The project’s title of The Loudest Sound Ever Heard is taken from the infamous volcanic explosion on the Indonesian island of Krakatoa in the late 19th century. “A quick Wikipedia search revealed that to this day the event is considered to be “the loudest sound ever heard,” Drummer/lyricist Hindalong explains. “I referred to that tragic occurrence in the first verse of the song ‘I’m Learning to Fly,’ which is thematically central to the album. It’s about living each day like it truly matters. ‘Living to love in a dying world.’ Such catastrophic events remind us of our vulnerability, and how we ought to celebrate every breath.”

The final song on the album, ‘After All,’ features a stunning duet with Leigh Nash of Sixpence None the Richer. “We’ve known Leigh since way back,” says Daugherty, “She’s a friend and one of my favorite singers ever. We’re thrilled that she was able to sing on this project. Matt Slocum [Sixpence guitarist] also played cello on a couple of songs. Those guys are great.”

To celebrate the release their new CD, the band is giving away a free download of our last album, “Burning Like The Midnight Sun,” on Noisetrade.com for 1 week only!  The download also includes one of their new songs, “Cross That River.”  Visit www.noisetrade.com/thechoir to get it now!

“I’m so glad we get to keep doing records like this. Here we are standing together 30 years down the line and we still love and respect each other. It’s amazing, really.” –Dan Michaels

“We are fortunate to have such devoted listeners after all these years. That’s what keeps us motivated to continue making music. In that way we are lucky and blessed, and I’m thankful.” –Derri Daugherty

“We don’t pretend to have the answers. We are still struggling, still wandering and seeking; but if our music inspires listeners to consider important things with open hearts, well, that’s a good thing. Hopefully, the spirit of love will stir within and the truth will resonate.” -Steve Hindalong

Click here to go get the brand new album, “Loudest Sound Ever Heard” now!

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Florida-based worship team Eleven22 releases its sophomore record, first national release, The Reason today. The project, produced by Jeremy Edwardson of The Myriad, is a tribute to fifteen-year-old McKenzie Noelle Wilson’s life, with all proceeds going to benefit construction of an orphanage, sponsored by The McKenzie Noelle Foundation, in Uganda, Africa.

Birthed out of Beach United Methodist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., Eleven22 is a worship band that draws young people in droves, encouraging them to reach for a more meaningful worship experience. One of those young people, McKenzie Noelle Wilson, attended an Eleven22 worship service where she dedicated her life to Christ before suddenly passing away one month later.

Wilson’s untimely death rocked the entire community, but it was discovering her life and the passion with which she lived it that inspired Eleven22 to write its new album, The Reason.  Eleven22’s Ben Williams recalls, “Stories about McKenzie’s love and compassion for others just started spreading like wildfire. The more we heard, the more we wanted to know. It wasn’t long after that, her dad gave me her Bible, and I began to read her notes inside. ”

Those notes served as the foundation for songs like album opener “I Found a Love,” a triumphant celebration of all who have made their way through life’s storms to discover God’s true love—a song made particularly poignant after it was found written in Wilson’s Bible. Similarly, the heart-pounding surrender of debut radio single “I Belong to You” began from a single line written by Wilson in her Bible that resounded with Eleven22.

Watch their behind the album video below to learn more + their live performance of the single “I Belong To You,” and click the download button at the bottom of the page to get it for FREE!

“There is something so pure about her writing,” Williams says, “It really affected me. I mean, I have been in church my whole life, but I found that it made me want to be a better pastor and worship leader, a better husband, a better father—to inspire others like she inspired me.”

Eleven22 will be donating the proceeds from its new project to The McKenzie Noelle Wilson Foundation, established by Wilson’s parents to honor her compassion for orphans around the world. The foundation’s current project is a boy’s orphanage and an abandoned baby home in Uganda. To find out how you can contribute, visit: www.caregivegrow.org.

Click Here To Get The Album Now!

All Proceeds to Benefit Ugandan Orphanage
eleven22worship.com

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The day that we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Today Phil Wickham has launched the second installment of his “Singalong” series where you can download an entire live album for FREE from his March 30th worship night in Costa Mesa, California.

