Artist Spotlight: Tim Hughes

By Claire Walden

Numerous artists and hits have emerged out of England, including worship leader Tim Hughes. He is best known for his hit “Here I Am To Worship,” which is arguably one of the most popular, modern worship songs of our time. The hit resulted in two Dove awards, all before the age of 30.

His most recent album, “Holding Nothing Back” is comprised of timeless worship songs. One of the stand out tracks off the album is “God of Justice.” The lyrics outline a call to action; he sings that we must continue “stepping forward, keep us from just singing, move us into action, we must go.” The song continues to summarize what all justice entails, which is one of the major themes in the Bible. Hughes sings about God’s heart for the poor and broken and how it is up to the believers to go out and “live to feed the hungry, stand beside the broken.” Throughout the album, Hughes’ lyrics are inventive and not your average church songs.

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Artist Spotlight: Brandon Heath

By Claire Walden

We sing for many reasons, but most of the time it is because words alone don’t fully express our meaning behind them. Brandon Heath uses this outlet with his singer/songwriter style. His sophomore album, “What If We,” is filled with more original and inspirational worship songs. The decision to make the album title an open-ended question was purposeful in setting the tone for Heath’s thought-provoking lyrics. Breaking it apart, the collective pronoun “we” alludes to the importance of community that Heath promotes through his works. His use of the phrase “if we” means we are open to so many possibilities to make changes in this world together.

The first track on the album reinforces this theme with “Give Me Your Eyes.” The entire song is a prayer for God to break our heart for what breaks his. The lyrics go through various, unsettling moments in time that we might not always recognize without God’s help. However, Heath points out that being aware of the circumstances is not enough; we need to do something to make a change. “Wait and See” has another message of hope that God is continuously doing a work in us. He describes the uncertainty of life and the fears and doubt that we may have, but through it all God doesn’t forget about us and will use us for his bigger plan.

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Artist Spotlight: Fee

By Claire Walden

Fee consists of four guys based out of Georgia. They started recording music back in 2003, when the group was known as Steve Fee. A couple of years ago they changed their name to simply Fee. They have reached thousands of people touring worldwide and leading worship.

“Hope Rising” is their second major album released from INO records. The overall theme of the album is God’s presence, and the hope and praise that we give to Him. The album is balanced with upbeat melodies to moments of surrender in softer ballads.

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