GRAMMYâ-nominated, Dove Award-winning Sanctus Real has sparked 15 Number 1 and Top 5 radio hits and recently released their fifth s studio album, Pieces of a Real Heart, on Sparrow Records amidst growing acclaim by critics who have heralded the album as the band’s best yet. Sanctus Real seeks to create compelling, authentic music that lives up to the meaning of their name: to be holy (Latin meaning of “sanctus”). The first radio single from the album, “Forgiven,” went to the top of the charts; becoming one of the most played Christian radio singles this year.

As Sanctus Real gets ready for the Hungry for Love Tour, their second single (“Lead Me”) is currently topping the charts as the #1 AC radio single—giving the band their first ever No. 1 AC single. This week, “Lead Me” is also No. 1 overall on Billboard’s Christian radio national audience chart as it makes its video debut on iTunes Sept. 7. The song is a personal confession and prayer written by lead vocalist Matt Hammitt, and it is proving to be a source of hope as he and his wife, Sarah, walk through a difficult pregnancy this fall.

GRAMMYâ and Dove-nominated progressive rock act Leeland has been known to deliver songwriting beyond their years with worshipful rock so genuine it disarms the honest cynic. Often quoted as one of Christian music’s most gripping live bands, Leeland has quickly been established as a leader in the worship community and beyond. While the band’s first two albums were GRAMMYâ nominated and drew a combined eight Dove nominations, Leeland’s measure of success has always been their appeal to their audiences’ hearts. With Leeland’s third album, Love Is On The Move, they have delivered a landmark in the deepest sense—taking their fans to that rare place where innocence and fervor meet depth of soul.

Leeland is excited to join the Hungry for Love Tour and to continuing to raise awareness for Food for the Hungry. Lead singer and guitarist, Leeland Mooring explains, “For awhile, we were just this band from Baytown, Texas, and all we saw was our little church where God had been doing awesome and incredible things. But He’s really been opening our vision to all the hurting people, especially the poor, around the world and making it clear we should help by being a part of spreading His kingdom.” This year, Leeland and keyboardist Jack Mooring were the only musicians invited to the White House for its “Compassion in Action Roundtable” targeting emerging leaders and developing the next generation of America’s social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders.

Dove Award- winning band, The Afters, has found incredible success in the television arena and is releasing their third album Light Up the Sky on September 14 with INO Records. Music from the new record, including the single “Light Up the Sky”, has already been picked up by MTV’s “The Hills” for the show’s final season. The Texas-based band was propelled into the national spotlight with their INO/Sony Music Label Group debut I Wish We All Could Win. The project spawned the swirling, melodic hit “Beautiful Love,” earning the band an enthusiastic following when the song was selected as the theme track for MTV’s “8th and Ocean”. “Beautiful Love” was also the most downloaded track of 2006 on the iTunes ® Inspirational charts and garnered the band an mtvU award as well. “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Dr. Phil,” “Army Wives” and “Rachael Ray” have also used music from The Afters’ sophomore project, Never Going Back To OK, in promotion for their programming.

About Food for the Hungry
Food for the Hungry is an international relief and development organization working in more than 26 countries around the world. The organization implements transformational development programs in impoverished communities around the world. Programs address Food and Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Health and Nutrition, Child Sponsorship, HIV/AIDS, Economic Development, Church Development and Emergency Response.

For more info on Sanctus Real, visit the JFH Artists Database.
For more info on Leeland, visit the JFH Artists Database.
For more info on The Afters, visit the JFH Artists Database.