Thursday, February 9, 2006

Top Christian Acts At Reunion

By Blair Lovern

DALLAS — Boy, what a Romper Room the Casting Crowns/Nichole Nordeman tour bus is going to be this year.

Nordeman hasn’t been on a major tour in about two years, after spending time at home in Dallas being a new mom. Her son Charlie will be with her this time, and headliner Casting Crowns will also be packing a full load of kids.

“(Casting Crowns) is very family oriented,” Nordeman said. “They’ve got children, they’re very supportive and empathetic about having kids on road. They’re just good people and great musicians trying to talk about the gospel.

“Actually, I think (Charlie) is going to love it, playing around with everything. I’m sure it won’t take long before he’ll be bossing people around.”

The eight-time Dove Award winner would have sung in 2005 with Casting Crowns on the first part of their Lifesong Tour, had it not been for booked dates in support of her acclaimed release, Brave.

The accolades keep coming, by the way: This week Nordeman was nominated for female vocalist of the year by the Gospel Music Association. (Her song "I Will Believe" was part of the Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia CD, which is also up for a Dove award.)

Fans at Reunion will hear an acoustic, stripped-down version of her songs this go-around. Normally she brings a band out of Nashville, where she used to live before moving to Texas about five years ago. This tour will feature her regular guitarist from Nashville, Clint Lagerberg, and a drummer and bass player from Dallas.

“Because I’m living in Dallas now I thought it would be fun this time to find players here. There are so many talented players in this area, it’s kind of hard to choose. Then you find out that many have day jobs so it’s also hard to find someone who can take a few months off. But I’ve got some great musicians playing for the tour.”

Brave shot up the charts immediately after it’s release in the summer of 2005, hitting the #1 spot on Billboard Christian charts after one week of sales and staying there for the next five straight.

What sets Nordeman apart is not just her music, which is joyful, creative, inspiring and everything in between. She’s also able to convey so wonderfully her thoughts on being a Christian music artist today. (A prime example can be found here at CCM Magazine in an article called, 'Turning a New Leaf'.)

Nichole Nordeman

“It’s a challenge – anytime you attach faith to music or art – the lines get blurred about what’s appropriate to talk about, what’s not appropriate. My audience is primarily church-minded people, and there’s kind of an expectation of who you want to be and how you want to act. And it does create a lot of pressure to say something positive all the time when you’re not having a nice day."

That's when her voice drops down a little, reflecting on those words.

"I have to say I don’t know how pleased God is with that dishonesty. But in my world, the Christian music world, people can be easily confused. I’m a songwriter who happens to be a Christian. I’m not a therapist, I’m not a pastor, I’m not a psychologist. And it’s amazing that so many people attach those titles to you.”

Of course, Nordeman said, she knows how deeply music can touch her fans.

“When I meet people it’s amazing to find how similar, how universal so many of our life experiences are. It’s always astonishing when I play a song live, knowing that perhaps I wrote it for very personal reasons, or that I never originally intended to make it into a song, maybe it was kind of like a journal entry. That song was absolutely written for me, but it’s so rewarding to find out it’s touched someone else. That’s when you know God is at work beyond you more than just a little.”

Be sure to check out the insight behind each of the songs on Brave, written by Nordeman herself.

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