33 Miles’ lead singer Jason Barton joined a kind of Christian boy band called True Vibe in 1999. They made two very successful records. At that point he realized that he wanted to do something he could call his own. He began looking for someone to start his own group with. When he was introduced to guitarist Christ Lockwood they knew it was a good fit. Along with Collin Staddard on keys and background vocals, they made up the band 33 Miles. The choose the name because Jesus lived 33 years and a mile represents his journey.

They signed with INO records and in 2007 released their self titled Debut album that year. That album was followed by One Life in 2008. The following year they released a Christmas album called Believe. In early 2010 Collin, the keyboardist was asked by a church to become their full time worship pastor. After months of deliberation he decided to take the position and leave 33 Miles. The two remaining members continued on recording thier latest album Today (2010).

Lead singer Mac Powell and guitarist Mark Lee formed the band in Georgia the early ’90s. They called themselves “Third Day” because Jesus rose from the dead of the third day. In 1993 they released their first independent album called Long Time Forgotten. That year they played shows in the area until they saved $3000, enough to record a full-length indie album called Contagious in 1994. The following year they were signed to a small independent record label called Grey Dot Record and released a self-titled album. 

It wasn’t long before the band was signed by a major label, and in 1996 they released their first album with Reunion Records, which was also self-titled, Third Day. Their second studio album was their fifth album altogether, and with five members in the band and at a time when everyone was talking about conspiracy theories, they called their new album Conspiracy no. 5. That was followed by Time in 1999. The band was becoming popular, not only in North America, but around the world, as they collaborated on a “City on a Hill” worship album and their own Offerings: A Worship Album.

In 2001 Third Day released Come Together, followed by Offerings II: All I Have to Give  (2003), then Wire the following year. That year they also had a song featured on the soundtrack to The Passion of the Christ, and an in-concert album called Live Wire. Their next album was called Wherever You Are (2005).

In 2006 they released a seasonal album called Christmas Offerings. In 2007 Third Day re-released some of their hits in two best-of albums. They then went back to the studio for Revelation (2008). That was followed by another in-concert album Live Revelations. 

Third Day was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame on September 19, 2009. Third Day’s latest album is called Move (2010).

Mark Schultz is a Dove award-winning artist. He grew up with his adoptive parents in Colby, Kansas and went to college to get a degree in marketing. But his first love was music, so he moved to the music capital of the United States, Nashville.

Mark Schultz was working as a waiter. One particularly slow night he spends extra time joking and having fun with a couple he is waiting on. At one point he even challenged the man to a jalapeño eating contest. The man turned out to be Mark DeVries, the local youth pastor who invited him to help with youth. He worked as the youth director for eight years and went on dozens of mission trips. He wrote music for the youth and about his experiences.

He was signed by Word Records and in the year 2000 released a self-titles debut album. The next year he released Song Cinema. That was followed by Stories and Songs in 2003. Then the album Broken & Beautiful in 2006.

In 2007 Mark Schultz embarked on a cross country bike ride and concert tour to raise money for a charity that helps widows and orphans. His next album Come Alive was released in 2009. That was followed by an instrumental album called Renaissance (2011).  His latest album is called All Things Possible (2012).

The name Sanctus Real comes from the latin word for Holy – Sanctus…and the REAL part is meant as a reversal of the rockstar image. Just real down to Earth guys.
The band was formed in Toledo, Ohio in 1996. Matt and Chris were in grade 10 at a Christian School there. They began writing and playing music together. When drummer Mark Graalman and bassist Steve Goodrum joined they started performing wherever they could, not expecting to make it big. Their first recordings were put on a short independent EP called All This Talk of Aliens in 1998. They next year they released a full indie album called Message for the Masses. They continued touring around Ohio and surrounding states. Slowly but surely their popularity grew. In 2001 they made one last indie album called Nothing to Lose. That year at the GMA week in Nashville they started handing out CDs with their phone number on the back. A couple weeks later they got a phone call from Sparrow records.
They were soon signed and their first Studio album Say It Loud was released in 2002. It was a compilation of songs they had written over their long indie career. They released an album of brand new songs called Fight The Tide two years later. That same year they did a cover of U2’s “Beautiful day” for the album In The Name Of Love:Artists Unite For Africa and “Promised Land” on Veggie Rocks!. Sanctus real took home Modern Rock Album of the Year Dove Awards. 

Face of Love was released in 2006. Sanctus Real’s bass player left the band and they was replaced by Dan Gartley. They also added and a fifth member, Pete Prevost on guitar. They had munch more time and preparation on this album. They wrote enough material to fill 10 albums and choose the best songs to record. The album was originally going to be called Turn On The Lights after the opening track but was eventually changed to We Need Each Other (2007). It was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album of the Year.

Sanctus Real let their fans vote on what they would name thier next album. The winning title was Pieces of a Real Heart (2010). In 2011, “Lead Me” won song of year at the GMA Dove Awards. Thier latest album is called Run (2013) and featured the song “Promises”..

Manuela Wuthrich,
better known as just “Manuela” was born in Kenya to Kenyan and
Swiss parents, lived in Switzerland for a couple of years, then came
to Canada. But it wasn’t until she lived in the Bahamas during her
high school years, that she became interested in music. She taught
herself how to play the guitar and piano and began singing. She
started leading worship at her church. She then moved back to Canada
and went to Briercrest where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Music
Leadership. She then moved to Vancouver to pursue music. She has now
settled down just outside of Edmonton, Alberta in Sherwood Park.
That’s eight different cities on three continents before the age of
23.

She has released five
independent albums. The first was an EP called Some Kind of Wonderful
in 2003. Then Summer EP in 2007, followed by The Love EP in 2008.

