for 1 second...(don't try at home..SCARY)..ha http://twitpic.com/5trq72 (July 21)
Just in case you've ever wondered... there's a reason why we don't usually put CDs in microwaves. Kari Jobe and producer Matt Bronleewe posted a visual aid after their experiment.
@johnreuben: Don't forget to check out my latest 6 albums. (July 21)
John Reuben tried out a new marketing tactic this week. Maybe it's best to kill six birds with one stone... or one Tweet?
@mandisaofficial: Thx 4 prayin! I also sang "Amazing Grace-My Chains Are Gone" 4 communion at this wedding. Guess who happened 2b here? @ChrisTomlin! #AWKWARD (July 23)
Mandisa had the opportunity to sing for a wedding this weekend. It seems that she was not the only Christian artist present—and the one there just happened to write the song she was singing. Curious: did Chris sing “Stronger” at the reception?