Visit PhilWickham.com To Download The Free Album Now!

And check out the trailer below to get a taste of the treat that you’re in for!

Singer/songwriter and popular touring artist Mark Wagner releases his fourth national studio album,” NeedLove,” next week, and we’re excited to bring you a great free download from him called “Hideaway” along with some behind the scenes video footage from him.

In true Wagner fashion, “NeedLove,” showcases his aptitude for accessible lyrics intended, on this record, to remind listeners of their need for God’s love. Songs like “All I Need” and “Carry Your Love” speak to the redemptive quality of His love, while “Made For Love” emphasizes our reason for being–to be loved by Him.

Check out the making of the album + his latest music video for “Gonna Be With You” below!

“Our deepest longing is to be known and to be loved. For most of us, we spend years chasing after all the wrong kinds of love before we find the right kind, the kind we really need. I created this album as a reminder that God created us in order to know us and love us.” –Mark Wagner

In addition to enlisting Ben Shive (Matt Wertz, Andrew Peterson, Sara Groves) as a co-producer and session player on NeedLove, Wagner tapped songwriters Andrew Osenga of Caedmon’s Call and Mark Trussell, recently a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” among others. NeedLove also includes a cover of the popular Rich Mullins tune, “Creed.”

Mark is also impacting lives with his music by making it exclusively available through non-profit, Mocha Club, an organization formed in 2005 to strategically fund relief and development projects in Africa. They work in five main project areas: Clean Water, Education, Child Mothers + Women At Risk, Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children, and HIV/AIDS + Healthcare, providing a way for people to make a real difference with just $7 (the cost of two mochas).

“We’re thankful for our continuing partnership with Mark Wagner and are excited that he’d want to release his new album exclusively with us,” says Jeff Jackson, artist relations director for Mocha Club. “His efforts will make a significant and lasting impact on Mocha Club’s outreach in Ethiopia with our Women at Risk ministry.”

For more information on how to get your copy of NeedLove, visit: www.themochaclub.org/artists/wagner. To find out more about Mark Wagner, go to www.markwagnermusic.com or follow him on Facebook and Twitter

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We’re excited to introduce a new artist to you this week – Lara Landon, who has a brand new album out today! The record, “Overcome,” is her sophomore project and really speaks of our authority as God’s beloved to triumph over life’s most difficult circumstances. Lara has taken that message on tour and abroad, serving the least of these with New Reality International, the non-profit she and her sister co-founded in 2006.

“Being on the road, sharing my songs with people in different settings, has allowed me to see the real needs they have,” she shares. “ I was able to see how they were hurting, how they needed encouragement, and how God was moving in similar ways all across the world.”

Meeting needs firsthand—whether it be in Haiti on a mission trip or in church singing—is a significant part of the Riverside, California-native’s ministry and has undoubtedly had a profound effect on her. But Lara affirms the depth of her songwriting was most influenced by the three years she spent singing at Nashville’s House of Prayer. “I loved the world that opened up to me at The House of Prayer,” she says. “I never thought I could sing and pray for hours on end. I learned how to make up Scripture songs on the spot, and I began to feel the depth that could come from using God’s Word to pray and intercede.” The songs on her new record reflect Lara’s time spent in the Word and a sensitivity to the needs and diversity of her fans.

The first single “I See God In You,” is a song inspired by her mission trips to Haiti as well as a month spent on a service-based tour that ministered at homeless shelters, bars, women’s rehabilitation centers and churches. Lara comments, “God is everywhere…we see Him in the faith of a child, the strength of a mother that’s battling cancer, the love that was shown by a group of volunteers on a mission trip. We can serve Him by simply opening our eyes to the people He’s placed all around us.”

See Lara tell the full story behind her song “I See God In You” here, and watch the music video! Lara wants to hear your story too about how you see God in others! See how you can send them to her by clicking HERE.

