Grammy-nominated Atlantic recording group Skillet can now add “Drummies Award” to their list of notable achievements. Drum Magazine’s annual “Drummies Award” named Skillet’s Jen Ledger this year’s “Rising Star” in company along with drummers Chris Dave (Adele), Mike Johnstone, Dana Filloon (Junius) and Luke Holland (The Word Alive).
Check out this year’s Drummies Award winners here: http://www.drummagazine.com/drummies/awards
Skillet was named as one of the highest ranking artists featured in Billboard’s annual “The Year In Music” issue for 2011. Their album, Awake, which is nearing Platinum certification, debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart. The band will return to the studio this Fall to begin recording their forthcoming studio album with renowned Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, Gavin DeGraw, My Chemical Romance, Three Days Grace).
Atlantic recording group Skillet wrapped up an extraordinary year by being named among 2011’s biggest mainstream rock acts according to year-end charts published by Billboard and Mediabase.
The two-time Grammy-nominated band were among the highest ranking artists featured in Billboard’s annual “The Year In Music” issue, with their RIAA gold- certified album Awake approaching 900,000 in sales and included among the year’s Top 20 “Rock Albums,” Top 15 “Alternative Albums,” as well as the overall “Top Billboard 200.” The album’s chart-topping single, “Awake and Alive,” came in at No. 3 on the “Active Rock Songs” tally, with Skillet also named among the Top 10 “Active Rock Artists.” The band was also listed in the upper half of the total “Billboard 200 Artists” ranking, having spent 120 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 chart with only a handful of other acts. In addition, Awake claimed the No. 4 spot in the tally for “Billboard Christian Albums,” while Skillet was came in at No. 3 among “Billboard Christian Artists.” Mediabase, which monitors radio activity in the U.S. and Canada, declared Skillet to be the past year’s eighth “Most Played Artist” at Active Rock outlets nationwide, with “Awake and Alive” coming in as the format’s No. 3 biggest hit.
Awake has proven a true sensation, with digital single sales from the album now exceeding 2.4 million. Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), the collection reached the No. 1 spot on the iTunes “Top Albums” chart within 24 hours of its August 2009 release, while simultaneously exploding into the No. 2 spot on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 chart. Fueled by three RIAA gold certified and four top 10 Active Rock hits in “Awake and Alive,” “It’s Not Me It’s You,” “Hero,” and “Monster,” Awake was among the top 10 on Billboard’s 2010 “Top Alternative Albums” chart, with Skillet coming in at the year’s No. 7 “Top Alternative Album Artist.” “Hero” has also been used by the NFL in their Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, and a remix of the band’s No. 1 Active Rock hit “Awake & Alive," was featured on the TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon soundtrack.
One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet has consistently been ranked among Pollstar’s Concert Pulse “Top 50 Tours.” The band spent much of the past two years on the road, touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown, as well as headlining their own sold-out “Alive & Awake Tour.” Having recently returned from a major European tour (including dates in Russia, Germany, Finland, Norway and the Ukraine), Skillet is now back on tour in the U.S.
In addition to cumulative album sales in excess of 2 million, Skillet has racked up a wide range of honors throughout their extraordinary career. Frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes received two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006’s Grammy Award-nominated Comatose. That album proved Skillet’s popular breakthrough, achieving RIAA gold certification. Comatose followed the band’s 2003 label debut, Collide, which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit www.skillet.com or www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.
With current scans over 840,000 units and the RIAA Gold certification of three singles, two-time Grammy® nominated alternative rockers Skillet have now scored their 4th consecutive top 10 mainstream active rock hit with "It's Not Me It's You." Following in the footsteps of their #1 Active Rock and Christian Rock single "Awake & Alive," as well as hits "Monster" and "Hero," this success continues to further cement the band as a top rock act in both the Christian and mainstream markets.
The band was informed of this latest hit on a day off from their fall "Awake & Alive Tour," which is packing in crowds across the country before they head overseas for their first tour of Russia, Germany, Finland, Norway and the Ukraine. With ticket going fast for two back-to-back shows in Moscow, dates were added in St. Petersburg and Kalingrad.
Also on their day off the band participated in the official launch of the Winter Jam 2012 Tour Spectacular where it was announced that they will lead the annual events' all-star line up. The 47-city tour will kick-off its 17th year January 6th in Charleston, West Virginia, with slated stops at Philips Arena in Atlanta; Dallas' American Airlines Center; the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri and more before concluding April 1st at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
With three #1 hits under their belt at Christian radio with “Hero,” “Awake & Alive,” and “Forgiven," the band's latest CHR/Rock single "One Day Too Late" is already showing promise, receiving airplay on WAY-FM / Denver, CO,WAYG / Grand Rapids, MI, The Kross / Tulsa, OK., The Effect Radio Network, YES-FM / Toledo, OH, KORB / Santa Rosa, CA and more.
For more information on all things Skillet, please visit: http://www.skillet.com
The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, Christian music's largest annual tour and Pollstar’s #1 tour in attendance for the first quarter of this year, announced its highly anticipated 2012 artist and city line-up during a special launch event held earlier this evening in Nashville.
Founded and hosted by Grammy®-nominated Christian music mainstay NewSong (pictured at right) and produced by Premier Productions, the Winter Jam 2012 Tour Spectacular will be headlined by Grammy®-nominated alternative rockers Skillet. The 47-city tour will also feature Sanctus Real, former Newsboys frontman Peter Furler, Kari Jobe, Building 429, Group 1 Crew, illusionist Brock Gill, and national speaker Nick Hall. In addition, the OneVerse Pre-Jam Party will include performances from Dara Maclean, For King & Country, and We As Human. VeggieTales' Bob and Larry will also make a special appearance.
Kicking off its 17th year January 6 at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia, the tour is slated to stop at Philips Arena in Atlanta; Dallas’ American Airlines Center; the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee; the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri; Charlotte, North Carolina’s Time Warner Cable Arena; the Verizon Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas; and the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, among other leading venues, before concluding April 1 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Winter Jam admission is $10 at the door, with no ticket required.
“With one of the most powerful line-ups of Christian music’s top artists in Winter Jam history, we are thrilled to announce what promises to be our biggest tour yet,” said NewSong founding member and Winter Jam creator Eddie Carswell. “After seeing more than 90,000 people make decisions for Christ during last year’s tour, we enter Winter Jam’s 17th year of ministry excited to begin the adventure of what God has in store for us—and audiences around the country.”
Presented by Holt International, additional Winter Jam 2012 Tour Spectacular sponsors include the University of Mobile, The Creation Museum, OneVerse, Wayne E. Bailey Produce, Texas TransEastern, Premier Christian Cruises, Xtreme Conferences, and Camp Electric.
Additionally, 2012 marks the continuation of the popular Jam Nation fan program, which will offer individual and group memberships guaranteeing free and early concert admission. Members also receive a limited-edition Jam Nation t-shirt, a collectible Jam Nation Platinum Access Pass, and can participate in a Jam Nation Q&A with select tour artists, among numerous other exclusive benefits.
Since its formation by NewSong in 1995, Winter Jam has featured many of the top names in Christian music, including TobyMac, Third Day, Newsboys, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Jeremy Camp, among others. The Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular outpaced attendance for all other tours in the first quarter, including Bon Jovi, U2, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, according to Pollstar’s 2011 Worldwide First Quarter Ticket Sales “Top 100 Tours” chart. In addition, for the first time in its history, the tour will hit 11 cities in the western United States this fall.
Celebrating 30 years in Christian music, NewSong has recorded 17 albums, garnering 20 #1 Christian radio singles and a Grammy® Award nomination, in addition to being inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, among numerous other achievements. The band’s now-classic 2001 ballad, “The Christmas Shoes,” was a #1 hit at mainstream AC radio and inspired the best-selling novel and top-rated CBS television movie of the same name. NewSong’s latest recording, One True God, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Christian/Gospel Albums chart earlier this year. The project features the new single, “The Same God.” For further information on NewSong, visit www.newsongonline.com.
With RIAA Gold certification, current scans easily surpassing 800,000 units, non-stop mainstream and Christian market touring, and RIAA Gold certification for each of their three hit Active Rock and Christian Rock singles, two-time Grammy® nominated alternative rockers’ Skillets’ latest, Awake has cemented the band as a top rock act in both the Christian and mainstream markets. Awake hit the ground running debuting at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200, selling over 67,000 units and peaking at No. 1 on iTunes® overall “Top Albums” chart and “Top Rock” chart. After two years, the album remains on the Billboard Top 200 with only a handful of other mainstream acts claiming the same honor.
