“The Village of Hoffman Estates was excited to welcome Hillsong UNITED to the Sears Centre Arena over the weekend,” says Mayor William D. McLeod, Village of Hoffman Estates. “In honor of Hillsong UNITED’s record-setting sell-out concert, the group was presented with keys to the Village, a proclamation that proclaimed April 17th as ‘Hillsong United Day’ in the Village and temporarily renamed Hoffman Boulevard [to Hillsong UNITED Boulevard] in their honor.”

“In just our first four months of managing the Sears Centre Arena, Global Spectrum was delighted to achieve a record breaking attendance with Hillsong UNITED,” adds Global Spectrum’s Ben Gibbs, General Manager of Sears Centre Arena. “Between the record attendance and their performance, the bar has been set very high.”

Selling out the Nokia Theatre (Los Angeles) to Roseland Ballroom (New York City) to Bank United Centre (Miami) on its tour last fall, Hillsong UNITED’s current spring tour opened with a capacity crowd at The Wang Theatre in Boston followed by a sold-out Tower Theatre in Philadelphia, and over 11,000 people attended the Sears Centre Arena event outdrawing recent concerts there by such legendary performers as Billy Joel, Elton John and the Eagles. With Austin Music Hall already sold out (April 24, Austin), tickets are still available and selling fast for events in Kansas City (April 22, Starlight Theatre), Oklahoma City (April 23, Lloyd Noble Center) and more.

At each Hillsong UNITED tour date, the group is mobilizing a movement of people to help ease hunger in the local communities surrounding each worship night. Asking people to bring in nonperishable food to be distributed to local families in need, the donations will be facilitated through local ministry and organization contacts in each city as part of the I-HEART:: This Means Love food drive, which is a practical expression of Hillsong UNITED’s mission of helping people.

Having led worship in churches, stadiums and open fields in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas, the remaining Hillsong UNITED spring U.S. tour dates follow:

April 22 (Thursday) - Kansas City, MO - Starlight Theater
April 23 (Friday) - Oklahoma City, OK - Lloyd Noble Center
April 24 (Saturday) - Austin, TX - Austin Music Hall - SOLD OUT
April 26 (Monday) - San Antonio, TX - Municipal Auditorium
April 27 (Tuesday) - Baton Rouge, LA - All Access 2010 Conference

Hillsong UNITED was born out of the Youth Movement of Hillsong Church, where the Youth group meets weekly and now has over 3,000 attendees. Young people are encouraged and empowered to use their creativity in music, arts and film to serve in ministry. In 1999, UNITED recorded its first Album Everyday, which featured original songs written by the young people. With nine albums in as many years to its credit, Hillsong UNITED has built a very large brand image and following all around the world.

With concerts of 60,000-plus in attendance, UNITED’s touring has taken them to six Continents and 46 Countries, including 80 cities in the USA alone. Its 2007 album, All Of The Above, and 2009 album, A Cross the Earth: Tear Down The Walls, launched to No.1 on U.S. Billboard Christian charts, and the latter and most recent album also grabbed the No. 2 position on the iTunes mainstream chart, just behind Eminem. Hillsong UNITED has sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone, and recently entered into a recorded music licensing and marketing agreement with EMI Christian Music Group.

Based in Sydney, Australia, Hillsong Church is one of the world’s fastest-growing ministries, with a 25,000-plus strong congregation in Australia, as well as one of the largest evangelical churches in London, Cape Town and Kiev. Hillsong also has churches in Stockholm and Paris, and recently announced plans to establish a new church in New York City. Hillsong Music has sold over 11 million albums to date and has earned 30 Gold and Platinum awards around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.hillsongunited.com and www.theiheartrevolution.com.