Carman has made it.
The theatrical, veteran Christian singer-songwriter, the performer of such classic songs as “Sunday School Rock” and “The Champion,” is in the process of turning heartbreak into triumph, thanks to fans.
Here’s the story, by publicist Rick Hoganson of Hoganson Media Relations:

“Inspired by tens of thousands of fans encouraging him after doctors told him he had three to five years to live following a terminal cancer diagnosis, Christian music pioneer Carman launched a Kickstarter campaign April 19 with the goal to raise $200,000 for his first new album and music video in over 10 years.
Remarkably, Carman not only reached his goal in 25 days, but also exceeded that goal, raising over $233,000 so far, making this the second most-funded music project ever on Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.
With 32 days left before the campaign ends June 18, Carman fans are continuing to push closer to making this the No. 1 most funded music project on Kickstarter, as they continue to donate as little as $1 up to several thousand dollars with commensurate gifts of appreciation from Carman.
Energized by people’s prayers, kind words and support of the Kickstarter campaign, and determined to not let cancer detract from doing what he does best – sharing the hope of the gospel to live audiences – Carman announced a 60-city, 28-state tour in anticipation of his new album and music video.”

(NOTE: the Lancaster / Hershey / Harrisburg area is listed on the concert tour. Stay tuned for specifics, to come.)

“With concerts being planned now in top markets like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago and Dallas, where he holds an attendance record of 71,132 in Texas Stadium (the former home of the Dallas Cowboys), Carman is also extending an opportunity on Kickstarter for fans to be the first to support his tour and receive tickets before they begin going on sale to the general public July 1.
Available at Kickstarter now, and limited to 500 tickets for each city on the tour, backers who donate $100 will not only receive two VIP concert tickets and backstage passes to meet Carman after the concert of their choice, but will also receive the new CD at the concert, a single and video download one month before the actual street date of the upcoming album, a T-shirt, an autographed “Game Changers” CD and more.”

Carman only received his diagnosis in March, but how inspiring it is to see how the singer has responded so positively, and has been so helped by fans … the very fans who have been so touched by him through the years.
See Kickstarter or Carman’s webpage (www.carman.org) for more details on the tour and the fundraising.

How rare is it for a CD to slowly build momentum and then hit No. 1 more than three months after release?
That’s what raucous, fun-loving and spirit-filled folk-rockers the Rend Collective Experiment did with “Campfire,” the Northern Ireland outfit’s late-January release.
Remarkably, the album has for the first time on May 6 hit the No. 1 position on the iTunes U.S. Christian/Gospel chart. The new project was released Jan. 29.
You can sense there’s something going on with “the Rend” from the band’s extremely energetic, and also God-centered, concert. The Rend gave a demonstration of that during its show here in mid-April.
Of course, the new project is getting quite the push from the single, “Build You Kingdom Here,” one of the better Christian songs so far in 2013.
Released as a digital-only album, “Campfire” features “Build Your Kingdom Here” plus what publicists from Hoganson Media Relations call “inventive and often surprising new arrangements of other songs” from earlier, acclaimed Rend projects, “Organic Family Hymnal” and “Homemade Worship by Handmade People.”
As one of the band members said during the Rend show here, what an image to think of … God hand-making each one of us, and differently!
The publicists add, “‘Campfire’ is entirely driven by classic, retro folk instruments that could be played by the fire and ocean.
“The result is an album that captures the raw, rootsy, foot-stomping energy of the Irish worshippers, which has been infectious among audiences across the globe.”
Amen to that.
The Rend also offers a free “resource pack” on its website for churches, ministry groups and others, encouraging them to start “Campfire” outreaches. It comes complete with 10 chord charts/lyrics for favorite Rend songs.
Even that famously tough bunch, music critics, are noticing what’s happening.
“With just an acoustic guitar, light percussion, and a great chorus of worshippers throughout each track, what results from just very few instruments is one of the best acoustic albums ever produced,” said IndieVisionMusic.com, which gave the new Rend project 4.6 out of 5 stars.
“Full of soul, passion and emotive spirit … some of the most poignant and relatable worship music in 2013 … a sense of realness and authenticity is created that will intrigue listeners to hear the songs from this amazing band,” its reviewer wrote.
For more info on the Rend, visit www.rendcollective.com.

