Dream In Soul – Creativity for the Kingdom:

Music artists will gather in Nashville and Los Angeles on Feb. 27 to raise funds to help Haiti recover from the devastating earthquake. “Help Haiti Live” is a multi-city ticketed concert event taking place on February 27th, 2010 to benefit the Christian organization Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief fund. The event will also be streamed live online for those who cannot attend one of the concerts in person.

Artists to perform include Amy Grant, Alison Krauss and Union Station, LeAnn Rimes, Mat Kearney, Brandon Heath, Rebecca St. James, Jars of Clay and NEEDTOBREATHE. Visit HelpHaitiLive.com to learn more and to donate or purchase tickets.

100% of on-line donations through HelpHaitiLive.com and 100% of net proceeds from ticket sales will go to Compassion International’s Haiti disaster relief fund.

2010 BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards

The Gospel Music Channel (GMC) will broadcast the world premiere of the BMI Trailblazers Awards Tribute to Donnie McClurkin & Andraé Crouch on Sunday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. EST. The special was recorded live during the 11th Annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards Luncheon held Friday, January 15 in Nashville. The show is co-hosted by Yolanda Adams & Byron Cage with performances from Marvin Winans, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Yolanda Adams and TaTa Vega. (Source: BMI)

2010 Stellar Awards

The Stellar Awards will also air on GMC on February 28 at 8pm ET. Visit Gospel Flava for a recap of the winners and photos from the event.

Check out the Newsboy’s video for the song “Born Again”, the title track off the upcoming record which releases on June 8th. The video was shot just outside Tijuana, Mexico in the Baja penninsula, where the group will be taking friends and fans this summer to embark on a large-scale home building projects to support the poverty stricken people of the Baja. For more information on how you can be a part of this historic trip text “GO” to 77812 or visit www.newsboys.com.

The David Crowder*Band recently spoke to the philanthropy organization Causecast about some of their views on the mechanics of social change and leveraging the arts to address the current climate of the world. In the interview they also touched on challenges music artists face today, and of course Twitter. The interview is really candid and interesting, and was part of Causecast’s series with influential musicians, aimed at asking them questions about relevant issues that might not come up in other interviews, and to inspire others to take steps of change. You can read the entire article on Causecast.org: The David Crowder* Band On The Mechanics Of Change.

Some highlights from the interview:

“…Because as artists, you’re shaped and moved by the culture you’re breathing in and out, so it naturally pops into your art you’re making, but at the same time, if we could think critically about where we are, and about the platforms that we’ve been given, then there’s an opportunity to say a whole lot to people who listen to you and who care about what you think about, what you believe in…”

Thanks to Marina from Causecast for sharing this link.

As those in Haiti cry out for help, it’s amazing to see the outpouring of love and unity to come to their aid. Recently the Gospel music community came together to record a tribute song, “Are You Listening.” Kirk Franklin rallied up artists such as CeCe Winans, BeBe Winans, Yolanda Adams, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin, Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond, Smokie Norful, Marvin Sapp, Karen Clark Sheard, Natalie Grant, Jeremy Camp and many others, to record the song he wrote for Haiti eight years ago.

The proceeds of the song will be donated to Unicef and other charities to help with relief efforts in the rebuilding of communities.

The Gospel Music Channel premiered the video in a one hour special presentation on Friday before the airing of the global “Hope for Haiti Now” telethon. If you missed it you can watch the encore of the special on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 6:00 p.m. (ET). There will also be an exclusive “A Love Song for Haiti: The Making of ‘Are You Listening’” behind-the-scenes special in February.

“Are You Listening” is now available for purchase at www.verityrecords.com. The single will also be available next week on iTunes after January 30 at Wal-Mart and other major retailers. Do your part in sending love to Haiti with your continued donations and prayers.

Below is the music video for the song, (it is really beautiful and moving):

“All the artists associated with the project donated their talent and gifts for this project. This initiative is so important because while we are asking America to give we know that many are giving sacrificially. The people of Haiti are very spiritual people with an unwavering faith and belief in God and still count The Lord as the main source and provider. We will continue to pray and stand with them. We hope this song will bring much needed support and awareness in an effort to raise funds in the near and long-term future.”
– Kirk Franklin, who produced the song “Are You Listening.”