In 2010 she released
her first full-length album on her own independent label called
Golden Recordings. As Executive Producer, Manuela raised thousands of
dollars to fund the album. That album was called A Different Kind
of Fire.

Manuela’s latest
release is an EP featuring a newly produced radio version of
“Circling Numbers” as well as two never-before-heard songs. It is
called The Golden Story (2011).

Kevin Michael McKeehan better known as “Toby McKeehan” better known as “Toby Mac” gew up in Washington DC.

Toby met Michael Tait in 1984, while they were still in high school and they very quickly became best friends. Together they went to Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. In 1988 they released a tape they made called Christian Rhymes to a Rhythm. They invited a classmate, Keven Max to join them and called the group DC Talk.

2

They sent a demo to Nashville and were signed by ForeFront records and recorded their self titled Debut album in 1989.

That album was followed by Nu Thang in 1990. Toby Mac was reluctantly taking leadership of the band and was nicknamed the unofficial leader. Thier next album was Free at Last in 1992. Each album was more poular than the last and DC Talk was invited to perform on shows like Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall.

Toby Mac and friend Todd Collins intended to produce the album for a group called Out Of Eden, but they couldn’t find a label to sign them. So instead they formed their own label called Gotee Records. Meanwhile, DC Talk released thier next album Jesus Freak (1995).

In 1998 they released their final album together. It was called Supernatural. In the year 2000 they announced that DC Talk was no longer together. Not that they had broken up, but that the band was on a hiatus. Toby Mac released his first solo album the following year, called Momentum. Then a remix of the album.

His next original album was calle Welcome to Diverse City (2004). That was also followed by a remix called Renovating Diverse City. In 2007 he released Portable Sounds which debuted at no.10 on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the #1 most played song on Christian Hit radio stations that year. That album was followed by a live album/DVD called Alive and Transported.

His next album was called Tonight (2010) and debuted at no. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart. He also released a seasonal album called Christmas in Diverse City (2011), then Dubbed and Freq’d: A Remix Project (2012).

Toby Mac’s latest album is also his most successful yet. Eye On It (2012) debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart! No Christian album had done that in over a decade.  

Vocalist Dan Haseltine met Lead guitarist Steven Mason at in Greenville College in Illinois. The two friends wrote a few songs for school projects. Along with fellow schoolmate Charlie Lowell on keys they formed the band The Jars of Clay, a name that comes from 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” One final schoolmate Matt Bronleewe joined. They wrote a number of songs together, and in 1994 they won a nation-wide Gospel Music Association contest. Following this success Dan Haseltine, Steven Mason and Charlie Lowell dropped out of school go follow their music career full time. Matt Bronleewe left the band to stay in school and finish his degree, although he was credited for songwriting when the band signed with Essential records. Matt Odmark took his place on rhythm guitar. The band has no drummer or bassist, they get guests to fill in the gap on tour. 

The Jars of Clay’s self-titled debut album was released in 1995. The album went multi-platinum and the single Flood flew up, not only the Christian charts, but mainstream radio chats as well. In 1997 their second album Much Afraid was released. It won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Gospel Album of the year. They also won a Grammy for their next album If I Left The Zoo, which was released in 1999. Along with this album was a special live online promotional album called Front Yard Luge. It featured covers from bands like Petra and the Beach Boys.

In 2001 honorary degrees from Greenville College where given to the members of Jars of Clay, including Matt Odmark, who didn’t even go to Greenville. In 2002 the received a their third consecutive Grammy Award for the album The Eleventh Hour. In 2003 they released re-recordings of their best songs in a double disk album called Furthermore. The first disk “From Studio” featured acousic versions and the second disk “To Stage” was a live concert, which was later released on DVD. Later that year they released an all new album called Who We Are Instead. Their next album Redemption Songs was released in 2005 and featured old hymns with new music. In 2005 they were featured on the Chronicles on Narnia Soundtrack (Waiting for the World to Fall). In 2006 the Jars of Clay changed their style a bit and released their first rock album Good Monsters, which was followed by a live album called Live Monsters. They also released two greatest hits albums before their next studio album Grey Matter in 2007. That was their last album on Essential Records.

 They formed their own label called Grey Matter on which they released a seasonal album called Christmas Songs later that year. In 2009 the released their tenth album called the long fall back to Earth. The Jars of Clay’s latest album is called The Shelter (2010).

Jason Gray was born in Minnesota as Jason Gay. In 1993 he started working in youth ministry. In 1997 he released an independent album called The Singer and the Song. He then decided to become a full time musician. In 1999 he released another indie album called Postcard Maxi-Single, then A Place Called Hope in 2001 as well as a live album that same year. In 2003 Jason was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans by the Minnesota Junior Chamber for work with World Vision. His last indie album was called The Better Part of Me (2005).

In 2006 he was signed by Centricity Music. He then changed his name from Jason Gay to Jason Gray. In 2007 his first studio album All The Lovely Losers was released. Like his ministry in general, this album was an open glimps into his life, including his struggle as a chronic stutterer.

That album was followed by Acoustic Storytime: Live Songs And Stories in 2008. Jason Gray’s real breakthrough album Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue was released in 2009.

Peter Furler was born in Australia in 1966 to missionary parents. He was quite young when he started learning to play the drums and before that he would tap out rhythm on the kitchen table. In 1985 he and three friends founded a band. Peter Furler started out as the drummer even as his other musical talents were improving. They were signed in 1987 and called themselves The Newsboys.

Peter Furler was the songwriter writer and producer of the Newsboys from 1991 to 2009 and was the lead singer for most of that time. He was the man behind over 25 number one hits.

In 2009 Peter Furler left the Newsboys to finally go solo. His first Solo album On Fire was released in 2011.