Tag Archives: New Featured Artist

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New Featured Artist: Matt Faley

Matt Faley

Please join us in welcoming our new featured artist in playlist #62, Matt Faley. Matt just released his debut EP “The Only Light” and we are pleased to play a song from it this week. According to his website, mattfaley.com, Matt works full-time in Catholic young adult ministry and uses this platform to share the gifts and talents he has been given to re-invigorate the Gospel for college students and young adults. He currently serves as the Director of Young Adult and College Campus Ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and has been in full-time ministry for over five years. Matt also uses the art, beauty and transformative power of music and songwriting to speak to the heart of the Gospel. Just as the love of Jesus is all-encompassing and universal, Matt writes honest reflections that do not just scratch the surface, but speak deeply to the heart of every person. Matt uses the joys, the journey, the suffering and the redemption of his own life in Christ draw people closer to the story written on their own heart.

Matt Faley - The Only LightAnd that certainly comes through in the music on his debut EP titled ‘The Only Light’. We’re pleased to play the title track from his new EP, “The Only Light” in this week’s show.

To learn more about Matt and his music, go to www.mattfaley.com or check out his music on iTunes:

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New Featured Artist: Luke Spehar

Luke Spehar

This week on the Catholic Playlist our new featured artist is Luke Spehar. Luke grew up in a small rural community north of St. Paul, Minnesota and began writing music at the age of 16. His time in college was spent discerning the priesthood in the Catholic seminary and recording his first two albums, “Be Still” and “No Other Way”.

Luke decided to pursue God’s will for himself outside of the seminary and began directing his focus and energy on his music, both in composing and performing. He’s traveled the country, performing for audiences of all ages in concert and at various retreats for youth and young adults.

And now he’s just released his third album titled “All Is Gift”. In Catholic Playlist #56 we’re pleased to be able to play a single from this new album called “The Problem”. Check out the video:

To learn more about Luke and his music, go to www.lukespehar.com or at iTunes:

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New Featured Artist: Emily Wilson

Emily Wilson Christian Singer

This week on the Catholic Playlist our new featured artist is Emily Wilson. Emily is a young, energetic, and charismatic Catholic musician and speaker who travels the world sharing her faith through witness and worship. It’s interesting to note that while she was attending Arizona State University, Emily began leading worship with Ike Ndolo, a Catholic Playlist favorite, who after hearing her voice and seeing her passion to lead others, invited her to tour with his band. Together they have attended conferences and events all over the country.

The heart of Emily’s ministry though is offering encouragement to young women in their search for their true identity. She is on a mission to draw others to Christ through her speaking and her music that is both prayerful and powerful. In the summer of 2014, Emily released her debut EP entitled “Joy Will be Yours” and with prayerful songwriting, pure vocals, and piano melodies, Emily conveys a message of redemption, worship, and hope.

In Catholic Playlist #55 we’ll be playing the song “Beautiful and Yours”.

To learn more about Emily and her music, go to www.emwilsonmusic.com or here on iTunes:

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New Featured Artist: Sam Rocha

Sam Rocha

This week on the Catholic Playlist our new featured artist is Sam Rocha. Sam began playing guitar at the age of 5, and began singing soon thereafter. His musical influences cover a wide range of genres from folk, Latin, funk, soul, hip-hop, and jazz, but he claims his roots are in church music and the Mexican folk tradition. Over the past ten years, he’s performed with various ensembles playing everything from gospel and contemporary Christian music, blues, pop, neo-soul/nu jazz, Latin folk, and Latin jazz.

His debut collection of music, titled “Late to Love” and available on Aug 28, 2014, is musically inspired by the genealogy of soul music that scans the genres of spirituals, folk, gospel, country, R&B, blues, funk, jazz, hip-hop, neo-soul and nu-jazz. Artists such as T-Bone Walker, Ray Charles, Gil Scott Heron, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers, and Curtis Mayfield—with dashes of Willie Nelson and Pat Metheny—serve as the “old” foundation for something entirely new: Augustinian soul music.

“Late to Love” is an original concept album that performs a reading of Augustine’s Confessions through soul music. It’s not a generic ode to a saint or holy person, nor it is a neutral and uncontroversial celebration of an important ancient book. From beginning to end Sam offers a bold and fresh reading of Augustine’s Confessions where the form is the content, where melody and verse take the place of assertions and argument. This music is truly something totally new and original.

In Catholic Playlist #53 we’ll be playing the title track “Late to Love”, where the chorus sings, “Late / have I loved you / beauty so old / beauty so new,” adapted from Augustine’s Confessions.

You can learn more about Sam Rocha and his new album here at Wiseblood Books.

You can sample the songs and perhaps pick up the brand new album starting on Aug 28, 2014 here on iTunes:

Please join us in welcoming Sam Rocha to the Catholic Playlist Show!

Interesting Factoid: Sam is musically illiterate – he doesn’t read or write music, despite having a PhD in philosophy of education.

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New Featured Artist: The Project

The Martyrs Project

This week on the Catholic Playlist our new featured artist is The Project. Michael Glen Bell & Duane W.H. Arnold, who both just entered the Church this past Easter, form the nucleus of The Project. Their first album is called “Martyrs Prayers”, which they say “is an extraordinary endeavor born out of love – love for the Church, love for music and, perhaps most importantly, love for friends.” The album contains songs that honor those who, through the centuries, gave their very lives for their faith, their freedoms, their communities and their friends. Many of the martyrs honored are familiar names including Archbishop Oscar Romero, Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch and others. The music is an eclectic collection – it ranges from acoustic performances with close knit harmonies to rock to cutting edge experimental – the album offers a little bit of everything to the listener.

On the occasion of the birthday on August 15th of Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador who was murdered while he said Holy Mass in 1980, we present the song ‘Romero’. The lyrics of ‘Romero’ are the words of Archbishop Romero, and at the beginning you can hear him and the actual gunshot from that tragic day.

You can learn more about The Project and the music at their website: themartyrsproject.com

You can pick up the album right now here on iTunes:

Please join us in welcoming The Project to the Catholic Playlist Show!

PS: Here’s a video of ‘Romero’!