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Charlie Hall

Track List

Over the last decade, Charlie Hall has become both a renowned worship leader and a voice for the lost, the broken, the unlovely. He’s back with a triumphant new record, The Rising, his fifth sixstepsrecords release, an album “about movement toward...

Over the last decade, Charlie Hall has become both a renowned worship leader and a voice for the lost, the broken, the unlovely. He’s back with a triumphant new record, The Rising, his fifth sixstepsrecords release, an album “about movement toward God and God’s movement toward us.” This theme, he says, “encompasses my last two years—putting some difficult things behind and moving toward life and hope and faith and embracing God in every situation.” Those difficult things include “a few really rough years of marriage” that found Hall “wrestling through it and watching God heal and bring a lot of redemption to my marriage.” “I learned so much about how to love my wife, as well as so many pictures of Christ’s love and embrace of us,” he says. “Just taking someone as they are and loving them like that, not trying to control that, but letting them bloom inside your love for them.” Echoes of his own brokenness and struggle, and the grace that’s met them, have always been a defining trait, and part of the appeal of his music. Passion and sixstepsrecords founder Louie Giglio says, "Charlie Hall's passion to make the journey of worship and the healing found in Christ accessible to people inside and outside the walls of the Church is beautifully displayed on The Rising. This new collection of songs is not only musically alive and fresh, it oozes from its core the timeless message of the one who raises and restores our lives." Those familiar with Hall’s music have come to expect a mix of songs for listening and songs for singing, and this album is no different. But, he says, “even in the things that everyone can sing that I write, I’m hoping there’s more, that the lyrics drop inside you and change the way you sing.” His goal, he says, is to write worship songs “to make the you think more than a happy Sunday morning song. I’m not thinking, ‘I want the world to sing my songs.’ I’m thinking, ‘I want to process my life spiritually and wrestle in these songs—and offer my personal journal to the church.’” The Rising finds Hall’s longtime bandmates again making significant contributions to both the songs and production. Guitarist Kendall Combes produced the record, and the band wrote collaboratively on many of the songs. Because they have been hitting the road with Hall for between six and thirteen years, “we have a good understanding of and respect for each other,” which he says “forces an honesty in trying to find a lyric where anyone who knows me would say ‘that’s true about him,’ or ‘he’s trying to find that in his life.’” On the title song, he revisits Psalm 126, which “talks about people who are freed and felt like they were coming back to life,” he says. “My favorite line in the song is the bridge: ‘our clenched fists raised slowly open to the God who saves.’ I like that picture—a fist holding onto things it should be letting go of. The God-ward thing is to lift it and open it toward God.” ”Yesterday Is Gone” is drawn from Psalm 51, a recounting of David’s repentance and restoration. Explains Hall, “It’s a way of saying over myself and over people that in God’s eyes, the past is past and not able to be recalled. We have a tough time letting things go, but He has the ability to forget.” The last track, “Sleep and Dreams,” was written for Hall’s children first (“It’s basically a prayer for rest in Jesus,” he says). But as the band worked through the song, “it started to become this multi-layered prayer for peace over trouble children and orphans—speaks this blessing and peace over people.” Other tracks include “Constant,” which has been part of the band’s repertoire for a while, and “Lamp,” which he says is about inviting God to change and guide us through the truth of Scripture. Hall senses a calling to those both inside and outside the church: “ I think I see myself as going to wash people with truth, bringing hope with me to people who may feel like outsiders. I want to come free people, to help break through a blockade so they can sing and talk to God.” With The Rising, Hall has crafted a new conduit through which he hopes listeners with do just that.

10/7/2010 - Critically Acclaimed Worship Leader Charlie Hall Desires to Draw Listeners Closer to God in Latest Release The Rising

Over the last decade, Charlie Hall has become both a renowned worship leader and a voice for the lost, the broken and the unlovely. Last week Hall returned with the triumphant new recording The Rising, which debuted at No. 14 on the Top Contemporary Christian Overall chart.

Available on CD and digitally, The Rising was produced by bandmate Kendall Combes and as a whole was a collaborative effort with many of the songs co-written by the entire band. And it is on Hall’s fifth sixstepsrecords release, that he opens up about difficult struggles he encountered over the past two years wrestling through some rough situations in his life. However, Hall learned to put the battles behind him, and embrace God in every situation as he continues to move toward life, hope and faith.

"The journey of songs that form The Rising come from the pursuit of God in everyday life and God’s pursuit of us,” says Hall. “Much like the Psalms, these songs speak of the ascension to, and the embracing of God inside the intense, peaceful and mundane places in life and all of the emotions that fill those spaces. Written from the perspective of the prodigal, poet, pastor, devoted, and the Healer, the poetry and music in this collection of songs encompass devotion to a beautiful God, and the wrestling with our wanderings and the prayers that beg God to be engaging and moving in our beautiful and broken world.”

Hall senses a calling to those both inside and outside the church. Hall’s mission is to bring the message of hope to the lost, to free people and help break through the barriers so they can openly and freely talk to God.

Passion and sixstepsrecords founder Louie Giglio says, "Charlie Hall's passion to make the journey of worship and the healing found in Christ accessible to people inside and outside the walls of the Church is beautifully displayed on The Rising. This new collection of songs is not only musically alive and fresh, it oozes from its core the timeless message of the one who raises and restores our lives."

