Winter Jam Crowned Top First Quarter Music Tour

Landing at #2 on Pollstar's newly published "2018 1Q YTD Worldwide Ticket Sales Top 100 Tours" chart, the Winter Jam 2018 Tour Spectacular takes the top spot of all music tours on the chart. Following the #1 tour "Disney On Ice," Winter Jam ranks ahead of first quarter tours by such superstars as Bruno Mars and Blake Shelton. 

Christian music's largest annual tour, Winter Jam hit 46 cities across the country from January through March, boasting a total of 17 sold-out shows, including capacity crowds at Philips Arena in Atlanta; St. Louis' Scottrade Center; and Kansas City's Sprint Center, among other leading venues. 
 
This year's Winter Jam Tour Spectacular was headlined by Platinum-selling and Billboard Music Award-winning rockers Skillet and showcased Kari Jobe (featuring Cody Carnes); Building 429; popular comedian John Crist; KB; tour creators and hosts, NewSong; Dove Award-winning chart-topper Jordan Feliz.

Hollyn joined Winter Jam for a 12-date stint in March, along with a variety of one-night-only special guests--this year including Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols;  Matthew West; Grammy-winning Francesca Battistelli; and ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck and his wife, former FOX News anchor Elisabeth Hasselbeck, among others. 

Justin Bieber Leads Worship At Coachella

Justin Bieber made a surprise appearance at mega festival Coachella on Sunday, a performance made even more surprising by his choice to lead listeners in worship with songs like "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury and "Tremble" by Mosaic MSC.

The festival, one of the best known and most attended mainstream festivals in the world, did not have Justin Bieber initially listed on the lineup. According to a report by CBN News, he appeared as part of a Churchome side stage event. Instead of a pop set, attendees were treated to Bieber leading them in worship with a simple acoustic guitar. Fans quickly started sharing clips to Instagram, some of which have been compiled in the video below.

Andy Mineo's Single "You Can't Stop Me" RIAA Certified Gold

Andy Mineo's colossal hit, “You Can’t Stop Me” recently moved the equivalent of more than 500,000 copies, which includes over 51 million streams to date, and is officially certified GOLD by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to Spotify data, of the 500,000 units required to make gold, their curated playlist, Beast Mode, is responsible for 100,000 of those units alone. The power of playlisting in the digital era continues to change the game for indie artists.

“I told my mom I went gold and she didn’t know what that meant and I was immediately humbled,” said Andy. “It’s Incredible we did this without any radio play. A small, dedicated team from Reach Records and Miner League gave this record all they had and the organic sharing of my fans started this wave. It shows that without my fans I wouldn’t be able to do this music thing for a living. Shout out to the playlist programmers who gave the record a chance. I’m thankful for everyone who believed, felt encouraged, and shared the record. I dedicate this to 11-year-old Braydon who made ‘You Can’t Stop Me’ his theme song for beating cancer, and everyone else who has used the song to push through tough times.”

Mineo wrote the song with Alex Medina and Gabriel Azucena (GAWVI), and Medina and GAWVI produced the track for Mineo’s Never Land EP. Since its release the song has garnered much attention, even winning ESPN’s coveted Whammy Award for best walk-up song in baseball. In 2017, the NBA’s Indiana Pacers announced they would be using the “You Can’t Stop Me” single as their official 2017/2018 theme song. The music video, released on January 16, 2015, has garnered more than 9 million views across social channels.

Annie Moses Band Welcomes Special Guest John Rhys-Davies

Annie Moses Band, known for its impeccable artistry and genre-defying music, announces today that eminent Shakespearean and acting legend John Rhys-Davies, one of modern cinema's most recognizable character actors, will join them as part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival this July in Nashville.

Best known to moviegoers as Gimli in The Lord of the Rings, or as Indiana Jones' (Harrison Ford’s) comic sidekick, Sallah, in two of Paramount's INDIANA JONES adventure films, Rhys-Davies will lend his talents as a guest performer, masterclass instructor and gala host during the annual Annie Moses Summer Music Festival. This performing arts intensive for young musicians will be held July 8 -15 at The Factory at Franklin (conveniently located just south of Music City) and other premier Nashville performance venues.

As part of the week’s festivities, Rhys-Davies will perform the starring role as the narrator in the world-premiere of the brand-new Broadway-style musical by Robin Donica Wolaver and Bill Wolaver, Merry Christmas Uncle Scrooge!, which is based on the Charles Dickens classic story A Christmas Carol. Additionally, Rhys-Davies, a notable alumnus of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), will teach a masterclass for young actors at the event and then host the final gala featuring all of the festival performers alongside Annie Moses Band.

“We are so excited and honored to announce our special guest John Rhys-Davies!” exclaims Annie Wolaver Dupre, founder, lead vocalist and violinist of Annie Moses Band. “Not only is John an iconic character and exceptionally talented actor on the world stage, he has a true heart for the same mission and purpose of the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival and Annie Moses Foundation – a passion for the world of the arts and raising up a brand new generation of young artists who are committed to godly excellence in the arts.”

The Annie Moses Summer Music Festival takes a kaleidoscope of instruments and artistic disciplines and fuses them together in a series of professional shows through exceptional instruction from faculty that includes alumni from prestigious music programs such as The Juilliard School, Boston College and Belmont University. Combining instruction with live performance opportunities, the festival is designed to give students life-changing experiences of real-world excellence, while building life-long friendships and taking their art form to the next level.



This flagship event has become the centerpiece for the band’s vision for the arts and the mission of the Annie Moses Band’s music education 501C3 non-profit – the Annie Moses Foundation. Celebrating its 15th year, the Annie Moses Summer Music Festival was founded by the Annie Moses Band, whose members write, direct and arrange the performances for the 200+ young performers who will gather to put on five shows over a single week. The shows are genre-specific and include Jazz, Americana, Singer/Songwriter and Classical and will be open to the public as ticketed events.