Monthly Archives: May 2009

Rebecca Dennison writes about performing as part of an acapella trio, singing backup for a singer-songwriter, and leading worship for Sojourn: I currently sing out with the Sandpaper Dolls (an experimental a’capella group…which is much cooler than it sounds), lead worship at Sojourn, and provide backing vocals for Jamie Barnes whenever he asks.  Each of these opportunities has called for and taught me different things. Sandpaper Dolls The three of us Dolls (myself, Amber Estes, and Suki Anderson) are all lead vocalists.  I had sung back-up before working with the Dolls and I’d been in choirs, but I’d never really …« Read Entire Post

Thanks to Laura Beth O’Nan for supplying these photos from this past Saturday’s Lower Town Music Festival in Paducah, Kentucky.  Sojourn’s Jamie Barnes performed a set of solo material, backed up by our own Rebecca Dennison on vocals and Mike Cosper on guitar.  Then the Sojourn band performed worship music on the festival’s Main Stage.

The other day, Sojourn Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper and I were ruminating about the fact that it seems like forever (although it’s just been three months) since recording wrapped up on Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One. And only now in the closing days of May can we finally begin to share some of it with you. Last Friday I posted info here on sojournmusic.com about the release dates for this project — live copies for sale during Sojourn’s appearance at Advance ’09 from June 4-6, physical copies for sale here beginning Tuesday, June …« Read Entire Post

Brooks Ritter- The Horse Fell Lame from Jeff Venable on Vimeo.  Gonna be in Louisville this Friday?  Or gonna be online?  Either way, check out Sojourn Music’s Brooks Ritter, who will be the featured performer on the popular weekly Louisville music showcase, “Live Lunch,” on WFPK, 91.9 FM. The show begins at noon, recorded in front of a walk-in studio audience in the WFPK studio on 4th Street, downtown. If you can’t get to the show, then Louisvillians can listen on 91.9 FM.  If you’re from “parts elsewhere,”  you can check out the live stream (and later, the full archived …« Read Entire Post

Who are these guys (and gal)?  Why, it’s a Sojourn traveling band.  This picture comes courtesy of Laura Beth O’Nan, and it is one of several she took at this past Saturday’s Lower Town Music Festival in Paducah, Kentucky.  I’ll publish all the rest of those photos, taken during Sojourn’s music set, on Wednesday. pictured clockwise, left to right: Megan Shaffer, Mike Cosper, Neil Robins, Dave Moisan and (kneeling) Alex O’Nan.

This set list is one of many that you can find at the worship music set list blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com, featuring many different kinds of churches. I’m reporting from the morning set list this week, which differed on several points from our evening set list. 1. Bow, by Sojourn’s own Jeremy Quillo.  You can read the story behind this song, by Jeremy himself, here on sojournmusic.com.  The short article also contains a link to the free mp3 stream of “Bow,” and the chord sheet from our These Things I Remember page.  This was one of the first “Sojourn originals” …« Read Entire Post

We know, we know.  There have been several false starts regarding the release of Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One. We think you’ll find it worth the wait, but at the same time, we’re chomping at the bit to release this record.  As you know, the main reason for the delays has been record label negotiations (and the frustrating thing is, we can’t simply blog about all the behind-the-scenes stuff because of legalities). Here is what I can tell you now: we’re releasing this project very soon, but in several stages.  The timeline is: Advance release …« Read Entire Post

Welcome to the final weekly installment of “Why We Do What We Do,” the series where we talk about common elements in Christian worship services.  Last week we discussed expressions of dedication and commitment to God as part of the worship liturgy.  This time we talk about the benediction — a blessing for the road. My interview subject is Sojourn Worship Leader Lorie King, who has led worship in a many settings around the world.  She completed a Master’s program in Worship from the School of Church Music and Worship at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has been in Pastor Mike Cosper’s Sojourn worship …« Read Entire Post

We are blessed within the Sojourn Community to have many talented music artists.  Of course you’re familiar to those who play and sing on our worship albums and frequently lead worship on Sunday, as well as those who write posts or sit for interviews here on sojournmusic.com. But Sojourn celebrates music from the church as well as music for the church.  One such music-maker is Luke Asher, an indie artist here in Louisville who will be playing a CD release party here at The 930 next Tuesday, May 26.  Visit our sister site, the930.org, for all the information on this …« Read Entire Post

June 4-6, Sojourn will be a part of the Advance 09 Conference in Raleigh, NC.  The Sojourn band will lead worship, along with Vintage21.  We’ll have our brand new Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One CDs, and will share songs from that project with all who attend.  For more about Advance 09, watch the short trailer below:

You can find the music set lists of many other churches who participate, as we do, in the worship music blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com.  Photos here by Ryan Harvey. 1. How Long, by Sojourn’s Rebecca Dennison and Mike Cosper, inspired by Isaac Watts’s metrical version of Psalm 13.  “How Long” is cut #3 on our soon-to-be-released Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One.  There’s no telling how many times I’ve listened to this track already.  I’ll say this: it’s a great song for cranking up the volume in your car radio and cruising down the highway.  And …« Read Entire Post