With massive sales has come radio, awards and tour success, as Awake boasts four Active Rock radio hits with “Monster,” which was also AOL Music’s No. 4 “Mainstream Rock Song of 2009,” the No. 1 Christian CHR & Rock single “Hero,” which has been used by the NFL in their Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, and their latest No. 1 mainstream hit “Awake & Alive," a remix of which is featured on the TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon soundtrack. And while Skillet’s intensely explosive live show consistently ranks within Pollstar’s Concert Pulse “Top 50 Tours,” the band also received the 2011 Billboard Music Award for "Top Christian Album," and was Billboard's No. 2 “Top Christian Album" and No. 9 “Top Alternative Album” in 2010. For further information on Skillet, visit www.skillet.com.
A complete list of Winter Jam 2012 Tour Spectacular dates and cities can be found at www.jamtour.com. For further information, visit www.turningpointpr.com.
It's been 99 weeks since SKILLET released AWAKE, the RIAA-Gold certified project that remains a best seller on the Billboard Top 200 with nearly 800,000 scans, and now the band has garnered their third consecutive RIAA Gold certified single with the No. 1 Active Rock and Christian radio hit, "Awake & Alive." In addition, Skillet continues to pound the touring circuit. With countless major market dates under their belt, this fall they will hit secondary markets as they headline their Awake & Alive Tour with Disciple and special guests Tooth & Nail rockers Manafest and Atlantic Records' labelmates We As Human. This tour hits following two solid years of heavy touring, including two successful AWAKE TONIGHT tours with TobyMac, numerous headline appearances at festivals, and tours with Shinedown, Papa Roach, Creed, the mainstream rock tour AVALANCHE, and more. The Skillet fan club pre-sale begins Tuesday, Aug 9th and the national on-sale starts Saturday, Aug 13th (see tour dates below).
With their latest single "It's Not Me It's You" just starting to impact Active Rock radio, and "Awake & Alive" currently featured on the TRANSFORMERS: Dark of the Moon soundtrack, the band has spent much of the summer headlining top music festivals in both the Christian and mainstream markets including Rockfest, Creation East and West, Sonshine, Kingdom Bound, Carolina Rebellion, Rocklahoma, XFest and Alive. This fall they will be featured on KROQ Los Angeles' Epicenter Rock Festival.
Awake & Alive Tour (all dates subject to change)
Date Venue City, State
10/13/11 Wicomico Arena Salisbury, MD
10/15/11 Phillips Center Gainesville, FL
10/16/11 Germain Arena Estero, FL
10/18/11 Murray State University Murray, KY
10/20/11 Wesbanco Arena Wheeling, WV
10/22/11 Cullman Fair Ground Cullman, AL
10/23/11 The Forum Rome, GA
10/25/11 Oakley Lindsay Center Quincy, IL
10/27/11 Hope Presbyterian Cordova, TN
10/29/11 Arkansas State University Mountain Home, AR
10/30/11 Emens Auditorium Muncie, IN
11/2/11 Sanford Center Bemidji, MN
11/3/11 Winona State University Winona, MN
11/4/11 Quant Field House Stevens Point, WI
11/5/11 Kimberly High School Kimberly, WI
11/6/11 Coronado Performing Arts Center Rockford, IL
Earlier this year, Skillet guitarist Ben Kasica announced his departure from the two-time Grammy nominated band. Kasica left to pursue a new venture, which he shares below in a personal letter to his fans, industry and artist peers:
Dear Friends,
Many of you know after 10 years of playing with Skillet, I've chosen to move on. Many people have questioned why I would leave a band ‘at the top’ to pursue ‘smaller’ things. Here is my answer.
When I was 16, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime – to play guitar in my favorite band Skillet. I had been a fan since I was 12, attending loads of concerts, "moshing", proudly wearing Skillet t-shirts, etc. I never thought I would ever actually be in the band. I was just a normal kid that loved God and believed He had the best for me. But, through a good friend, I got a call for an audition and somehow really believed in my heart it was going to work out. Two weeks later, I was on the road touring and playing in the band. Ten years, almost two million records, countless amazing fans and a myriad of priceless memories later, I'm here writing this memo.
I grew up on Christian music and it maintains a special and unique place in my heart for the way it inspired and shaped me as a child and for how it has contributed to my maturity as a young adult growing up in the business. I often think back to when I was a 12-year old kid, lying in bed with my headphones blaring, dreaming about being a rock star. I think every kid has moments when they dream big dreams like these. The trouble is, most don’t really know how to ever achieve those dreams, even if they know a sense of calling from God. This next phase of life for me is committed to seeing others’ dreams become reality and encouraging people along in their destiny in God.
I recently formed a company called Skies Fall Media Group. The name ‘Skies Fall’ was inspired by the imagery of the Kingdom of Heaven coming down to the earth. The mission of the company is to facilitate a wide range of creative business development in the world of the arts and media. Initially forged as a small recording and production company in 2005, the company was expanded in 2008 to take on artist development, publishing and management and become an artist-centric independent record label, Skies Fall Records. Coinciding with the record company, we operate a full-service recording studio where we are writing and producing music with our clients.
To artists, I hope to be an encouragement to you to continue in your heavenly calling and that you would know refreshment in your work; that you would be reminded of when you were a young musician dreaming of doing music, when you were on a mission to make a difference in this world, speaking the most powerful language in the world through music; that the long drives and early mornings and the absence of normal church-life would be met by a renewed desire to live out the mandate of God on your lives; that you might actually live in the fullest measure of who God created you to be.
Pope Benedict XVI met with artists in the Sistine Chapel recently and said, "You are the custodians of beauty...you have the opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity, to touch individual and collective sensibilities, to call forth dreams and hopes, to broaden the horizons of knowledge and of human engagement. Be grateful, then, for the gifts you have received and be fully conscious of your great responsibility to communicate beauty, to communicate in and through beauty! Through your art, you yourselves are to be heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity!"
I hope that together we can make a difference in the world, that we can communicate the heart of God through creativity and inspiration. I hope that together we can set precedents in business, the arts and media worthy of being modeled by the world. I hope that our success not be gauged solely by sales and numbers, but by our honor for each other, by our excellence in our spheres of influence and by the measure we allow the Spirit of God to lead us. I’m privileged and excited to join you in these endeavors.
Sincerely yours,
Ben Kasica
Skies Fall Media Group
About Skies Fall Media Group:
Skies Fall Media Group is focused on an artist-centric approach to give the artist maximum creative control and profits for their work. In 2010, they released A String Tribute to Skillet from Cellofourte (featuring Tate Olsen, cellist for Skillet). Earlier this year, they released Americana/folk artist Everett Thomas' Visions of the Sea.
Skies Fall Media Group is now gearing up for this week's release of the debut radio single, “Live for Love,” from the new band, We Are Leo. This Chicago-area based pop/rock quartet has developed their distinct brand of energetic, message-based music over the course of three years of touring, earning them a legion of loyal, grass-roots fans while playing with the likes of Skillet, Family Force 5 and House of Heroes. More information is forthcoming on their debut release this fall.
For more information on Skies Fall Media Group, please visit www.skiesfall.com.
The RIAA Gold certified Awake continues to garner recognition for the GRAMMY® nominated Skillet as they were honored with their first Billboard Music Award Sunday night for “Top Christian Album.” The 2011 Billboard Music Awards were televised live from Las Vegas, Sunday, March 22nd on ABC.
In addition, the band has landed a coveted spot on the upcoming TRANSFORMERS 3 DARK OF THE MOON Soundtrack (June 14). More details about the soundtrack will be announced soon.
Along with Awake being certified gold in just 10 months (with scans currently approaching 750,000), the record thus far has boasted three active rock hits, including their first No. 1 at mainstream active rock with “Awake & Alive,” and was Billboard's No. 2 “Top Christian Album” and No. 9 “Top Alternative Album” of 2010. After an incredible 90 weeks of release AWAKE continues to be a top seller, placing top 5 on the Current Contemporary Christian SoundScan chart last week as well as holding steadfast on the Billboard Top 200.
Named one of the top 5 “ Hardest Working Bands of 2010” on the popular concert site Songkick, Skillet unveiled a massive new production set at this weekend’s Beach Blast 2011 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The band who is known for their explosive live performance will be touring most of the summer including headlining all major festivals. For the most up to date schedule, visit http://www.skillet.com/event/.
“Awake & Alive,” the latest single from Atlantic/Ardent/INO recording group Skillet, has bulleted its way to #1 at Mainstream Active Rock Radio outlets nationwide. Their gold certified album, “AWAKE,” now features a trio of Active Rock and Christian radio blockbusters including the current hit “Awake and Alive,” the RIAA gold certified, top 5 Active Rock and Christian Rock smash, “Monster,” and the just certified RIAA gold hit “Hero,”– with digital single sales from the album now exceeding 1.5 million. “Hero,” which has already received an array of TV placements including the NFL’s Sunday Night Football, NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, ESPN, and more was most recently featured on FOX Sports’ “The Daytona 500: The American Dream,” a one-hour documentary special delivering fresh and never-before-seen footage from self-professed Skillet fan, Trevor Bayne’s historic run to Victory Lane.
