Nashville, TN (September 18, 2020)
John J. Thompson, who founded the True Tunes brand as a teenager back in 1989 as a record store, magazine, mail-order company, and concert venue in the suburbs of Chicago, has relaunched the brand, as a music blog and podcast. “I thought my True Tunes days were long behind me,” Thompson admits. “Those were some amazing days, and it was painful to see them end.

The landscape is riddled with amazing independent artists, young and old, trying to make sense of the various contradictions between art and commerce, or faith and culture, so it seems that the types of conversations we were having at True Tunes back then are more critical than ever now. When one of the former owners of the company offered to give me the domain name back after all these years, I jumped at the chance. And now, with the help of Christian music radio and Voice of America veteran producer and writer Bruce Brown, we have started something really special.”

The new True Tunes truly does pick up where the old one left off, though the content definitely
leans a bit away from what Thompson calls “formal Christian music.” “There are several voices
out there talking about contemporary Christian music,” he says. “I feel no need to add to that
pile. What True Tunes was always about, and is now even freer to pursue, is to find the thread
of the good, the true, and the beautiful in music and culture and to follow it wherever it leads. We do that through conversations on the podcast, reviews, and articles on the website, and through the weekly Spotify mixtape that we curate. There are Gospel songs and artists in the mix and veterans of the old True Tunes world. But we are also committed to finding and exposing new music that explores life from a true and spiritual perspective. This is a different kind of approach.”

The first round of podcast episodes has included Christian music veterans Charlie Peacock, Phil
Keaggy, Steve Taylor, and Eddie DeGarmo, as well as indie artists Waterdeep, Christa Wells, Sandra McCracken, Liz Vice, and Ella Mine. NF co-writer and producer Tommee Profitt and Americana legend Buddy Miller have also been featured guests. “It’s a diverse group,” Thompson adds, “and it will stay that way. I’m thrilled with how things have come together so far and am overwhelmed by the response we have gotten.”

Visit: www.TrueTunes.com

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