One of the first Christian singers I ever heard about as a new believer in the early-to-mid 1990s was Carman, this guy with an unbelievably rich voice and creative approach to music.
Now comes the difficult news to hear that the artist has been diagnosed with an inoperable form of cancer, and has been told by doctors he has a limited time left to live.
But the heartbreaking news also is boosting the artist in remarkable ways, and giving God the glory.
Here’s a tremendous uplift of an article from Rick Hoganson of Hoganson Media Retions that tells us about Carman and the powerful way he is using this news:

“With 16 platinum and gold albums and videos, over 10 million albums sold and attendance records for the largest solo Christian concerts in history, Carman plans to record an album and video of all new music for the first time in over 10 years.
Remarkably, it was a death sentence by doctors that paradoxically revived this entertainer’s creative spirit through his fans.
In March of this year, singer, songwriter and television/film actor/writer Carman was diagnosed with terminal, multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood that affects the body’s bone marrow, and was given a three-to-five-year life expectancy by doctors.
Stunned and initially devastated by the news, Carman’s spirit was soon lifted up by the overwhelming love and support received by tens of thousands of fans after posting the news on his Facebook page.
Turning the death sentence into a renewed vision and hope for the future, Carman is not only determined to fight the cancer, but is also well underway to his first independent, fan-funded new album and music video through Kickstarter, the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects.
Launched April 19, Carman’s Kickstarter campaign has already become the most successful Christian music campaign ever for Kickstarter.
Raising more than $158,000 to date, the campaign donations are on target to reach Carman’s $200,000 goal by his June 18 deadline.
Fans are able to donate as little as $1 up to several thousand dollars with commensurate gifts of appreciation from Carman once the campaign is fully funded and the album and music video are recorded and released. See www.kickstarter.com/projects/886460906/new-carman-album-and-music-video for all the details.
“I’m so excited about this incredible opportunity we all have through Kickstarter to make something happen as a team and a family,” says Carman to his fans.
“Cancer pronounced a death sentence, but you have been life to me, rallying me back into the fight and praying me back to my feet. As one fan said on my Facebook page, ‘Look at what Jesus did in three years.’ So as for you and me, with this new project and us working together, the next three years are going to be a blast.”
In addition to the new music, Carman is determined to not let cancer detract from doing what he does best, sharing the hope of the gospel to live audiences.
Touring from coast to coast, Carman shares his hit songs alongside his most recent offering, “The Flag,” a compelling anthem that weaves the Pledge of Allegiance into a melodic and inspirational message of pride in America. “The Flag” concept video can be seen now at http://youtu.be/4QDxqlP3Fn0, and Carman’s full schedule can be seen at www.carmanlive.com.
About Carman:
Carman, whose full name is Carman Domenic Licciardello, is an enigmatic Christian music pioneer. Often described as part evangelist, part Vegas showman, his concerts are like a rock and roll Billy Graham Crusade.
They combine drama, rock, comedy, funk, satire, acting, singing and preaching, all woven together for a unique style not duplicated by any other artist in any other musical genre. The only Christian “stadium act” ever, Carman drew 80,000 outdoors in Charlotte, NC, 71,132 to Texas Stadium and 50,000 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He also held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Christian sales charts for an astounding 33 weeks, with his The Champion album staying on the Billboard overall sales charts for a record 168 weeks. Known for such hit “story” songs as “Sunday’s on the Way,” “Satan Bite The Dust,” “Lazarus Come Forth,” “Revival in the Land,” “Witches Invitation,” “No Monsters,” “The Champion” and more, Carman has also has written songs for several motion pictures, including “The Prince of Egypt.”
With as many as 5,000 people responding each night to the gospel message delivered by Carman, he has also collected the most names on a petition in American history by any individual – one million signatures for a constitutional amendment favoring prayer in public school. He is further the co-founder of the Parable Christian Film Festival and received the Humanitarian Award, whose other recipients include former President and Mrs. Regan, Dr. Billy Graham, Dr. Bill Bright and others.
Among the greatest of Carman’s contributions to Christianity at the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century is his bringing back a full-force, worship revival – not just through song and music, but also through dance and drama, revolutionizing Christian arts and music.
More information on Carman can be found at www.carman.org, www.facebook.com/CarmanLicciardello and Twitter (@carmantv).”

