I was blown away yesterday by your reading suggestions! Great comments, Facebook notes and tweets recommending amazing books for me to pack away inside my Kindle. Thank you!! Since yesterday went so well, I’m asking for your help again — but this time with music!
I’m a big fan of music. It’s kind of my love and passion. If I had any talent whatsoever, it’s what I would be doing with my life. Music has always played a vital role in my life and especially in my spiritual life. I feel the Holy Spirit more through music than nearly any other way. He speaks to me through song, and I am often reminded of a message through beautiful and sweet lyrics. Songwriters have no idea the power they hold over our hearts, do they?
I listen to nearly all genres of music, so all suggestions are welcome! Mostly, I listen to worship and praise music, so those suggestions are especially welcome! Some of my favorite Christian acts right now include Rend Collective Experiment, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, Christy Nockels and Watermark, Jesus Culture, Leeland and Meredith Andrews. Other acts I’m currently addicted to into include the Civil Wars, Priscilla Ahn, Need to Breathe, Lady Antebellum, Ryan Adams, Dave Barnes, Grace Potter and Brandi Carlile.
In case that wasn’t enough for you to figure out what kind of music I enjoy, know that if music ceased to exist in the world, I would not be able to live without Ben Harper, Emmylou Harris, Jessie Baylin or Jack Johnson. Seriously.
You were so amazing with suggestions yesterday, I can’t wait to see what you come up with today! You. Are. Awesome.
Dispatch. If you have not heard them you must check them out. My fav’s are Whirlwind, Past the Falls, Bats in the Belfry.
Rachel Kurtz – Her album There Is Beauty Here is one of my all time favorites. She is a Christian artist. I posted a video of her singing a song a while back. That album is amazing.
The Swell Season – pick up the album Strict Joy. Just do yourself a favor and get it. SO AWESOME!
Rhett Walker Band – they’re a farely new group on the Christian scene
Kutless just came out with a praise and worship CD that rocks (pun completely intended)
NeedToBreathe – The Outsiders is my favorite cd of theirs. They’re also another Christian Band
Here are a few suggestions based on what you said you like already. And I’m not going to mention a certain brother folk rock band because I know you’ve heard of them already and are probably well aware of my infatuation with them. 🙂
My number one recommendation that you may not have heard of yet:
Nora Jane Struthers.
She’s one of my absolute favorites right now, we randomly discovered her at the Station Inn one night when we were in Nashville.
I would describe her style as a modern take on traditional music. She mashes up a lot of genres and it can vary a lot from song to song. (Traditional, folk, country, bluegrass and even a cowgirl yodel song!) But it’s smart, brilliantly executed – with some of the best supporting instramentalists in Nashville – and catchy. She has a gorgeous singing voice, and is terrific on the guitar herself. One song can be absolutely joyous and the next explores the darker side of life, but it’s all done with a flair for storytelling. She was a literature teacher before becoming a full time musician, so her songs are incredibly lyrical and rich in details. Pretty much every song tells a story.
Check out her 2010 self-titled album. You may have to give it 2 or 3 listens before it really hooks you, but it will. I started out liking one song, then two, then three … now I love every song on the album. And if you like her, she has a new album in the works.
And if you ever get a chance to see her live, do it. Tons of fun.
I also highly recommend Mandolin Orange, a duo out of North Carolina. They don’t necessarily sound like Civil Wars, BUT I compare them in the sense that they are a man-woman duo with a lush, gorgeous sound that’s chill but you can listen to over and over. Terrific lyrics, I can listen to their mandolin all day. I got to talk to them after a live show, and she kind of poked fun of me because I was right down in front at the stage and obviously enjoying the music. She said, “You were feelin’ it!” She was right. There’s something about their music that I think reaches out and touches you.
Also check out The Staves and First Aid Kit. Both have gorgeous vocal harmonies and are among my favorites right now. First Aid Kit, a Swedish sister duo, has a fantastic recent album called “The Lion’s Roar.” The Staves have two EPs out there right now, “Mexico” from last year and “Motherlode,” which was just released earlier this year. But I love them and they have a new album coming next month!
I also really like Trampled By Turtles and Apache Relay.
Gospel suggestion (surprise!): The Martins.
Finally, don’t know if this fits very well with the examples you gave, but for what it’s worth: The Shins recent album “Port of Morrow” may end up being my favorite this year. They’re more indie-pop than what you listed. And this album sounds a little different to me, in a good way, than their past stuff. It came out early this year and I keep coming back to it over and over. It’s really, really solid all the way through.
Hope this helps. If you listen to any of this, I’d love to hear your reactions, good or bad!