In reaction to his first #1 single at mainstream radio, lead vocalist and bassist John Cooper commented, "You know, the ride we've been on with this album has just been beyond incredible, and to have this song imparticular hit #1 makes it even more so since it's about living what you believe. For it to have become such a hit, well, it's just beyond anything I could have imagined."
Additionally, Skillet recently announced the release of a new digital EP. The “AWAKE AND REMIXED” EP will feature alternative versions of songs off “AWAKE” and arrive at all DSPs on March 22nd. Named one of the top 5 20 Hardest Working Bands of 2010 on the popular concert site Songkick, Skillet will then head out on the road for the “Avalanche Tour 2011,” joining Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Art of Dying, and fellow Atlantic recording group Halestorm. The highly anticipated tour begins Thursday, March 24th at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom and then continues through early May.
Atlantic records and their GRAMMY®-Nominated rockers Skillet have announced the release of a new digital EP. The “AWAKE AND REMIXED” EP will arrive at all DSPs on March 22nd.
The EP – which features alternative versions of songs found on the RIAA gold certified album, “AWAKE,” including the current top 5 Active Rock hit, #1 Christian Rock hit “Awake and Alive” – heralds the band’s upcoming US tour. Skillet will be among the bands participating in the “Avalanche Tour 2011,” joining such hard rock luminaries as Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Art of Dying, and fellow Atlantic recording group Halestorm. The trek begins Thursday, March 24th at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom and then traverses the country through early May (see itinerary below).
“AWAKE” – which includes a trio of Active Rock and Christian Rock/CHR radio blockbusters including the current hit “Awake and Alive,” the RIAA gold certified “Hero,” and the RIAA gold certified, top 5 mainstream Active Rock smash, “Monster” – has proven a true sensation, with digital single sales from the album now exceeding 1.5 million. Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), the collection was among the top 10 on Billboard’s 2010 “Top Alternative Albums” chart, with Skillet coming in at the year’s #7 “Top Alternative Album Artist” and # 2 “Top Christian Album Artist.” Furthermore, at the close of 2010 Skillet was one of 15 artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and the Zac Brown Band to have remained on the Billboard Top 200 chart for 64 weeks or more, making “AWAKE” #74 on Billboard’s 2010 “Top 200 Albums.” “AWAKE” reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Albums” chart within 24 hours of its August 2009 release, while simultaneously exploding into the #2 spot on the SoundScan/Billboard 200.
One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet spent much of 2010 on the road, touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown as well as headlining their own “Alive & Awake Tour” and twice co-headlining the “Awake Tonight Tour” with TobyMac as well as a summer tour with Creed. Following Avalanche Skillet will headline a vast array of summer music festivals including Creation, Alive, Sonshine, Lifefest, Kingdom Bound, Soulfest, Rock the Desert, Night of Joy at Disney World and more.
Founded in 1996, Skillet has earned rapturous praise for their inspirational and intense approach to hard-edged alternative rock. Hit Parader celebrated Skillet for “(bringing) to mind the kind of slick, studio-savvy work that made vintage Aerosmith and Bon Jovi so much fun to listen to.” “Skillet…continually push their musical muscle with soaring guitar work interspersed with their take on 80’s hair-metal ballads,” declared Mix.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit www.skillet.com or www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.
Currently down under for an Australasia tour, Atlantic/Ardent/INO rockers SKILLET have reached yet another career milestone as their digital singles from the RIAA Gold - certified 2009 release, AWAKE surpass 1.5 million digital downloads. The band is also celebrating their third consecutive mainstream Active Rock single with "Awake & Alive," and will trek across the U.S. this spring on the first annual mainstream Avalanche tour (more details below).
Appearing on both the mainstream Top Alternative Rock and Top Christian Billboard Year End charts, SKILLET occupied several coveted positions including:
TOP ALTERNATIVE ROCK 2010:
#9 Top Alternative Album
# 7 Top Alternative Album artist
#14 Top Rock Album
In addition, on the year-end radio charts, MEDIABASE listed Skillet as the 8th most played Active Rock artist of the year, with “Monster” being the 11th most played Active Rock song of the year. The band shares the honor with such rock mainstays as Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Alice In Chains, Shinedown and others.
TOP CHRISTIAN 2010:
#2 Top Christian Album Artist and Christian Album
#3 Top Christian CHR Song with "Awake & Alive"
#7 Top Christian CHR Artist
Near the close of 2010 as one of only 15 artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga and the Zac Brown Band to have remained on the Billboard Top 200 chart for 64 weeks or more, AWAKE kept a high profile to the end, landing at #74, with a record that has been at retail for nearly 1.5 years.
Closing in on 700k scans for AWAKE, as well as Gold certification for the digital single of "Hero," the band will be a part of the first -annual Avalanche Tour this spring. Avalanche will hit 35 U.S. cities from March 24 in SKILLET's adopted hometown area of Chicago, through May 8, where SKILLET will support mainstream heavyweights Stone Sour and Theory of A Dead Man. Tickets go on sale Saturday, February 5 at www.AvalancheTour.com.
For Christian radio, following their single “Forgiven,” which spent several weeks at #1 on both the CHR and Rock charts will be “Lucy,” one of AWAKE’s most emotionally driven ballads.
Always a favorite at the Christian summer festivals, SKILLET will headline several once again this summer, including Creation, Alive, Sonshine, Lifest, Kingdom Bound, Soulfest, Rock the Desert, Night of Joy at Disney World and more.
On the heels of their latest project AWAKE receiving RIAA Gold status in just 10 months, Atlantic/Ardent/INO rockers Skillet are now celebrating the Gold certification (over 500,000 units) of their digital single for the smash hit "Monster." In addition to being a top 5 Active Mainstream Rock single, "Monster" was also a hit Christian rock single , and was used during the “25th Anniversary of WrestleMania – World Television Premiere” on NBC.
Radio has continued to bring Skillet to the top as well, as they garner another #1 single from AWAKE with "Forgiven" on Christian CHR and Rock, following in the footsteps of the project's previous #1 Christian singles, "Awake & Alive," which in just six weeks has already broken top 20 and continues to climb the mainstream active Rock chart as well, and "Hero," which was a top 12 Active Rock Single and has been used on Sunday Night Football, NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, ESPN College sports, and much more.
As strong album sales continue to keep them in the top 10 of the Christian sales chart, and on the Billboard top 200, impressively, only 14 other acts have been on the chart longer than AWAKE's consistent 64 weeks. The elite list includes megastars such as Taylor Swift, Daughtry, The Zach Brown Band, Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga.
As radio and sales continue to take Skillet to new levels in their career, 2010 has been another year of constant touring for the band, which has meant numerous sold out shows and exciting headlining moments at summer festivals across the country. The band kicked off 2010 touring with labelmates Shinedown, and then co-headlined the very successful "Awake Tonight" tour with TobyMac before heading out on their own capacity crowd tour and hitting the summer festival season. "The 2010 Tour" with Creed led into one of the fall's most rocking tours as they co-billed with Papa Roach, and last week Skillet once again teamed up with TobyMac on the "Winter Wonder Slam presents The Awake Tonight Tour." So anticipated is this fall tour that in its third night, the acts' sold out The Target Center in Minneapolis with over 13,000 fans.
Skillet will kick off 2011 in international style as they launch an AustralAsia tour in support of AWAKE to Australia, New Zealand and Japan (tour dates listed below).
In a fast and furious 10 months, “AWAKE,” the latest album from Atlantic/Ardent/INO recording group Skillet, has been certified gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000. The album – which includes two Active Rock radio blockbusters in the top 5 hit, “Monster,” which also ranked in at No. 2 at Christian Rock, and the top 12 smash and No. 1 CHR and Christian Rock hit, “Hero” – continues to reign as a hard rock favorite, standing strong in the upper half of the Billboard 200. The band just released their latest single at Christian radio, “Forgiven.”
Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), “AWAKE” reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Albums” chart within 24 hours of its release last August. The album also made a blockbuster debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200, entering the chart at #2.
Skillet is currently on the road as part of Creed’s “20-10 Tour,” with dates continuing through early September. In addition, the Grammy-nominated rock outfit will be among the top artists appearing at a number of upcoming summer festivals, including a headline slot on the “Rock The River” festival tour of Western Canada. Beginning October 1st, Skillet will join Papa Roach for the co-headline Monsters Of Annihilation Tour also featuring Trapt and My Darkest Days. The highly anticipated 16-city Awake Tonight Tour with TobyMac and presented by Winter Wonder Slam, will launch November 11 in Springfield, IL and carry through until December 12. For complete tour details and ticket information, please visit www.skillet.com.