Aaron Shust said just minutes into his set, “We want to turn this place into a house of worship.”
And that is what the Dove Award-winning worship artist did, in powerful and creative ways, during his nearly hour-long set Friday night at Lancaster Bible College.
Shust and his wife are contending with the serious health concerns of their younger two sons, and while the performer spoke honestly of those problems and the effect they have on him, he also made it clear that God is in control.
The set from Shust, who is due to release a new project this July:
“God of Brilliant Lights,” “Risen Today,” “My Hope is in You,” Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord),” the worship standard “My Hope is Built,” Hillsong’s “Cornerstone,” his own “To God Alone,” and a tremendous set-closer, an acoustic-tinged “My Savior My God.”
He spoke of the health concerns with his sons, telling how his son Michael had his hearing recently restored in a miraculous fashion (after his wife had gone to a healing service in New York) that left doctors mystified.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that if you pray hard enough, He will heal you. I don’t know,” emphasized Shust, a worship leader from near Pittsburgh.
But keep praying and believing and realize that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and those are ways we’re never going to be able to completely understand while on this earth.
And when we’re in heaven it may not matter any more why things had to be that way, the worship artist added: “Job is not walking around heaven saying, ‘I wish I knew’” why he had to go through his well-known trials in the Bible, Shust said.
Shust was the middle performer of Friday’s terrific three-artist set, after Jonny Diaz and before headliner Mark Schultz.

I sort of knew this past Friday night’s concert at Lancaster Bible College was going to be special, and also fun, when I heard the first song by opening artist Jonny Diaz.
It was not a chart-topper or even very well known … “The Opener” (not be confused with the recent TV show starrring that famous pitcher Kyra Sedgwick, ha, “The Closer”).
There wasn’t a tremendous spiritual point to be made by the song from Diaz, but it was still cool and made a nice point:

“Ladies and gents, well I take no offence
No, I’m not who you’re here to see
And it won’t be long till the headliner’s on
And then you’ll be done with me …

‘Cause I’m the opening act, don’t get much time
Maybe four tracks or five at best
So I play only songs that I hope make you long
To go out and buy the rest …

And if you buy a CD, well you’re enabling me
To put bread on my plate, take my wife on a date
Well, I better stop now before you tune me out
But don’t forget about my MySpace.”

With that fun-loving, laugh-inducing start, Diaz went on to soar with an excellent four-song set.
His other tunes were all spiritually excellent, by the way: “They Need Love”; “Scars”; and his best and best-known song, the teen-girl anthem that’s packed with hope and spiritual wisdom, “More Beautiful You.”
On this last one, Diaz, who played solo with his guitar on the first three tunes, borrowed most of the band from the night’s other two artists.
I knew, with the start by Diaz, that this was going to be a top-notch concert from him, Aaron Shust and Mark Schultz.

From a laid-back version of “I Am” to kick it off to a slow, soulful rendition of “Remember Me” to close the night, Mark Schultz’s 80-minute set was just about perfect.
As was the shorter set (although not by much) from Aaron Shust, and another, earlier set from Jonny Diaz.
Three great singers, close to three hours of music … kind of like peanut butter and chocolate together (can I get an AMEN?), what was not to like about a concert like that?
For now, let’s talk about the headliner, although the first two artists were just as powerful during Friday night’s show at Lancaster Bible College, which drew several hundred people.
The set from Schultz was as follows: “I Am,” “God Of Glory,” “All Things Possible,” “I Haven’t Even Met You Yet” (a song dedicated to his new son, Ryan Samuel, who he now HAS met!), “I Gave Up,” then mini-versions of “I Am The Way,” “I Have Been There,” “Broken and Beautiful,” “He’s My Son,” “He Will Carry Me,” “Running To Catch Myself,” “Back In His Arms Again,” followed by maybe the night’s best song, “Letters From War” (shown with the moving video, of a World War II-era mom patiently praying and waiting for her serviceman son to return), and then the encore, Schultz, performing solo on his keyboard, doing a sweet closer of a song, “Remember Me.”
Most of the night a top-notch band also supported him, most of the members also backing Shust and, on his hit song “More Beautiful You,” Diaz as well.
As impressive as the musical chops were from Schultz, Shust and Diaz, the spiritual uplift was even better.
Schultz also showed his trademark humor, telling a story about bicycling from California to Maine to raise money for widows and orphans.
“That sounded like a good idea ‘till I did it,” he joked. “I realized it’s a long way across the country, and that there are mountains in between those two places.”
Every morning on his two-month, two-day trek, Schultz talked about waking up and saying, “‘Dear God, I see a mountain. Let’s just go ahead and move that.’ He would not.
“And the next day I’d see another one and I was like, ‘This one looks a little smaller … maybe You could move this one,’ and He would not.
“And I realized that maybe God doesn’t move everything in our lives that we would like Him to move out of our way. But what He does promise is that, if we put our faith in Him, He will give us the strength to make it over those obstacles.”
The 42-year-old mainstay in Christian music talked about being adopted, “and God put a lot of champions in my life.” So on his seemingly endless bike ride, Schultz was riding for orphans from Mexico, and taped the kids’ pics on his handlebars.
He remembered praying, “‘God, You did that for me, I want to do that for this little person.’ Every time I got tired, I made it up the mountain with a little person watching me, and I said, ‘Let me be their champion today.’”
God didn’t move his mountain, but Schultz got the strength to make it up the mountain.