Critics agree with Giglio, as the raving reviews continue to pour in, proving The Rising is another successful recording from the Dove Award winning artist. See what others are saying below:

“The Rising counters his characteristic introspective brokenness with resurrected hope… Juxtaposing his more moody reflections with straightforward praise, The Rising's brighter perspectives have not dulled the worship leader's artful senses… sets Hall apart as a paragon in today's worship music scene.” 4/5 stars from ChristianityToday.com

“Overall, this is a sensational album! I enjoyed it a great deal. It’s exactly what I have come to expect from Charlie Hall and then some. He never disappoints.” 9.6/10 stars from ChristianMusicReview.org

“With an album like Charlie Hall’s The Rising, it’s nearly impossible to enjoy it and stay seated. So get up! Get with it!” 8/10 stars from Soul-Audio.com

“On The Rising, Charlie and his merry band of misfits explore deep questions raised by rubbing up against the world around them, urging listeners to embrace the broken in their midst and love others the way God would. Part album, part social justice message, The Rising is about restoration and reaching out as a form of true worship.”-Rhapsody.com

For more information on Charlie Hall, please visit www.charliehall.com.

10/7/2008 - Charlie Hall's The Bright Sadness Garners Enthusiastic Reviews

7/14/2008 - Singer/Songwriter Charlie Hall Reflects on the Bright Sadness

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) July 11, 2008— sixstepsrecords and Passion worship leader/artist, Charlie Hall will release his fourth studio album, The Bright Sadness, on August 19th. The record conveys life amidst sorrow and brokenness, reminding listeners that the aching in this world is not detached from the bright, resurrecting hope in God.

A collection of songs that reflect his current journey, The Bright Sadness, according to Hall, “comes from me understanding my ordinary human condition and my deep love for Jesus and the life He brings. It is the accepting of my brokenness and that in the world around me while never losing sight of Christ’s closeness, His free fellowship, His redemption and compassion, His Brightness.”

Produced by band member Kendall Combes along with David Hodges (Evanescence), who also produced Hall’s Flying Into Daybreak (2006), The Bright Sadness delivers the band's signature modern worship sound paired with earnest, often very personal, lyrics on songs like “My Brightness” which readily confesses: Well I’ve been hit from every corner/ I’ve been thrown from side to side/ And I’m cracked up on the inside so I come to you for life. Similarly, “Knit My Heart” expresses Hall’s most heartfelt desire to be one with God: Knit my heart to you/ I’ll dream what you dream and see what you see/ Knit my heart to you, I will move in you and you move in me.

Hall explains, “The human experience can be really beautiful or really messy, sometimes at the same time. I try to take those experiences and put them into prayers or statements of faith in terms that don’t deny the experience, but views them through the constant reality of Jesus. “

Also on the album are a number of songs that Hall and his band debuted at the Passion Regional Events and the current Passion World Tour [www.passionworldtour.com] gatherings, including “Chainbreaker,” “Mystery,” “Walk the World” and “You Are God.” These and others fulfill his intent to “use music to connect people to God, to give them prayers to sing, and words to use in adoration.”

“Pushing the boundaries of what worship music is and can be, The Bright Sadness beautifully reflects the life-giver these songs applaud,” comments Louie Giglio, sixstepsrecords founder and director. “As the title vividly portrays, Charlie continues to write from that fragile space most of us have come to know as life in a broken world. Yet, in the reality of it all, Charlie always stretches us to lift our gaze and cling to the confidence that God's love is shaping our steps and holding our hearts.”

“Charlie Hall's refreshingly honest and compelling songs of worship have deeply connected once again with The Bright Sadness,” says EMI CMG Label Group President Peter York. “We at EMI CMG are blessed to partner in Charlie’s journey as he speaks to a generation with an inspiring transparency that is so rare in our industry."

The debut single from The Bright Sadness, “My Brightness,” will go for adds at all Christian radio formats on July 25, 2008. For more information on Charlie Hall, visit: www.charliehall.com or www.268generation.com.

5/3/2006 - 5 questions with Charlie Hall

If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why? I would love to visit Tokyo. I have been really intrigued by different cultures the last few years and have gotten to be in the midst of some different ones. Tokyo seems like an incredible place to see old culture and new culture merging together. What's your most embarrassing moment onstage? Ha, I have countless moments of deep embarrassment. I tend to talk off the top of my head, stream of consciousness type thing. A big embarrassment was a time we were playing in Boston. We were playing hard and a string broke on my guitar. No big deal, I laid it down and someone grabbed it to change the string. I led without a guitar for a bit, which is odd for me, but I forged ahead. The guitar was back by the first of the next song and I was relieved. I waited for a musical break, picked up the guitar and strapped it on. I lifted my hand to run my pick down the strings on the down beat in full rock and roll mode. Much to my chagrin the string had been replaced but no tuning had been done on the guitar. You would of thought a 3rd grader picked up the guitar and decided to play along with us. I just kept smiling and laid my guitar down again. You gotta know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be either a comedian or a rap artist. I'm only humorous when it isn't purposeful and I only have rhythm in my hands, which doesn't work very well for dancing while you rap. What's one goal you have as an artist? I have many goals but my main goal is to create thought and communication that people can use to pull in close to God and speak to Him. I want to free the heart to speak and sing to God. What's one question you'd like to ask God when you get to heaven? My assumption is that I will be soaking in all the wonderful things that God will be revealing to us. I think that one of the wonders of heaven will be that I will have no more questions. I am a wrestler in terms of my relationship with God and I ask him a lot of things. I always end up thinking of heaven and how it will all be downloaded in an instant - all questions answered. I guess if I'm pressed though, I would ask why He allowed certain things to go on down here.

reprinted from CCM with permission

1/26/2006 - Charlie Hall Breaks Through w/Daybreak; On Tour Now

2/11/2011 - Louisville, KY
Give Me an Answer Collegiate Conference - Recalibrate

4/1/2011 - Ft Worth, TX
Passion Conference