One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet spent the first part of 2010 touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown, as well as co-headlining the hugely successful debut of the Awake Tonight Tour with TobyMac. Skillet’s headline tours ranked with Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours and recently landed the band on the cover of the magazine. In addition, the band has shared stages with such acts as Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Seether, and Puddle of Mudd.
“Hero” has received an array of high-profile placements, including THQ’s WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 video game. Various tracks from “AWAKE” have received major TV placements including NBC Sunday Night Football, NBC's "The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania” and MTV's “Bully Beatdown.”
In addition to cumulative album sales now approaching 2 million, Skillet has racked up a wide range of honors throughout their extraordinary career, including multiple Grammy nominations and two BMI Music Award wins for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on the gold certified COMATOSE.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit www.skillet.com or www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.
SKILLET has just been confirmed as a special guest for select dates on CREED’s “20-10 Tour” dates (specific Skillet dates listed below in full tour schedule).
“The 20 -10 Tour” kicks off on July 28th in Washington D.C., and was named because the first 2,010 reserved seats are $20 all-in. This means fans pay a flat rate with no added service charges, and the remaining seats will be priced at $20 or $10, plus applicable ticketing fees. A full itinerary and lineup can be found below.
GRAMMY ® nominated recording group SKILLET is set to take their explosive live show on the road once again in support of their highly acclaimed album, AWAKE, which made a blockbuster debut on the Billboard 200, entering the chart at #2. The album continues to reign as a favorite, ascending the upper half of the Billboard 200. Even after 36 weeks since AWAKE’s release, the album has returned to the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Current Contemporary Christian Soundscan Chart. AWAKE is highlighted by the Top 5 Active Rock smash, "Monster" and the electrifying, "Hero," which is now top 20 at mainstream Active Rock radio after only six weeks.
SKILLET just finished their hugely successful co-headlining AWAKE TONIGHT tour with tobyMac last month, and is currently touring under their headline run for the AWAKE & ALIVE tour through late May.
The band’s latest Christian radio single “Awake & Alive” is currently No. 1 at Christian Rock and Top 5 at CHR.
“The 20 -10 Tour” will feature new songs from CREED such as “Rain,” “Overcome” and “A Thousand Faces” from Full Circle, the bands 2009 release and first new album in eight years, as well as hits such as “Higher,” “My Sacrifice,” “With Arms Wide Open,” “One” and “What’s This Life For.” Creed has sold close to 35 million albums and has performed live in front of millions since forming in 1995. Creed has received numerous accolades, including several American Music and Billboard Awards, and the band won the GRAMMY ® for Best Rock Song for “With Arms Wide Open.”
Citi(R) cardmembers will have access to pre-sale tickets through Citi's Private Pass(R) Program beginning in select markets. For complete presale details visit www.citiprivatepass.com.
Tickets for “The 20-10 Tour” concerts will be available through all Ticketmaster outlets, through LiveNation.com, or charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000 (except the show on August 20th in Gilford, NH). Dates and times are subject to change without notice.
Tickets for the August 20th Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion concert in Gilford, NH will be available through the venue's Box Office, by calling 603-293-4700 and at select ticket locations. Check http://www.meadowbrook.net/?page=ticket_info for additional information.
Nashville, Tenn. April 6, 2010… Skillet’s new music video for their current hit Christian radio single “Awake and Alive,” from their latest and best selling album Awake, will debut exclusively this Wednesday, April 7 on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s (BGEA) Ransom.tv. The song is currently top 5 on the CHR radio charts as well as No. 6 on the Christian Rock chart.
The new video was produced by BGEA, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., and is based mostly on a live Skillet performance in Chattanooga, Tenn. with additional footage shot backstage by the band. Photos from the video shoot are currently available at www.facebook.com/WeAreRansom.
“Skillet is one of those unique bands who’ve been able to stretch beyond the Christian market and impact mainstream audiences,” explains Kevin Adamson, Ransom Producer and spokesperson. “These guys are passionate about the Gospel and living out their faith. This is why we hand-picked them for Ransom, and why we’re excited to debut this video.”
Ransom.tv aims to address some of life’s toughest questions with compelling content – in a format custom-designed for the “millennial” generation, ages 15-25. The site features videos, culturally relevant articles, testimonials, devotions and other engaging pieces on real topics to encourage a deeper relationship with Jesus.
As they close out the hugely successful AWAKE TONIGHT tour with TobyMac this week, Skillet will launch their next headline run, the AWAKE & ALIVE Tour on April 15th in Scranton, Pennsylvania continuing through late May.
Atlantic/Ardent/INO's Artist and Group of the Year Dove-nominated recording group Skillet has announced details of their upcoming headline tour. The “Awake & Alive Tour” begins April 15th at Scranton, Pennsylvania’s Scranton Cultural Center and then continues through late May (see itinerary below). Joining the Grammy-nominated rock outfit on the trek will be fellow nominees RED, whose most recent effort, “Innocence & Instinct,” climbed its way to the Top 5 on iTunes Top Albums chart. Also joining the tour will be hard rock outfit, The Letter Black.
One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet – who spent the first part of 2010 touring alongside Atlantic labelmates Shinedown – is currently co-headlining the “Awake Tonight” tour with TobyMac, which kicked off to several sold out shows last week, and will also be headlining a number of upcoming summer festivals.
The “Awake & Alive Tour” celebrates the continuing success of Skillet’s acclaimed new album, “AWAKE,” which reached the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Albums” chart within 24 hours of its release last summer. The album also made a blockbuster debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200, entering the chart at #2. The album continues to reign as a favorite, ascending the upper half of the Billboard 200.
Produced by Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf), “AWAKE” is highlighted by the electrifying single, “Monster.” The track is currently a top 5 smash at Active Rock outlets nationwide, while also scoring top 20 airplay at Mainstream Rock.
What’s more, “Hero” – the second mainstream single from “AWAKE” – has been featured in an array of high-profile promotional campaigns, including WWE’s annual Royal Rumble pay-per-view and is set to arrive at Active Rock outlets this week. Likewise, “Hero” has already hit the top spot on the Christian CHR and Rock charts, and now, after being the most-added it’s first week out, the second Christian radio single “Awake & Alive,” is already Top 10 at Christian rock and Top 15 at CHR.
Founded in 1996, Skillet has earned rapturous praise for their inspirational and intense approach to hard-edged alternative rock. Continually gaining praise in the Christian market, the mainstream is following suit, with Hit Parader celebrating Skillet for “(bringing) to mind the kind of slick, studio-savvy work that made vintage Aerosmith and Bon Jovi so much fun to listen to.” “Skillet…continually push their musical muscle with soaring guitar work interspersed with their take on 80’s hair-metal ballads,” declared Mix.
In addition to cumulative album sales in excess of 1.6 million, Skillet has racked up a wide range of honors throughout their extraordinary career. Frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes recently collected two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006’s Grammy Award-nominated “COMATOSE.” That album proved Skillet’s most popular work to date, achieving RIAA gold certification. “COMATOSE” followed the band’s 2003 label debut, “COLLIDE,” which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy Award nomination.
For up-to-the-minute news and information, visit
www.skillet.com or
www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.
SKILLET AWAKE & ALIVE TOUR w/ RED and The Letter Black
(all dates subject to change)
APRIL
15 Scranton, PA Scranton Cultural Center
18 Charlotte, NC Bojangles Coliseum
22 Raleigh, NC TBA
23 Savannah, GA TBA
24 Aiken, SC USC Aiken Convocation Center
25 Pensacola, FL Saenger Theater
29 Lafayette, LA Cajundome Convention Center
MAY
2 Jonesboro, AR ASU Convocation Center
4 Ft. Smith, AR Ft. Smith Convention Center
6 Park City, KS Hartman Arena
7 Dodge City, KS Dodge City Civic Center
9 Topeka, KS Kansas Expocentre
11 Bismarck, ND Bismarck Civic Center
13 Rapid City, SD Rushmore Plaza Civic Center
15 Fargo, ND Urban Plains Center
20 Saginaw, MI Dow Event Center (Theater)
21 East Lansing, MI Michigan State Univ. Concert Auditorium
In what many are already calling one of the best line up’s in the history of Christian touring, two of the industry’s biggest acts, SKILLET & TOBYMAC, have joined forces for the AWAKE TONIGHT tour this spring (see dates below).