From the headlining artist, you’ll get some of the most moving songs in Christian music today.
From the next, you’ll experience what the author of the moving songs himself calls “one of the best worship leaders I’ve ever seen.”
And from the third, you’ll get a rising artist offering some top songs of encouragement, including the anthem for teen and tween girls, “More Beautiful You.”
All three of these artists, Mark Schultz, Aaron Shust and Jonny Diaz, are on one bill Friday night at Lancaster Bible College.
Tickets are no longer available online, but will be available at the door before the 7:30 p.m. concert.
Any of the three would be enough of a show for one night, in my humble opinion.
Schultz, often called “Christian music’s favorite storyteller,” has written some of our genre’s most-loved anthems of recent years: “I Am,” the worship song of immense power and beauty; “Walking Her Home,” written from the perspective of an older man spending the last hours with his long-time wife as she is about to die and go home to heaven; “He’s My Son,” about a family dealing with the heartbreak of having a seriously ill child; or “Everything to Me,” about a mom who gives up her son for adoption, and in the process gives him the kind of opportunities she never could have offered.
Even as the headliner, Schultz said in an interview with me how thankful he is to be on such a well-rounded, powerful bill.
Shust has encouraged him nightly on the current “All Things Possible” tour, and is a constant source of strength for how he is facing serious health issues with two of his sons, Schultz said.
And he’s glad to play with Diaz, who with “More Beautiful You” has “really a quality statement to make to people of that (younger) age,” Schultz said.
The headliner himself said he’s about “telling stories and making people laugh and cry.”
By the end of Friday’s concert, Schultz hopes people feel “that God showed up in a real way.”
That looks like a good bet.
LBC is at 901 Eden Road, and Friday’s show ends what has been a great “school year” of Christian concerts in the Lancaster area.

Aaron Shust gave two of the very best Christian-music shows in recent years the last times he ventured here, back in 2011.
One of those times, as the closing artist at The Day in New Holland, a horse-and-buggy trotted past as he was doing his song “Forevermore.”
That was “so surreal,” Shust says, remembering it clearly, and he and his band also remember playing some par-3 golf in and around their show at the New Holland park.
Those sound like normal touring experiences, where veteran artists like Shust come to expect the unexpected.
But things have been anything but normal in recent years for Shust, who is coming here to perform with headliner Mark Schultz and also Jonny Diaz on Friday, May 3, at Lancaster Bible College.
Shust and his wife Sarah have faced major health issues with two of their three sons, 4-year-old Nicky and 16-month-old Michael. His family also includes oldest son Daniel.
Young Michael, in fact, had gone through surgery just hours before Shust spoke with me this week for a pre-concert interview.
The 36-year-old Shust, who’s now based in Aliquippa, near Pittsburgh, is of course one of the better-known names in contemporary Christian music.
He was named songwriter of the year, new artist of the year and also winner of song of the year, for “My Savior My God,” at the 2007 Dove Awards. He also has been nominated four other times for Doves.
Shust knows that “there’s a lot of stuff that distracts my attention from thinking that life is easy,” as he puts it. But “what that does is force me to run to a place” where he’s secure, “and that’s at the foot of the Cross.”
Shust’s most recent album, “This Is What We Believe” from August 2011, is one of the truly great worship albums of the last several years, and my favorite project of that year, for what it’s worth.
In both of his shows here in 2011, both in New Holland and then with Downhere and Jason Grey at LBC that November, Shust displayed a purity of passion, an energy, an ability to express things with a clear hope of God’s Presence that was powerful and moving.
Easier said than done, if you ask most musical artists.
“I’m trying to write songs that, whether they’re used in church or not, create a great atmosphere for worship in concert,” Shust says.
“I’m on the road doing what God has called me to do, and I’m privileged to be able to call this my job.”
And he always remembers that God is “in control, and that He can handle any situation, regardless of the outcome.”
The May 3 show at LBC starts at 7:30. Tickets purchased through next Thursday range from $13 to $35, and general admission tix only will be available the day of the show, for $19.
For more on the show, visit www.cmilive.com, and for more on Shust’s music and updates on his family, visit www.aaronshust.com.