This will begin a new series of posts by Worship & Arts Pastor Mike Cosper on the life and work of Isaac Watts, whose songs are the source material for the upcoming Sojourn record, “Over the Grave” There is much to be said about the legacy of Isaac Watts. A master of words, a faithful pastor, and one who endured persecution in the midst of England’s reformation, Watts stands as one of the many humble saints who left a tremendous legacy for the church. At the center of Watts’ work are his Psalms and Hymns. Early in his life, he …« Read Entire Post

Welcome to another weekly installment of “Why We Do What We Do,” the series where we talk about common elements in Christian worship services. Last time we discussed tithes and offerings as part of the worship liturgy.  This week we talk about expressions of dedication to Christ in preparation for the Sending.  It is that portion of a worship service where, knowing our time together is drawing to a close, we affirm our dedication and intent to be Christ’s body in the world, rather than just inside our walls. My interview subject is Sojourn Worship Leader Lorie King, who has led worship in …« Read Entire Post

Sojourn will perform a 45 minute set in the major Kentucky music & arts festival Lowertown on Memorial Day weekend this year, and Sojourn worship leader Jamie Barnes will perform a solo set of songs from his The Recalibrated Heart and other records. Lowertown is located in Paducah, Kentucky.  The Sojourn band takes the Main Stage on Saturday, May 23 at 4 pm as part of this weekend-long festival.  Check out the Lowertown Music & Art Festival website for directions, a complete lineup of events and more.

Worship leader and songwriter Jeremy Quillo, also a founding member of Sojourn and featured vocalist on several of our worship records, tells the story behind his song “Bow.”  You can view the chord sheet to “Bow” from our These Things I Remember page, and hear it on Last FM: The song “Bow” pretty much came from a desire to see more songs of joy and celebration in the church. I was seeing some changes in the musical “trends,” not just in our church, but in many churches across the country. Some churches that sung nothing but simple, modern worship choruses …« Read Entire Post

You can find the music set lists of many other churches who participate, as we do, in the worship music blog carnival at fredmckinnon.com.  Photos here by Dan Canales.  For any locals who get confused by my commentary: I’m reporting on the evening set list, although the photos were taken during morning services.  We had a greater than usual variance in morning/evening set lists this week: 1.Remember Me (Prayer of Hannah) by Sojourn’s own Jamie Barnes.  Last year on sojournmusic.com we gave away Jamie’s mp3 to this modern Christian Mother’s Day song, based on Hannah’s Old Testament prayer.  Check it …« Read Entire Post

Last year here on sojournmusic we gave away a free mp3 of a new Mother’s Day song written by Sojourn singer-songwriter/worship leader Jamie Barnes.  We even threw in a chord sheet! If you weren’t around then, check it out here — it’s entitled “Remember Me (Prayer of Hannah) and is based on the biblical prayer of Hannah, who mothered the prophet Samuel. We hope you have a fantastic Mother’s Day weekend!

If you’re familiar with Sojourn recordings or worship services, you’ve no doubt heard the vocals of Rebecca Dennison.  Rebecca is an amazing singer, featured on Before The Throne (check out the “My Maker And My King” mp3 on our Before The Throne page), These Things I Remember (listen to “Faithful” and “Of Psalm 51” from that page) and our upcoming Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One.  In this series for worship team vocalists and singers of all stripes, Rebecca focuses on principles and techniques for taking care of your voice.  This week: how do sing harmony: …« Read Entire Post

I think the album cover for our upcoming record — Over The Grave: The Hymns Of Isaac Watts, Volume One — looks fabulous.  In fact, all of the album art, packaging and text inserts are so amazing that it would be well worth owning a physical CD rather than just a download (although the music will be available on iTunes and other digital stores).  When I saw the cover art, I immediately wanted to ask the artists about it.  So that’s what I did.  And now, Sojourn visual artist Mickie Winters and record producer/songwriter/musician/graphic designer Neil Robins tell their story: …« Read Entire Post

As many of you know, this August Sojourn will open our second campus in Louisville.  Our current home is The 930 Art Center in Old Louisville (in or near the Germantown, Smoketown and Shelby Park neighborhoods).  Our new site will be in the St. Matthews area.  We’ll continue to hold four Sunday services at The 930 and one service in St. Matthews. Read The Sojourn Elders’ Letter: “Why Multi-site? Are We Abandoning The Church Planting Model?” Read “Why St. Matthews?” Read “What Will The Leadership Structure Look Like?” What does this look like for our worship music teams and Sunday …« Read Entire Post

You can find many other church music set lists in the Blog Carnival at fredmckinnon.com, which we participate in each week.  Our normal photographer,  Dan Canales, was out of town today.  But have no fear — Dan asked Ryan Harvey to take photos this week, and Ryan was happy to oblige.  Besides photography, Ryan also plays drums.  In fact, you’ll be able  to hear his mad percussion skills on our Over The Grave album very soon.  And now, on to the report.  We began this week with a song: 1. Living Faith, written by Bobby Gilles and Brooks Ritter, based …« Read Entire Post

We know, we know.  Although our 2007 record Before The Throne, rated 5 Stars by Christianity Today, has been available on iTunes and other digital providers, we’ve been out of stock on the physical CDs for far too long. But no longer!  I’ve seen the boxes myself — we have 1500 brand new copies of Before The Throne right here, waiting to mail out to you.  You can buy it in our store for $10, plus $2 shipping and handling.  If you live near the Louisville area, you can also pick it up at The 930.  Thanks so much to …« Read Entire Post