Sure to be an evening of pure adrenaline and energy, the tour will hit over 20 cities throughout March and April, kicking off on March 5th in Indiana (current tour routing below). Both John Cooper of Skillet and TobyMac recently spoke about the fun they’ll have out on the road together and their excitement about the tour in CCM Magazine’s new digital issue, featuring TobyMac on the cover, which can be seen at: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/salem/ccm_201001/
“Every year people say this is the "must see" tour,” comments Awakening Events’ Dan Fife, who is promoting several shows on the AWAKE TONIGHT tour. “This Spring the TobyMac & Skillet pairing has created the ultimate concert EXPERIENCE. With two headliners on the same stage, that have this much energy to offer night after night, all I can say is go get a ticket. You don't want to be the unlucky person that spends the rest of their life wishing they were there.”
With all three of TobyMac’s solo projects receiving GRAMMY® nominations, and his live CD/DVD taking home a GRAMMY® award, the much-celebrated and acclaimed artist is now celebrating his fifth consecutive GRAMMY® nomination with his new single, “City On Our Knees” receiving a nod for Best Gospel song. The track will be included on TobyMac’s February 9th release, “TONIGHT," and has topped the sales and radio charts faster than any of his previous singles, spending 8 weeks at #1 on the Christian Audience Chart.
Each of TobyMac’s studio releases, "Momentum" (2001),"Welcome to Diverse City" (2004), and “Portable Sounds (2007),” were awarded RIAA Gold Certification, with "Portable Sounds” making his highest solo debut ever on the Billboard Top 200 chart (No. 10), and hitting No. 1 on SoundScan’s Contemporary Christian Overall chart in its first week with over 50k in sales. Along with sold out tour dates, back-to-back radio hits, being named the GMA Dove Award’s 2008 Artist of the Year, and R&R’s Christian CHR Artist of the Year in 2007, TobyMac was nominated for a 2007 American Music Award as Favorite Inspirational Artist. His song “Ignition” was also chosen to play during the 2009 Superbowl as The Arizona Cardinals entered the stadium in Tampa, FL. For more information on TobyMac, go to: http://www.tobymac.com
Skillet’s latest, AWAKE, continues to propel the incredible momentum the rock outfit has going for them with a blockbuster debut at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200, selling over 67,000 units and peaking at No. 1 on iTune’s “Top Albums” chart and “Top Rock” chart. Already over 300k in scans in just 20 weeks (more than double that of the GOLD selling COMATOSE), AWAKE was Amazon.com’s best selling Christian CD of 2009, and boasts the No. 4 mainstream Active Rock single in the country with “Monster,” which was also AOL Music’s No. 4 mainstream rock song of last year, and the No. 1 Christian CHR & Rock single, “Hero,” which has been used all season long by the NFL in their, Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos.
Skillet has toured with the likes of mainstream megastars Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Seether and Flyleaf, and headlined a slew of major Christian festivals, all followed by solo tours that ranked within Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours. Along the way, the two-time Grammy®-nominated alternative rockers also scored seven consecutive number one Christian radio singles, a 2008 GMA Dove Award for “Rock Song of the Year,” and a 2009 nomination for Artist of the Year. Along with a trio of singles on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock charts, a pair of BMI Songwriting Awards, and being chosen as Reader’s Poll favorites on several top ccm websites, they also released their first ever concert CD/DVD combo pack “Comatose Comes Alive.”
**Atlantic/Ardent/INO rock outfit SKILLET has slammed into 2010 following an incredibly successful 2009 with their best selling project, AWAKE:
-Already over 300k in scans in just 20 weeks (more than double that of the GOLD selling COMATOSE), AWAKE was a critic and fan fave last year, Amazon.com’s best selling Christian CD of 2009, and now boasts the No. 4 mainstream Active Rock single in the country with “Monster,” which was also AOL Music’s No. 4 mainstream rock song of last year.
-“Monster” has proven to be just that for Skillet, with fans purchasing so many digital copies over the holiday, their sales increased almost 300%.
In addition to all the success “Monster” is having, their No. 1 Christian rock and CHR track, “Hero,” has been creating a great buzz as well:
-‘Hero” will be used in the upcoming trailers and promos for the new Twentieth Century Fox film, “Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” which stars Pierce Brosnan and Uma Thurman and is based on the best-selling book by Rick Riordan.
-“Hero” has been used all season long by the NFL in their, Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos.
-The WWE will use the song once again as the official theme song for WWE’s Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View on January 31st. “Hero” was
also a featured as part of the soundtrack to the WWE’s Tribute To The Troops TV Special, which aired just before Christmas on NBC. Skillet was promoted alongside other contributing artists including Bob Dylan, Bon Jovi, and Nickelback. WWE programming reaches nearly 16 million people per week in the U.S., and WWE.com
currently averages 14 million unique visitors worldwide monthly, providing more than 28 million video streams.
-In follow up to their fall AWAKE & ALIVE tour, which, due to numerous sell out shows made Pollstar’s Concert Pulse’s Top 50 tours
for the fall, Skillet will hit the road with mainstream rockers Shinedown and Puddle of Mudd for the Sound of Madness 2010 tour beginning January 21st in Providence, RI.
- In March and April Skillet will co-headline the AWAKE TONIGHT tour with TobyMac for one of the most anticipated tours of the spring for the Christian concert arena. Tour dates will be announced soon.
For tour dates go to http://www.skillet.com
NASHVILLE, TN...11/18/09.....As their “AWAKE & ALIVE” tour packs houses across the U.S., Atlantic/Ardent/INO rockers SKILLET’s 2006 release, “COMATOSE,” has been certified GOLD by the RIAA, while their latest effort, “AWAKE,” which debuted on the Billboard Top 200 at No. 2, has surpassed 200,000 units in just 12 weeks. Likewise, “AWAKE” remains a top-ten charting Christian project, best-selling CD overall on Billboard’s Top 200, a top 30 best-seller on iTunes® Rock album chart, and boasts the No. 2 and No. 8 top Christian digital singles with “Monster” and “Hero” respectively.
**ACTIVE ROCK RADIO TOP 10, MTV2 and FUSE
-Along with album sales, mainstream Active Rock radio and video channels like MTV2 and FUSE are also propelling SKILLET:
**Active Rock radio has given Skillet a top 10 single with “Monster,” hitting No. 9 with a bullet on BDS this week and No. 10 with a bullet at MediaBase.
**MTV2: As their music video for “Monster” recently moved into MTV2’s ELITE 8, the band also hosted the network’s Rock the Deuce show and talked about their favorite videos and more. Rock the Deuce calls itself “the heaviest rock show in American history.” Catch clips from the show at: http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/446208/skillet-on-what-band-theyd-love-to-tour-with.jhtml#id=1623864
**FUSE
“Monster” is a hit on both the network’s Number One Rock Countdown show and Viewers Choice.
**TOUR SELLING OUT AND PACKING HOUSES COAST TO COAST:
**As their “Awake & Alive” Tour rolls across the U.S., the band has rocked sold out and capacity crowds in Chicago, Tulsa, Columbus, Boston, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Boise, Denver, Minneapolis, Des Moines and more.
**Skillet recently announced they will be touring with SHINEDOWN and PUDDLE OF MUDD in January and February 2010. For tour dates and updates go to: http://www.skillet.com or http://myspace.com/skilletmusic.
**HOT TOPIC stores nationwide will be carrying Skillet merchandise in time for the holiday season.
** Along with NBC’s use of “Hero” for Sunday Night Football and NFL Weekend Kickoff promos, an exclusive video performance of “Monster” opening each week’s ACC College Football games with Raycom Sports, and WWE’s use of the song for NBC’s nationally televised 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania special and WWE’s new “Smackdown vs. Raw 2010” video, FOX recently picked up “Hero” to open the third game of the World Series. In addition, the popular soap opera “One Life To Live” has been using “Awake & Alive” in promos for the month of November.
Calling all Skillet fans on Facebook! The band will be hosting a live chat session on October 27th via Facebook and partner UStream. Skillet will be answering questions and talking to fans starting 6:00 PM EST / 3:00 PM PST, so don't miss this chance to interact with the band as they celebrate the release of their latest album, Awake, featuring the radio hit single, "Monster," and the track "Hero." Visit their official Facebook page (Skillet LIVE section) for all the info, and grab the album now from iTunes .
Skillet is currently in the midst of their Awake and Alive Tour, with Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and The Letter Black. See their Myspace page for the full list of dates and ticket information.
“AWAKE,” the acclaimed new album from Atlantic/Ardent/INO recording group Skillet, has made a blockbuster chart debut, entering the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #2, with sales of 67,611. The project also debuted at #1 on SoundScan’s overall Contemporary Christian sales chart.