It’s more than a week later, and Tenth Avenue North’s tour with the Rend Collective Experiment and newcomer Moriah Peters has moved on.
But before we move on as well, to thoughts of things like the next big concert here, the Friday, May 3, Mark Schultz/Aaron Shust concert at LBC, and then late June’s Creation Northeast 2013 experience, here are a few things the frontmen for 10 North and the Rend left behind.
As impressive as everyone’s music was at that April 14 show (and add Peters to that list with her brief, impressive set), some words they said instead of sang might have been more impressive.
The leader and drummer of Northern Ireland-based Rend, Gareth Gilkeson, emphasized to the mostly younger crowd that “no matter how you feel about yourself, you’re not a mistake … you’re exactly how God made ya.
“No matter what you think in your worst moments of insecurity, we believe in a God who doesn’t make us like a cookie cutter.”
He imagines a “divine cosmic sewing machine, (God) crafting each one of us by hand. That’s why we call (a band project) the ‘handmade people,’ because we’re all made by the hands of God. And that’s a beautiful picture … that He loves us, and we’re not just a number to Him.”
Rend singer Chris Llewellyn said the goal for the band is always to “come together in vulnerability and intimacy with one another and with God. That’s what worship is.”
He compared it to a campfire song … does that image get you ready to think about summer?
Singing around a campfire, you “can’t really tell who’s leading the song, maybe a guy with a guitar, but there’s no stage to set them apart,” the singer told the Manor Church audience.
“And this stage isn’t designed to set us apart from you in some weird way, it’s just so that you can see us.”
And 10 North frontman Mike Donehey, not to be outdone, later sounded a bit like an exhorting preacher when he pointed out, “We are all so bad that He had to die for us.
“But guess what? We’re also all so loved that He was glad to die for us.
“The Gospel also allows you to forget all about yourself, which is the goal.”
As good as the music was that night, sounds like the words were just as good, and exactly what many of us needed to hear.

Sunday was a special night with Tenth Avenue North … and with the Rend Collective Experiment and new singer Moriah Peters.
I was almost as excited to be a part of “the Rend” worship experience, and to hear 20-year-old newcomer Peters wow us with her voice and stage presence, as I was to see what’s always a great show by 10 North.
But only “almost” … Mike Donehey & Company have a concert experience that’s quickly becoming as good as any in Christian music, and Sunday’s concert at Manor Church near Lancaster was no exception.
It meant a lot to fans like Mike Rapak, a Millersville University student who brought his mandolin along to be autographed by Tenth Avenue North.
“Their music is so inspring to me,” he said of the band. “They got me through some hard times … it’s just amazing how God has used them.”
His favorite song? Probably “The Struggle,” he said, a song (and album title track) that tells how “you are free to struggle, you’re not struggling to be free,” he noted.
“In Christ, we’re not attached to our sin any more. We’re not held down by the world any more.”
That song “has gotten me through more than one time, and it will continue to get me through struggles.”
He also got a Rend sticker at the concert: “I’m always exploring new music … music’s one of my passions,” he added. The items are “not necessarily to remember the performance, but to remember what God did there.”
Added Messiah College student Rachel Vogt, “Tenth Avenue North is just really down to earth, friendly … you can just tell how much they love Jesus … and just want to help people.
“The whole point of their show is to just show ‘a little glimpse of Jesus,’ is what they said.”
And Bethany Kuehl of Maryland, on hand Sunday with her friend Ashley LaDow, likes all their stuff, but maybe the first album the best, she said.