Another rising band from the heart of the country, Toledo Ohio is This Beautiful Republic. This Beautiful Republic, releases their second major release under ForeFront Records. This newly released album is titled Perceptions and is a big step for this group and will please their old fans and reach many new ones.

Some great guitar mixed in with excellent vocals and powerful lyrics. There are a handful of hits on this album that are sure to find playtime on your mp3 player. Read the rest of this entry »

Josh Wilson brings a nice sounding rock debut album that is nicely titled “Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup.” This is aptly described in his song “2 Minute Song” where Josh describes his struggles with with this recording and that he just can’t seem to get the words right to describe God.

Josh’s songs definitely pull you in but often lead you wanting more. Josh’s 3 minute pain is often passed onto the listener. Josh has the talent with his good vocals and lyrics, but many people have written this recording off to the same old sound of standard pop. Listen further though and you will be impressed with the lyrics.

My main downer is that many of the songs sound the same and a few start to drag a bit making it hard to get through the entire album in one sitting.

This album leaves me Read the rest of this entry »

Jimmy Needham didn’t make a big splash with his first release, Speak but this was not due to lack of talent. On his sophomore album Jimmy has a solid album with some great words with a lot of power.

Jimmy brings a bit of mellow blues with pop and slight hints of jazz mixed in. Jimmy is known to bring down to earth lyrics while not being preachy. It is nice to hear something different for a change. In fact this album brings back memories of my favorite artist Keith Green.

Jimmy has partnered with Patton House Entertainment, a talent management firm which should help him get his name and this album out there. Look to hear more about Jimmy Needham as his presence grows. This album is Read the rest of this entry »

CrimsonLight.com is in the middle of 3 music reviews. The albums to be reviewed this week are:

John Wilson
– Trying to Fit the Ocean in a Cup

This Beautiful Republic
– Perceptions

Jimmy Needham
– Not Without Love

Be on the lookout for those music reviews as we kick CrimsonLight.com into high gear once again!

Casting Crowns do an amazing and fun worship concert. I saw them in concert at the Toyota Center in Houston and was not let down. The opening band was John Waller then followed by Leeland. Both are awesome.

This concert was appropriately titled “The Altar and the Door Tour,” after the most recent release from the Casting Crowns. Mark Hall, Casting Crown’s lead singer, challenged the thousands of people who filled the stadium to not lose sight of the altar when they leave.

The Crown’s put on an excellent worship concert. The concert was focused on worship but fun was mixed in. Mark Hall and the rest of the band are hilarious. The drummer (Andy Williams) definitely topped it off with a great solo that was equally funny!

Go see the Crown’s!

Leeland is the second act after John Waller and before Casting Crowns as the headliner. Leeland was fantastic as I expected.

I saw Leeland at the Toyota Center in Houston. I heard so many people saying how well the worship concert was with all the bands. The concert was all about worship and never seemed to be centered on a performance. I recommend to go see Leeland if you have the chance.

John Waller is traveling with Casting Crowns and Leeland. John Waller is the opening act and for a small band did an excellent job. He did 3 songs and the crowd responded pretty well considering most people were still coming in and getting situated. 3 songs definitely wasn’t enough! I wanted another 1 or two.

This is a great opening act. Great hearts seemed to come out in his words.