The album is also shaping up as a digital phenomenon, with the Deluxe Version reaching the #1 spot on the iTunes Store’s “Top Albums” chart and “Top Rock Chart” within 24 hours of its release. The “AWAKE” Deluxe Version is currently #3 on iTunes’ “Top Rock Albums” chart, while standing strong as a top 12 success on the overall sales ranking.
Produced by Howard Benson (Daughtry, Flyleaf), “AWAKE” is highlighted by the electrifying new singles, “Monster” and “Hero.” “Monster” is currently approaching the top 20 at Active Rock outlets nationwide, while a companion video is in post-production. In addition, the band’s performance of “Monster” will open as the official theme song each week during the upcoming ACC College Football season, as well as on the soundtrack to MTV’s new hit series, Bully Beatdown. NBC recently aired the song during The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania special, and “Monster,” along with “Hero,” will be a part of the upcoming video game, WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010.
What’s more, “Hero” (already #1 at Christian rock and currently #2 at CHR) is featured in the promotional campaign heralding the new season of NBC Sunday Night Football. A companion video for “Hero” is also in production, with a premiere date to be announced soon.
One of America’s hardest working live acts, Skillet will celebrate the breakthrough success of “AWAKE” with the 50-city “Awake & Alive Tour,” set to launch on September 24th at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Embassy Theater (see below itinerary). The headline tour will then travel the country through early December. Skillet’s special guests on the “Awake & Alive” tour will be Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down, and The Letter Black.
Skillet frontman John Cooper and producer Brian Howes recently collected two BMI Music Awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get,” both featured on 2006’s Grammy® Award-nominated “COMATOSE.” That album proved Skillet’s most popular work to date, with sales now approaching RIAA gold certification. “COMATOSE” followed the band’s 2003 label debut, “COLLIDE,” which launched Skillet into the mainstream while also garnering their first Grammy® Award nomination.
**As they near the close of an exciting street week, SKILLET’s active rock single “Monster” (currently #26 on the Active Rock BDS/Billboard chart and #28 on the Mediabase chart) will be used during the “25th Anniversary of WrestleMania – World Television Premiere” this Sunday, August 29th on NBC at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). This Special will feature all the action from the original April 5, 2009 Pay Per View broadcast, but condensed to one hour. Unforgettable performances will be highlighted from WWE Superstars including Triple H, Randy Orton, John Cena, Big Show, Edge, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy and many others.
**WWE programming reaches nearly 16 million people per week in the U.S., and is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide. "WWE Superstars" is the newest addition to WWEs line up, a one-hour show, which recently premiered on April 16th, 2009 and has been WGN America’s most-watched Thursday telecast every week since its premiere.
*As their new album “AWAKE” (Atlantic/Ardent/INO) hits stores and digital domains all over the nation this week, SKILLET is psyched to know that digital consumers have responded immediately on iTunes®. In less than 24 hours it became the #1 (deluxe version) and #4 best-selling project on the overall iTunes® sales chart as well as it’s rock sales chart.
**Radio is also on board with “AWAKE,” as the first Christian CHR single, “Hero” continues its climb to the top at #2 this week, previously hitting #1 on the Christian Rock format earlier this month. In addition, Active Rock is making way for “Monster,” as the track, currently #26 on the Active Rock BDS/Billboard chart and #28 on the Mediabase chart, has been added to stations in key markets including Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Detroit and many more.
**SKILLET’s 50 city “AWAKE & ALIVE” fall tour, which will feature Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and The Letter Black, will launch on September 24th and rock across the country, landing in markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Dallas, and their hometown base of Chicago.
**”AWAKE” is also continuing to get media’s attention in a big way, currently on the cover of HM (attached), a ‘site takeover’ with CCMmagazine.com, numerous features, a skype interview on CBNNews.org , and spectacular reviews, including the following:
“… Skillet has once again outdone the competition.” – CCMmagazine.com
“The bottom line here is that Awake shows us all that Skillet is like a fine wine ... better and better with age. All 12 tracks come as close to excellent as you will find in today's musical landscape. This is a "must have" CD for any Christian rock fan and it's one that will be gracing my CD player for many years to come.” – About.com
“Skillet's music has a, 'Midas-like gold touch'” – CMSpin.com
“… this should be another Grammy nomination for Skillet.” – RockEyez.com
“… best Skillet record to date.” – Melodic.net
“Awake is Skillet’s action-adventure summer blockbuster....aggressive, splashy and entertaining.” – ChristianMusicToday.com (Christianity Today)
“… a new noticeable evolution of their music sure to connect with longtime panheads and open the floodgates to mainstream music rock fans who have never heard their music.” – StereoTruth.net
“It's been a long wait for an all-new Skillet CD, but the result is worth it. Skillet fans are sure to embrace Awake, another strong addition to the band's discography.” - Beyondtheturntable.net
“ Skillet is truly one of today’s most innovative, entertaining and inspiring modern rock bands.”
- Andy Argyrakis (freelancer writer with ChristianMusicToday.com, HearSay magazine, CCMmagazine.com and GospelMusicChannel.com)
“ .... thunderous, motivating, and will do its best to wake your heart up and sync it with its rhythms. The beats are pulsing in our brains, the truth is resonating in our hearts—we love this album!”
-YouthWalk magazine
“ .. this record easily stands out as the best work the band has done in years, possibly of their career. This is the one that will fully bring Skillet into the mainstream spotlight.”
-UndertheGunreviews.net
NASHVILLE, TN....7/17/09....As they prepare for the August 25th release of their already-critically acclaimed CD “AWAKE” (Atlantic/Ardent/INO), the GRAMMY® nominated outfit SKILLET is celebrating a new #1 Rock single with “HERO” and has announced plans for their 50 city “AWAKE & ALIVE” fall tour, which will feature Hawk Nelson, Decyfer Down and The Letter Black (see details on each band below).
On the heels of fall and spring legs of their “COMATOSE” tour, which saw an average of 70% of their shows sell out and also landed them in Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 tours, SKILLET will spend September to December rocking across the country, hitting such major markets as New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Dallas, and their hometown base of Chicago (full tour schedule below). As they become more and more well known for their electric, pulsating and of course rocking live show, lead singer John Cooper says the band will continue to push the envelope when it comes to giving their fans the best show possible:
“Skillet wants this to be the biggest, baddest tour we’ve ever done, and we’re happy to be going out with these bands” he says. “We always try to put everything we have into our shows and the “Awake and Alive” tour will not disappoint – we’re pulling out all the bells and whistles we can, and these new songs are going to be incredible to perform live. We can’t wait to get out there and see everyone – our fans are amazing.”
“AWAKE” SINGLE SUCCESS & EARLY CRTICIAL ACCLAIM:
As “Hero,” the first radio single from “AWAKE” is also climbing the CHR Christian rock charts, this week jumping to #11, and continues to be a top 20 best-selling i-Tunes® rock single, “Monster” will be solicited to Mainstream and Active Rock radio this month.
To top it all off, with over a month before “AWAKE” hits the market, SKILLET is already garnering critical acclaim for their 7th studio project:
“While Comatose marked Skillet’s arrival on the mainstream scene without ever abandoning its Christian roots, Awake marks its full-fledged domination of both scenes simultaneously. Loaded with fist pumping rockers, heart wrenching ballads and thought provoking lyrics of social and spiritual sensibility no matter what the style, Skillet is truly one of today’s most innovative, entertaining and inspiring modern rock bands.”
- Andy Argyrakis (freelancer writer with ChristianMusicToday.com, HearSay magazine, CCMmagazine.com and GospelMusicChannel.com)
“ ’Awake,’ the latest from hard rockers Skillet, is thunderous, motivating, and will do its best to wake your heart up and sync it with its rhythms. The beats are pulsing in our brains, the truth is resonating in our hearts—we love this album!”
-YouthWalk magazine
“ ‘Awake’ wastes no time giving fans plenty to cheer about. In fact, I would say this record easily stands out as the best work the band has done in years, possibly of their career. I know I’m going out on a limb here, but I predict this record will be at least twice as successful as the last. This is it. This is the one that will fully bring Skillet into the mainstream spotlight.”
-UndertheGunreviews.net
NASHVILLE, TN…6/22/09…On the heels of the most successful record of their career, Atlantic/Ardent/INO Records’ active rockers Skillet will end the nearly 3-year spanse between projects with “AWAKE,” available in stores and at all online retailers on August 25th.
Produced by Howard Benson, (Daughtry, My Chemical Romance, The All American Rejects), the project is available now for pre-order via the band’s official website, http://skillet.com . A variety of packages are being offered, pairing the album with such bonuses as an exclusive Skillet t-shirt, an autographed VIP pass, and membership in Skillet’s official fan club. All pre-orders of “AWAKE” come with an immediate download of “Hero.”
