Nashville, Tenn., August 31, 2010  – GRAMMY-nominated, Dove Award-winning Sanctus Real released on Sparrow Records in March its most critically acclaimed album to date, Pieces Of A Real Heart.  The fifth studio offering from the band, the album has since gathered an ever-growing cache of musical milestones, including the No. 1 radio hit, “Forgiven,” and the band’s eighth No. 1 radio single and first-ever Billboard Adult Contemporary (AC) No. 1, “Lead Me.”  The fastest climbing AC radio song ever for the band, “Lead Me” is also No. 1 on this week’s overall Billboard Christian radio national audience chart and makes its video debut on iTunes Sept. 7.  The song is further gathering acclaim from Casting Crowns, 10th Avenue North and others, as well as the first-ever song endorsements from Focus on the Family and FamilyLife.

“Sanctus Real’s ‘Lead Me’ is a beautiful reminder for men to stand up and be the husbands and fathers God called them to be,” says Jim Daly, President, Focus on the Family.  “It’s a message every dad in our culture needs to hear, and I’m glad the song is making a significant impact on the radio.”

“It’s rare to hear a song that penetrates to the depths of the soul, stirs the emotions, reveals the innermost thoughts and seeks help from the only One who has it,” says Dennis Rainey, President and Co-Founder of FamilyLife, a subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ International.  “‘Lead Me’ does all this and more.  It’s a relevant message for marriages and families today.  Lead Me is a timeless message that should motivate every married man to stand up and fight for his family by kneeling down to pray.”

“‘Lead Me’ is a prayer song of God’s leadership that every man needs to hear, amazing song!” adds Chris Huffman of Casting Crowns.

“‘Lead Me’ is probably the most intensely convicting and inspiring song I’ve heard on Christian radio in years,” continues Mike Donehey of 10th Avenue North.  “I literally wept the first time I heard it. Matt put words to my heart’s cry and for that I’m infinitely grateful.”

Written as a personal confession and prayer by lead vocalist Matt Hammitt, “Lead Me” is proving to be a source of hope even as he and his wife, Sarah, walk through a difficult pregnancy. Parents to Emmy and Claire, the couple is struggling to bring to term their first baby boy, Bowen Matthew Hammitt.  Bowen, which means “small victorious one,” is due Sept. 3 and has been diagnosed with a serious heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS).

“Knowing Bowen is sick has brought me face to face with the sobering reality that none of us are promised tomorrow and has pulled that nagging ache, the one to make every moment count, straight to the surface of my daily life,” confesses Matt on a blog he and Sarah created to give updates on Bowen at http://bowensheart.com/.

As the Hammitts patiently wait for Bowen to be born, band guitarists Chris Rohman and Pete Prevost are embracing their new roles as first-time fathers.  With children born on the exact same day, Chris and Dominique Rohman welcomed Penelope Jane Rohman, and Pete and Melissa Prevost welcomed Bennett Elise Prevost, into their respective families Aug. 11.

Enjoying the time off from touring to spend time with their families, the band members are also gearing up to be the nightly closing band on the 22-city “Hungry for Love” tour sponsored by Food for the Hungry and featuring Leeland, The Afters and Speaker Palmer Chinchen.  The tour begins Oct. 8 in Jackson, TN and travels through 13 states before wrapping up Nov. 21 in Rogers, AR.

Popularly known for its captivating recordings and live performances, Toledo, OH-based Sanctus Real is all about living out their lives as “real” Christians, not only on the stage and as they interact with fans, but in the quieter moments of their lives as husbands, fathers and fellow believers.  The band creates compelling, authentic music that lives up to the meaning of their name: to be Holy (Latin meaning of “Sanctus”).

With eight No. 1 and six Top 5 radio hits, Sanctus Real’s 2006 breakthrough album, The Face of Love, landed at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart while the band’s most recent release, We Need Each Other, garnered the band a GRAMMY nomination.  Pieces Of A Real Heart is the result of the band maturing and growing as songwriters, musicians and individuals, while retaining its aggressive edge and incorporating a more diverse musical palette of instrumentation and themes.

For all the latest Sanctus Real news, including it tour dates, go to www.sanctusreal.com, www.myspace.com/sanctusreal, and www.emicmg.com.

SWITCHFOOT will head out with The Almost this fall on a tour that launches October 1st in Lynchburg, VA. Pre-sale tickets will be available through Friends of the Foot beginning Wednesday, September 1st. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Thursday, September 2nd. For ticketing information and further details, visit www.switchfoot.com. The band, which just wrapped up a summer outing with Goo Goo Dolls, will also perform at Celebrate Freedom Atlanta, the largest free one-day concert in Atlanta, on September 4th, and the Austin City Limits Festival on October 10th. (See below for itinerary.)

“The Sound (John M. Perkins’ Blues),” the band’s current single, is one of eight songs included on the new Switchfoot iTunes Session, available beginning today. (Link for purchase: http://bit.ly/a1yMFI.) “The Sound” is a Top 10 hit at Modern Rock radio and the accompanying video has been added to Fuse’s “#1 Countdown” and MTVu. The song was inspired by civil rights activist John M. Perkins, who appears in the video. Jon Foreman, lead vocalist/guitarist for SWITCHFOOT, has penned nine articles for The Huffington Post, including one detailing his recent meeting with Perkins:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-foreman/the-living-blues-john-m-p_b_613733.html

“The Sound” has been featured in television spots for Walt Disney Pictures’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, as well as promotional spots for Bravo and Verizon Wireless’ fall 2009 ad campaign for the BlackBerry® Storm™ 2. It follows SWITCHFOOT’s hit, “Mess of Me,” which the band has performed on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” “Your Love is a Song,” another track from Hello Hurricane, is currently

climbing the charts at HOT AC and Christian AC radio.

