2014 has been the busiest year yet for the NFfCR. We have been experiencing exponential growth: adding new artists, new patrons, and new audience members, and pushing forward an incredible number of new artistic projects.
I wanted to highlight some of what has happened this year, in case you missed it:
In July, after a successful Kickstarter to fund replication and mastering, we released Brock’s Folly’s sophomore record The Great Commoner. A recent independent review of the record had this to say:
The Great Commoner proves that Americana vocals don’t have to be husky or twangy, accordions don’t have to be annoying, the Apostle’s Creed doesn’t need to be hard to sing, and Christians can make music with obviously Christian lyrics and not lose their potency and relevance.
We launched our new website in August, the one you’re looking at, designed by the matchless Rusty Hein, and we have been adding reviews and blog articles very regularly for your enjoyment. Four of our most popular articles this year were:
Why are So Many Christian Artists at Odds with the Church?
Why the Label “Christian Art” Needs to be Left Behind
How Christian Platonism is Killing Christian Art
Being Taught A Lesson in Dying: A Brief Explanation
We launched the “Hire Our President” Campaign a few months ago, and support toward that end has been humbling and dramatic.
2014 was packed with beginnings and continuations, most of which will be released in 2015:
We began working with singer-songwriter Anthony Quails, on his country/folk record Before the Bright City Lights.
We began working with spoken word artist Nathan Adams, fresh from his TEDx talk on reclaiming the power of language.
We began work on an EP for alt-folk unit The Perilous Years.
We completed tracking and are currently mixing a grunge rock record for The Normal Knees, tentatively titled Attic Static Sticker Star.
We continued work on Physick’s sophomore record, Death is Their Shepherd, an ambitious 80-minute narrative concept album exploring the biblical significance of death and mortality.
Rusty Hein and Joe Goode continued their work completing the first issue of their graphic novel The David Story.
We completed tracking for Warbler’s sophomore record, Sea of Glass.
We completed tracking and mixing for Fiery Crash’s In Clover. In fact, In Clover is ready for mastering and replication, and we need your help to make that happen. Please visit the Kickstarter and pledge your support. There are some sweet perks and prizes in store for supporters (and a hilarious video).
And, last but not least, we have secured a venue and a date for our first annual Dinner and Artist Showcase, to be held at His Hands Church of Woodstock at 7:00 pm on February 6, 2015. Anthony Quails will play us some music. Nathan Adams will present some spoken word, and Joe Goode and Rusty Hein will present some finished frames from The David Story. On top of that, we are going to have a delicious dinner, and nearly every single one of our artists will be on hand for informal after-dinner coffee and conversation.
If you are anywhere near Woodstock, you should be there. There’s no fee to attend, thanks to the generous support of a few patrons. If you want to know what we’re about, come taste and see. You can RSVP by commenting below.
I firmly believe 2015 will be our year, when all of our hard work starts to come to much greater and much wider fruition. Thank you all for your support and encouragement thus far. May God bless you and yours. Happy New Year!