Now, as they headline and are creating a big buzz at the summer Christian festivals with their ‘electric’ live show, Skillet prepares to unveil what lead-singer/bassist and primary songwriter John Cooper calls a “turning of a page” for the band. “This album is even more immediate than “Comatose,” but there’s also a noticeable maturity,” he says. “Some of the songs are complex, others are just really intense rockers and overall there’s a real sense that we’re opening a new chapter. There are definitely some classic rock elements on the record, some very melodic moments with orchestration and piano, along with a lot of today’s heavier rock influences as well. ”
The first example is the hook-heavy lead single “Hero,” already climbing Christian CHR (#15) and Rock radio (#6) charts, and getting an excellent reception:
“We've anxiously awaited a new song from Skillet for months and they've lived up to our lofty hopes,” commented WAY-FM’S Zach Boehm. “Our initial listener response has been great!”
Other outpourings include the first Mainstream and Active Rock single “Monster,” the militant “It’s Not Me,” and the hopeful “Forgiven.” There are also a handful of gripping ballads and crossover songs like the loss-centered “Lucy,” the melodic “Don’t Wake Me” and “One Day Too Late.” “Never Surrender” came from a conversation with a fan about their eating disorder, and what is sure to become a live show favorite is the rocker “Awake & Alive.”
“We’re living in hard times right now between the news that seems to get crazier every day and all the uncertainly throughout society in general,” says Cooper. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like there’s hope, and sure you can choose to give up, but why not face it ‘Awake and Alive’? Life is full of challenges, and sometimes when you look deep into yourself, you can feel weighed down by sin and the ‘Monster’ that lives inside us all. But the more you realize your need for Christ, the less you focus on that, and on Him instead. Everything we sing about on this album is something someone can relate to, and if anything, the songs will let you know you’re not alone.”
Multi-platinum Christian rock band P.O.D., currently on hiatus following a lengthy world tour, will make its 2009 concert debut as part of a 14-act lineup announced today for Disney’s Night of Joy Sept. 11-12 at Walt Disney World Resort. The musically diverse event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park also will feature MercyMe, newsboys, Skillet, Flyleaf, Chris Tomlin, Kutless, Jars of Clay, Grits, Leeland, NEEDTOBREATHE, Superchick, Mandisa and Family Force 5.
Seven acts will perform each evening between 7 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. at stage locations throughout the park. Night of Joy begins after regular park operating hours, with concerts and select park attractions available exclusively for the enjoyment of event ticket holders.
P.O.D. is among four acts new to Night of Joy (along with Grits, NEEDTOBREATHE and Family Force 5), joining a legacy of 134 Christian music acts that have played Night of Joy since 1983. While a Disney “newbie,” the southern California-based band that fuses hard rock with hip-hop, reggae and Latin music is well known in music circles. They’ve been a hit on MTV, won two GMA Dove Awards, been Grammy-nominated, had two platinum-certified albums – one triple platinum – and in past summers played some of the north’s biggest Christian festivals.
But in spring/summer 2009, P.O.D. is chillin’: Vocalist Sonny Sandoval and the rest of the band are home in SoCal enjoying family life following a seven-month world tour that wound up in South America in December, making their Sept. 11 date at Disney P.O.D.’s first gig of the year.
“In the past year we’ve been blessed to play all around the globe but performing at Disney World excites me most of all,” Sandoval said.
The complete Sept. 11 Night of Joy lineup: P.O.D., newsboys, Kutless, Tomlin, NEEDTOBREATHE, Leeland and Superchick.
On Sept. 12, the Studios’ stages will present: Skillet, MercyMe, Jars of Clay, Flyleaf, Family Force 5, Grits and Mandisa.
Eight of the acts are nominated for Gospel Music Association Dove Awards in 2009, topped by Tomlin with seven nominations including artist of the year. Other nominees are Kutless, Leeland, NEEDTOBREATHE, Skillet, MercyMe, Mandisa and Grits.
For Mandisa, Night of Joy will mark her second “guest appearance” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2009. On Feb. 12, she was among an unprecedented gathering of 27 “American Idol” finalists – including the winners from each of the show’s first seven seasons – who participated in a Hollywood gala-style event to premiere “The American Idol Experience.” The new attraction immerses guests in the excitement of the hit TV show “American Idol,” with some guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios auditioning to take the spotlight onstage, while fellow guests cheer them on from the audience and vote for their favorite singer with instant results.
With an innovative ticket – exclusively for groups of 10 or more – that combines a “day” visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Night of Joy admission that evening, guests will have a chance to participate in “The American Idol Experience.” And by booking on or before Aug. 12, the Studios day/Night of Joy group ticket costs just $44.95 plus tax (beginning Aug. 13, it costs $49.95).
There’s also a two-day ticket exclusively for groups of 10 or more that combines Night of Joy admission on both evenings (Sept. 11 and Sept. 12) with two “day visits” to the guest’s choice of Walt Disney World theme parks (one per day) on Night of Joy weekend (Sept. 11-13). Booked on/before Aug. 12, that ticket costs just $89.95 plus tax (beginning Aug. 13, it costs $99.95).
Night of Joy tickets for individuals also are available. One-night tickets purchased in advance (up to the day prior to the event) are $49.95 plus tax (on event day, if available, tickets are $54.95). Two-night tickets (providing admission to Night of Joy on both Sept. 11 and 12) are $84.95 plus tax.
All the details about tickets for groups and individuals are available online at www.nightofjoy.com.
** After just 14 shows, two time GRAMMY ® nominated rock band Skillet has already received an overwhelming response to their headlining “COMATOSE” tour featuring label mates Disciple and Decyfer Down. Playing for over 26,000 people so far on the tour, nearly 70% of the shows have been sold out or capacity-filled crowds, in cities including Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Oklahoma City. The 30+ city tour launched on Apr. 2 and will continue through May 24. Tour dates are listed below. For the most updated tour information visit www.skillet.com.
“SKILLET consistently sells tickets and we have multiple sold out shows with them every tour. However, one of the most rewarding aspects is that we consistently have concert goers tell us they beat an addiction or healed a relationship because of the songs and the live concert experience”. Nothing like have a huge show and making a positive impact on the world at the same time! – Dan Fife, Awakening Events.
Last year, the first leg of the Comatose tour saw 60% of the shows sell out placing the tour in Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours .
** Continuing to reel in recognition for their most recent and best-selling album of their career “Comatose,” band front man John Cooper with Brian Howes collected two BMI awards for “The Last Night” and “The Older I Get.” U.S. performing rights organization BMI saluted the writers and publishers of the past year’s most performed songs on Christian radio and television during the annual BMI Christian Music Awards in Nashville on Apr. 18, 2009.
** Skillet spent the last few months in Los Angeles recording their highly anticipated next studio project titled “Awake” with producer Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf, P.O.D.) due out this August.
Following the spring tour Skillet will be headlining several summer festivals, including Creation, Agape, Red Letter Rock, Ichthus, Alive, Atlantafest, Summerfest, Sonshine, Hills Alive, Soulfest, Kingdom Bound, Newsong and Disney’s Night of Joy, all leading up to the new release.
2008 GMA Artist of the Year nominee Skillet’s explosive 2006 Grammy®-nominated release, “Comatose” followed 2004’s “Collide,” which launched the group into the public eye and garnered the band their first prestigious Grammy® nomination. A critical fave, “Comatose” has become their best-selling project to date, nearly GOLD certified with more than double the sales of “Collide” in half the time. In follow up to packed out headline club shows, a tour with FlyLeaf, and summer festivals, Skillet spent the fall of 2007 opening for mainstream rockers Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace.
In the process of becoming one of the hardest working, most rocking, and broadly appealing acts of its generation, radio welcomed “Comatose” with open arms, as the first single, “Rebirthing” spent seven-weeks at No.1 on Christian Rock, while their five follow up singles all rose to No. 1 as well. Their single for the title track received a 2008 GMA Dove Award for “Rock Song of the Year,” as well, and at the end of 2007 the band was named the No. 2 top artist on both CHR and ROCK radio year –end lists, and in 2008 named R&R’s Top CHR Artist of the Year for 2008. Since R&R began publishing Christian radio charts, Skillet has garnered more #1 songs from one recording (COMATOSE/Ardent/Atlantic/INO) than any other artist in the industry, with their 6 consecutive radio hits. 60% of their 2008 “COMATOSE” tour shows were sold out, placing the tour in Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours.
On April 2nd, two time GRAMMY®-nominated band Skillet will launch the second leg of their “COMATOSE” tour in follow up to their 2008 run where 60% of the shows sold out, placing the tour in Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours. Completing the bill and joining Skillet in 32+ cities will be labelmates and fellow rockers Disciple and Decyfer Down (full tour listing below).
