Out & About – January 1, 2016

2015 IN PICTURES! CCM Magazine’s favorite photos from last year, part 1 of 2!

June 1, 2015: Legendary singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith joined former President Bill Clinton (and former Governor Frank Keating, amongst others) during a memorial on the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. After 168 seconds of silence to honor the 168 men, women and children who lost their lives in the attack, Smith led those gathered in the singing of the National Anthem.

July 15, 2015: Natalie Grant poses with fellow vertically-themed troubadour Lauren Daigle backstage at the Grand Ole Opry during the K-LOVE Awards.

May 15, 2015: Modern rockers for KING & COUNTRY take a much deserved break during their recent performances of “Fix My Eyes” and “Run Wild” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

 February 15, 2015: GRAMMY nominated rockers Fireflight put the finishing touches on INNOVA, its first new album in over three years slated to hit streets on May 5. Pictured in the studio are Glenn Drennen (guitars), Dawn Michele (vocals) and Anberlin’s Stephen Christian (center), who just was featured on the album.

February 1, 2015 (two images): Sixty writers representing ten countries and six languages (including Paul Baloche, Graham Kendrick, Bluetree, Desperation Band and The City Harmonic) convene and lead various sessions of worship at Integrity Music’s songwriter retreat.

April 1, 2015: Steven Curtis Chapman grabbed a moment backstage during his hosted Sam’s Place concert series at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN with Ellie Holcomb after performing their duet of his popular “Be Still and Know.” Joining them backstage was Eillie’s husband, Drew, lead of the band Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors.

August 1, 2015: American Idol favorite Colton Dixon grabs some chat time with Elisabeth Hasselbeck (The View, and now formerly of Fox & Friends) backstage at the 2015 K-LOVE Fan Awards. The singer/songwriter’s recent whereabouts also include filming a music video for “Through All Of It” (as captured on this hi-tech behind the scenes screen).

April 1, 2015: Artists, celebrities and fans from literally all walks of life packed the West Angeles Church of God In Christ to pay their respects to legendary gospel great Andraé Crouch. Famed duo BeBe & CeCe Winans, along with other artists from a variety of genres were spotted arriving at the concert and Celebration of Life services, which drew over 600,000 viewers during a stream on BET.com and the church’s website.

August 15, 2015: Skillet’s John and Korey Cooper, along with their children, grab some all access hang time with Milwaukee Brewers’ catcher Jonathan Lucroy before the game.

November 1, 2015: Eclectic worship troupe Rend Collective showcases material off the recent release As Family We Go live on FOX & Friends (prior to joining Chris Tomlin on tour this fall).

June 1, 2015 (two images): Touring for the first time since the release of 1993’s Squint, it was no surprise to see Christian rock trailblazer, cultural tastemaker and occasional movie maker Steve Taylor pack out Chicago’s Wilson Abbey, especially considering he was joined by all-star backers The Perfect Foil to perform tunes from both the past and the present’s Goliath (Splint Entertainment).

Keeping beat for The Perfect Foil is none other than Peter Furler, who besides being a longtime songwriting collaborator with Steve Taylor is of course the longtime Newsboys drummer. After spending several albums stepping up to the microphone, Peter bid adieu to explore a solo ministry. (Photos by Andy Argyrakis)

April 15, 2015: Singer/songwriter Ginny Owens visits several of Israel’s most historic sights, including the Garden Tomb (where Jesus is believed to have been buried) and the Mount of Olives with friends (not pictured) Andrew Greer, Kyle Buchanan and Andrew W Lyon.

October 1, 2015: Former Press Play vocalist SADA K. (left) swings by Angel Stadium of Anaheim for the Harvest Crusade to guest host JUCE TV’s coverage for their long-running show Top 3!