This week Lara is giving away her track “The River” for FREE, so you can get a taste of her unique sound, and what you can expect on the rest of the album. Scroll down to get your free download, and check out the links below to learn more about Lara.

“Overcome” – In Stores Everywhere Today!

Click Here To Preview The Album & Get Your Copy Now - Only $6.99 on iTunes!

“I wanted this album to truly reflect my heart and, most of all, I wanted to offer it up at every stage to God for His approval. I promised myself, for this project, I would try my best to quiet the voice inside my head that was concerned with what people would think and focus on what I thought God was directing me to do. My desire was that this record, as a whole, would tell a story. I wanted to take people from a place of confronting their humanity and weakness on songs like ‘Better For The Breaking,’ ‘Defenseless’ and ‘Falling’ to being encouraged by tracks like ‘I See God In You.’ Toward the end it’s all about victory and empowerment—I want listeners to literally be declaring ‘we will overcome’ and ‘the spirit of the Lord is upon me’ as they sing along in their car.” - Lara Landon

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Learn how to play “Miracle” and all of Shane & Shane’s songs in our “Lessons With B” series HERE

And Now For Today’s Fun Facts With Shane & Shane:
(As told through twitter & Facebook)

1) Fact: Your body is about a half-inch taller in the morning than in the evening.

2) Fact: The planet Mars has the tallest volcano in the Solar System. Olympus Mons is 15 miles high—3x the height of Everest.

3) Fact: You can type the word TYPEWRITER using only the top letter row of a keyboard. Good job, typewriter inventor!

4) Fact: We’d thought you’d like to know… Amazon has “The OneYou Need” for $7.99 until the end of April!

$7.99 Album Sale at Amazon MP3

Preview the record & get it now!

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I had a few co-writes on this last record with Jill Phillips, Andy Gullihorn, and on a song called “Open My Hands” with Ally Rogers who is a great songwriter in Nashville. We were talking about the verse that says “He withholds no good thing from us,” and the puzzlement of that, when you know people in your life that are having difficult times. And she shared with me this devotion by Charles Spurgeon:

“In Psalm 84:11 we read, ‘No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”’Sir Richard Baker comments, ‘But how is this true when God oftentimes withholds riches, honor, and health of body from men? Though they walk ever so uprightly.’ We may therefore know that honors and riches and bodily strength are none of God’s good things. And the good things of God are chiefly peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, for wishing of God’s presence, and envisioning his face. These good things God never withholds from the godly.”

I have found this to be true in my own life that even though I might be struggling in other ways, God doesn’t withhold His good things from me. -Sara Groves

“Invisible Empires” – On SALE At AmazonMP3 Now For $7.99

Click here to preview the album & get your copy now!

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We’re excited to bring you a free song here from the talented 33Miles from their latest studio release “Today!” The track is called “Calling My Name” and is one of our favorites off the record. See what Jason had to say about the story behind it:

Calling my name is a song that took us about three days to write. It was not the easiest song in the world but we felt like the song was just ‘calling our name,’ so we had to write it. I think it’s special to me because it’s one of perseverance through the songwriting process, also, just the message of the song that Christ has been calling us, that He has always been calling us and always been pursuing us. I didn’t really go looking for Him, He really came looking for me and He does that same for everybody. Once He does call your name, He doesn’t stop. He’s going to continue to pursue a relationship that’s even deeper than the day before and that’s what makes the song so great. –Jason Barton

The band also has a new single hitting radio airwaves now called “What Grace Looks Like” plus they just released a special acoustic EP on their website that you can check out HERE. Scroll down to get your free download of “Calling My Name,” hear Chris tell the story behind their single, and check out the rest of the album!

“What Grace Looks Like” – Story Behind The Song

From The Album “Today”

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Free Acoustic EP!

Do you remember these great live performances we got to watch from Sara and her friend Steve Mason (Jars Of Clay) a while back? Now you can go download all 4 live songs for free over at NoiseTrade.com/SaraGroves. If you don’t have her album, “Invisible Empires” yet then this will give you a good taste of what you’re missing

Click here to go download the free EP now!