Skillet has spent the last few months in Los Angeles recording their next studio project with producer Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Daughtry, Flyleaf, P.O.D.), and with the “Comatose” album approaching Gold status and having just received GMA Dove Award nominations for Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Long Form Video of the Year (for the critically acclaimed live CD/DVD project, “Comatose Comes Alive”) they are ready to hit the road. Following the spring tour Skillet will be headlining several summer festivals, including Creation, Agape, Red Letter Rock, Ictchus, Alive, Atlantafest, Summerfest, Sonshine, Hills Alive, Soulfest, Kingdombound, Newsong, and Disney’s Night of Joy, all leading up to the new release.
“We’re pumped up and ready for this tour to get started,” remarked Skillet frontman John Cooper. ”I personally have wanted a tour with Disciple for several years now and I think it’s going to be an awesome tour package. We have been working incredibly hard on this new record, so we are also looking forward to playing some new material for everyone!”
*Grammy®-nominated and Dove-Award winning band Skillet has a lot to be grateful for this holiday season as they have been named R&R’s Top CHR Artist of the Year for 2008. On top of that, since R&R began publishing Christian Radio charts, Skillet has garnered more #1 songs from one recording (COMATOSE/Lava/Atlantic/Ardent/INO) than any other artist in the industry, with their 6 consecutive hits, “Rebirthing,” “The Last Night,” “Comatose,” “Older,” “Those Nights” and “Whispers in the Dark.”
*This weekend also finds Gospel Music Channel world premiering an exclusive version of Skillet’s new, critically-acclaimed live CD/DVD project, COMATOSE COMES ALIVE. The show will air tomorrow, December 5th, at 10pm ET nationwide on the Gospel Music Channel. For a sneak peak at the spot, go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZTe7Jf7jkU
**GMA’s Artist of the Year nominee and two-time GRAMMY® nominated band Skillet’s explosive live show will soon be available for fans as the first-ever live concert CD and DVD combo, COMATOSE COMES ALIVE, hits on October 21st. This is the first live project for the band in their 12 year history.
**COMATOSE COMES ALIVE features songs from their 2006 Lava/Atlantic/Ardent/INO release COMATOSE, which has become their best-selling project to date, with sales over 400,000 units, along with their 2003 best-selling CD COLLIDE, and more.
** In follow up to a spring ’07 tour with FlyLeaf, and fall ’07 with Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace, this winter Skillet played to over 300,000 on Winter Jam, and in the spring launched their own theater tour, during which this footage was garnered at the Tivoli Theater in Chattanooga, and where 60% of the shows sold out placing the tour in Pollstar’s Concert Pulse Top 50 Tours throughout the spring . Skillet’s electric live show was also a highlight of numerous summer festivals.
** The CD of COMATOSE COMES ALIVE includes the full live concert audio plus six enhanced acoustic versions and bonus tracks, while the DVD, recorded in 5.1 surround sound audio, includes the full live concert plus four music videos and a photo gallery of live shots (full track listings below). To catch a clip of the DVD now, go to http://www.inorecords.com/comatoseLive/Skillet-Comatose_live.mov.
** In the process of becoming one of the hardest working, most rocking, and broadly appealing acts of its generation, radio has welcomed SKILLET and COMATOSE with open arms, garnering 5 back-to-back #1 singles: the first single, “Rebirthing” spent seven-weeks at No.1 on Christian Rock. Their second single, “The Last Night,” also took the top spot, this time at both Rock and CHR (CRW/R&R), while “The Older I Get” (CHR/Rock) and “Comatose,” which received a 2008 GMA Dove Award for “Rock Song of the Year,” became their third and fourth consecutive No. 1 singles. Most recently “Those Night”s hit number one as well on CHR.
**At the end of 2007 the band was lauded with R&R’s No. 1 Christian CHR Song of the Year for “The Last Night”, which was also R&R’s No. 2 Christian Rock song of the year. In addition, Skillet was named 2007s No. 2 top artist on both the CHR and ROCK yearend lists.
Photo
of Nevertheless and Skillet at Comatose Tour Date in Chattanooga: Chattanooga, Tenn.-based
rock quintet, Nevertheless,
who will release its second album, In the Making…, on
September 16, 2008, recently opened up for rock band Skillet (pictured above with
Nevertheless). The show was a part of Skillet’s Comatose Tour, which stopped in
Nevertheless’ hometown, Chattanooga. For more info on Nevertheless, please
visit www.neverthelessmusic.com.
Photo
Caption: Members of Nevertheless and Skillet pictured after
Chattanooga show. (L-R) Ben Kasica,
Jen Ledger, Adam Wann, Adam Rowe, Korey Cooper, John Cooper, AJ Cheek,
Joshua Pearson, Brad Jones
Photo Credit: David Molnar
Check out the official Skillet store on eBay where you can buy Skillet's CLOTHES!
Check it out here.
NASHVILLE, TN.... 4/1/08.....Atlantic/LAVA/Ardent/INO rockers Skillet launched their “COMATOSE” headline tour this past weekend to packed houses and sell out crowds. Both Minneapolis (1609/Club 3 Degrees) and Kalamazoo, MI (2850/Wings Stadium) shows were SOLD OUT, with packed houses in Des Moines (1656/Val Air Ballroom) and the band’s hometown area of Chicago (1142/House of Blues).
"As long as you don't mind answering the phone, you're gonna love bringing the Skillet tour to your town,” remarked WAYK Station Manager Rich Anderson, promoter of the Kalamazoo show. “First it was dozens and dozens of calls from people begging for tickets because we sold out 8 days in advance of the show; then it was calls and e-mails from the ecstatic 2,850 who got to experience the tour.”
Here's a few comments from some of the e-mails WAYK received:
'SKILLET ROCKED!!!! Thanks, WayFM for bringing them here to West Michigan. It was so awesome to see so many kids and parents totally rockin’ out and having a great time. I have seen many concerts in my day and let me tell you, they are definitely on top of my list and I can't wait to see them again. I am a fan for life!'
'The concert WAS AWESOME!!! My son, daughter & their friends were down in front of the stage and are still saying "huh? I can't hear you." Wow, it was LOUD, but I wouldn't have it any other way! Will said it's the best weekend he ever had! Isn't that great? Each band probably talked about 2 minutes about how they loved Jesus and Rock & Roll in that order. It was really awesome.'
Hitting approximately 30 cities, including New York City,’s Grand Ball Room, also features Thousand Foot Krutch and special guest Decyfer Down, the tour will run through May 11, 2008. Tour dates are listed below and more information can be found at http://www.skillet.com and http://www.myspace.com/skilletmusic.
Criss-crossing the country over the past year and a half with other bands like Flyleaf, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace and on Winter Jam, Skillet is excited to be out on their own tour. As their GRAMMY-nominated COMATOSE continues to be one of the best-selling projects in Christian music, still in the top 10 after 77 weeks of release and 320,000 units scanned, Skillet is also nominated for a GMA Dove Award for ARTIST OF THE YEAR and ROCK RECORDED SONG OF THE YEAR (“Comatose”).
Skillet's current rock hit is already #2 on the Christian rock chart with a bullet on their song from the COMATOSE Deluxe Edition, “Live Free Or Let Me Die,” and they’ll be releasing "Those Nights" to CHR this month. In addition, Skillet will headline several rock stages and pre-closing slots at top summer festivals including Creation East and West, Kingdom Bound, Soulfest, Cornerstone, Icthus, NewSong, Rock the Universe, Spirit West Coast, Sonshine, LifeFest Alive, Red Letter Rockfest, and many more.
NASHVILLE, TN - With just over a month to go before grammy-nominated rockers skillet release their 7th studio recording comatose (lava/atlantic/ardent/sre), the band’s first single at christian rock radio is heating up, making the highest debut this week at no. 17 on r&r’s christian rock chart and causing their fan message boards to go crazy. Since putting a clip of “Rebirthing” on their
myspace page just over two weeks ago, the single has received over 100,000 plays. On top of that, the song is being played non-stop at their
official website and their
fan site.
Here’s just a taste of what their fans and radio programmers are saying:
“’Rebirthing’ has not only been the number one requested song by our listeners, but by the staff here at radiou! October 3 and the release of comatose can not come quick enough. We love skillet! - nikki cantu / radiou
“This is it! This is a song you search for...I got one million goose bumps the first time I heard it!”
Hot on the heels of 2003’s best-seller 'Collide', which launched Skillet into the mainstream with the hit single “Savior,” touring with Three Days Grace, Saliva, Shinedown, and 12 Stones, plus a nomination at the 47th annual grammy awards, 'Comatose' hits stores on October 3rd, 2006.
