Building 429 is coming to Little Flock Ministry Center on the 4^th as part of Youthfest 2005, a free event. I got a chance to see those guys recently in Nashville and they are sounding great. Don't miss this chance to see them for free. The church is located at 5510 Preston Highway. The event gets underway at 2 p.m. with various activities and local bands at some point during the day. Unlike years past, there are no advance tickets, you just show up while space is available.

Unityfest 2005 is on the 17^th at the Kentucky Center for the Arts Whiney Hall.

The event features a mix of black and white artists including headliner Kurt Carr and The Kurt Carr singers along with J Moss, Lisa Goodwin and Believers and more.

Carr has returned to the music scene with the smash new album, "One Church," the follow up to his Gold selling "Awesome Wonder." As the title suggests, "One Church," spotlights Carr's trademark musical diversity incorporating elements such as a South African choir; Scottish bagpipers; an Armenian accordionist, an Eastern Indian sitar and a full classical orchestra. "One Church" features the hit songs "God Great God," and "Psalm 68 [Let Our God Arise]," dubbed as the world's first praise and worship tango.

Carr's breakthrough chart-topper "Awesome Wonder," was the winner of six Gospel Music Stellar Awards - and Carr's work as producer on the self-titled debut album of 2003's New Artist of the Year, Byron Cage, produced four more Stellar Awards.

Carr obtained a degree in music from the University of Connecticut, focusing in the classroom on classical music, while absorbing the sounds of the street and the world around him. His first national recognition came when he spent seven years as pianist and musical director for James Cleveland, who had discovered him when he was playing one year at the annual conference of the Gospel Music Workshop of America (GMWA), as well as a year accompanying Gospel's legendary Andrae Crouch. "One Church" is poised to carry Carr, who received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Ohio's Aenon Bible College in 2001, to even greater heights. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets and online at ticketmaster.com.

The David Crowder Band will play at Southeast Christian Church's "The Vine" service on the 26^th. As usual, Crowder himself has been up to something innovative and new lately. The band has been working on their next release and the recording, which wraps up soon, is taking place in David Crowder's new studio built in the historical Waco, Texas barn where Pepper the horse once lived and which was the birthplace of the Dr Pepper soft drink formula. Crowder recently purchased the barn along with the home of the late Dr Pepper beverage creator, Wade Morrison. First sold in 1885, Dr Pepper is the oldest soft drink in America and a beverage of choice for Crowder.

In addition to the webcam view, the band members are posting blogs from the barn throughout the recording process at http://www.myspace.com/davidcrowderband. The site also features the video of the band's "Here Is Our King," recorded live at Passion `05 and featured on last month's No. 1-selling CD, Passion: How Great Is Our God. The studio version of the song will be featured on A Collision.

A second David Crowder Band blog site can be found at Xanga.com, where David Crowder recently mused:

"I didn't get to the barn until like 10:10 a,m., which was late for me. I was to sing this morning. so it was better to get a slower start to things. "Rescue" was the song. I have been a bit worried about, as it has a large role to play at the end of the record. It is a very personal song and one that holds a lot of emotion and sometimes it is a difficult thing to get this into your voice and skin. But it was all very present. It is a wonderful thing to feel. I know a few people who are unable to feel anymore. Life has just taken it out of them. So I sang. And I felt it all. I am glad."

The band's appearance at "The Vine" is free.

As I mentioned last issue, one of Kentucky's favorite sons, Steven Curtis Chapman, is coming to Cardinal Stadium on August 22. Chapman played in Louisville last December as well and just completed that tour. All told, the 72-city All Things New Tour played to nearly 350,000 people and raised over two million dollars in adoption grant funds that will bless orphans in need.

Along with guests Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns, Chapman led a trek across the United States that included sixteen sellouts in Washington D.C., Houston, Atlanta, Minneapolis and New York. Each show began and ended in prayer with the audience. The artists shared the stage at different times throughout the night, foregoing in many ways the traditional opening act/headliner routine.

"It was an absolutely phenomenal night of worship!" says Ron Raymond, general manager of the WCTL radio station in Erie, Pennsylvania. "Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin were simply sensational and no one...I mean, no one, connects with an audience better than Steven Curtis Chapman. Our listeners are still talking about it."

Commenting after the last show, Chapman said, "It is so bittersweet for all of us, but we're ready to be home after months of touring. Yet, this brings to an end the best tour experience I've ever had."

The All Things New Tour was sponsored by Shaohannah's Hope, the Chapman family's adoption foundation. Chapman himself was amazed at the two million dollars raised among concertgoers during the tour to support the effort.

"We could not have imagined this level of partnership and generosity and we're incredibly excited about how the lives of so many orphans will be changed," he said.

Shaohannah's Hope director Scott Hasenbalg also commented, "We will look back on this tour and reference it as one of the most significant activities this ministry has ever done. By God's grace, it has propelled us to significance as an organization."