“On their seventh album, Switchfoot set the mood with U2-esque shimmer, fuzzed-out rockers that would make Dave Grohl green with envy, and jangly garage-rock,” said Alternative Press while Rolling Stone noted: “the group added some heft to its super catchy alternative rock…‘Mess of Me’ is a stop-start rocker that kicks off with a serrated guitar scrawl, and ‘Bullet Soul’ is a crescendoing punk rager.” “Switchfoot has much in common with arena-rocking peers like Coldplay and Snow Patrol…wrapped around huge hooks and intercut by Foreman’s incisive, discontented lyrics,” observed Paste.

SWITCHFOOT is Jon Foreman (vocals/guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keys/guitar) and Drew Shirley (guitar)

Band Joined By Manafest, Me In Motion, and Bread of Stone

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) Aug. 30, 2010–Grammy nominated pop/rock band Superchick kicks off its fall 2010 “Reinvention Tour” Sept. 22, 2010. Visiting 20+ cities through early November, Superchick will be joined by guest artists Manafest, Me In Motion and Bread of Stone.

In support of Superchick’s latest release, Reinvention (April 20, 2010), the tour will feature reinventions of popular songs from the band’s more than 10-year career. Opening with a concert in Hobbs, N.M., the tour will visit mainly West Coast and Midwest cities, supported by Superchick’s latest radio single, “Still Here,” currently impacting both Christian AC and CHR.

“‘Reinvention’ is a word that means change, and that is what we expect on this tour: GOD to show up like never before and change our lives forever,” says Superchick bassist Matt Dally. “We want your life to be different when you walk out of the show; I want my life to be different as well. Come and see God transform us all to be closer to Him. Oh and it’s going to rock your face off too!”

A complete tour itinerary follows this release. For tour updates, visit www.superchickonline.com

Inpop Records’ sister-fronted band Superchick comprises Tricia Brock (vocals) and Melissa Brock (vocals, guitar), Matt Dally (bass, vocals), Dave Ghazarian (lead guitar, vocals), Max Hsu (keyboards/DJ), and Chase Lovelace (drums). With six albums to date, Superchick has sold upwards of 750,000 albums and celebrated multiple record-breaking No.1 singles at radio, including the standout tracks “We Live” and “Stand In The Rain.” Superchick’s songs have been heard in more than 100 films, television shows and video games, making Superchick one of the most licensed bands in the Christian music industry. Superchick’s 2008 release, Rock What You Got, turned out the group’s highest ever first week sales numbers and has received significant licensing placements on MTV’s “The Hills,” ABC television spots for “True Beauty,” and the Style Network’s reality series “Running In Heels,” to name a few. The album additionally received a 2009 GRAMMY nomination for Best Rock Or Rap Gospel Album and produced the Top 5 radio hit, “Hold.” Its latest project, Reinvention, released April 20, 2010, touches on significant lyrical themes that have resonated with Superchick’s fans over the last decade. Heavily influenced by the band’s television and film exposure, it is a soundtrack album for a world filled with fast car chases, giant fighting robots, teen romance and bad guys walking in slow motion. Three new songs accompany nine reinventions pulled from every album in the band’s discography. For more information, visit www.superchickonline.com.

Over the past seven years, Chris Greenwood has used the moniker Manafest to organically build his fan base playing hundreds of shows on three continents. Manafest dropped his fourth studio project, “The Chase,” in 2010 to much acclaim including the hit song “Avalanche,” currently Top 5 at CHR. After his other three records that received international acclaim including huge success in Japan, Juno nominee Manafest released “The Chase” as his most aggressive and sonically evolved record to date. In 2006, Manafest released “Glory” from which the rock anthem “Impossible,” featuring Thousand Foot Krutch’s Trevor McNevan, became a global hit.  This release dramatically increased his record sales 5x over.  In 2008, Manafest followed up with “Citizens Activ,” which catapulted success garnering multiple TV placements and his overall presences in the US and internationally.

Me In Motion broke out on the national Christian music scene the beginning of this year with the release of their single, “Losers,” from their debut self-titled album on Centricity Music.  The song peaked in the Top Twenty on the CHR Christian chart and the accompanying video world premiered on the Air 1 website, besides garnering airplay from several video outlets that included the Gospel Music Channel and Godbeat TV.  Their second single, “The God I Know,” is currently at #18 on the Christian CHR chart and still climbing.  Me In Motion, which is comprised of Seth Mosley, Brian Dexter and Tim Wilson, is becoming a favorite on the touring circuit with their high energy performances and song lyrics that are connecting with fans across the country.  Due to the early success and incredible talent of Me In Motion, the group was asked to appear on three high-profile tours earlier this year with newsboys, RED/Pillar and Sanctus Real.

With a new range of vocals, talent and tour experience, Bread of Stone hits the mark with their highly anticipated, long awaited third album, “Saturate.” The bands goal is to share what God has been doing in their lives personally and as a group. The pop/rock 5 song EP features “Beautiful,” which was inspired after a recent trip to Indonesia. Lead singer, Ben Kristijanto said “we spoke with a recent convert named Abraham and he told us that when we heard about the Gospel of Christ, he was in awe of how Someone so great would come down for someone like him and turn it in to something beautiful. Bread of Stone has toured with some of the top names in Christian music including the newsboys, Stellar Kart, Decemberadio, Petra, Building 429 and many others. For more information, visit http://www.breadofstone.com