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JFH Music News Report

BEC RECORDINGS' BEBO NORMAN RELEASES LIGHTS OF DISTANT CITIES
TO MEDIA ACCLAIM THIS WEEK

Debuted This Week at No. 2 on iTunes Christian Albums Chart
Performing on Wednesday, October 24, on Fox 17's Tennessee Mornings


Bebo Norman, Lights of Distant Cities
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NEWS SOURCE: Merge PR
October 23, 2012

SEATTLE, WA -October 23, 2012 -BEC Recordings' singer-songwriter Bebo Norman has released his eighth studio album, Lights of Distant Cities, this week to media praise that has brought 4 to 5 star reviews across the board. As it released, Lights of Distant Cities quickly climbed to the No. 2 spot on the iTunes Top Christian Albums chart.

Lights of Distant Cities was co-produced with close friend and longtime live collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Gabe Scott along with Ben Shive (Andrew Peterson, Sara Groves). Norman's music provides a common ground for the songwriter and the listener to collaborate in a discourse on life's curious details, and how those day-to-day unknowns play in the greater mystery of faith.

Media have called this album a "triumph," "beacon of hope" and "stunning masterpiece." Bebo has been featured on the Family Christian Blog, in CCM Magazine (October 2012), this week's Worship Leader's newsletter and New Release Tuesday's Podcast. Bebo will also be performing on Nashville's FOX 17 Tennessee Mornings on Wednesday, October 24.

See what else the media have to say about Lights of Distant Cities:

"On his latest effort, Lights of Distant Cities, it's no surprise to find that Bebo's done it again -- unapologetically written an album full of raw desperation. Lights of Distant Cities ranks among Bebo's best work and is a must-have fall release." - New Release Tuesday, 5 Star Review

"An absolute recommend for personal devotion, Lights reminds us that Norman is masterful at using the medium of music to draw your attention toward honoring and glorifying God in everyday moments." - Worship Leader, 4.5 Star Review WL Pick

"As a solid and holistic artistic statement on searching for God in this fallen world, Lights of Distant Cities is one of the year's best albums and a mid-career triumph for Bebo Norman." - JesusFreakHideout - 4.5 Star Review

"Norman delivers a project that we cannot just enjoy, but listen to and grow with." - About.com, 5 Star Review

"A few years of spiritual drought have produced a record that will take listeners back to his practically perfect debut. Not that it's a downer, though. The darkness is tempered by some lighter moments, and it helps that Norman is surrounded by old friends in collaborators Gabe Scott and Ben Shive. Norman's eye for the unusual in the everyday is a one-in-a-million gift." - Rhapsody

"For long-time fans of Bebo Norman's work, Lights of Distant Cities is a stunning masterpiece, which reveals more and more upon repeated listens. In other words, get ready: this album is soon destined to rule the space between your ears, as one of the best albums of 2012." - Hear! Hear!, 5 Star Review

About Bebo Norman:
Norman's 1999's national debut, Ten Thousand Days, landed Norman on the cover of CCM-a rare honor for a new artist. The follow-up, Big Blue Sky, was voted No. 1 Christian album of 2001 by the editors at Amazon.com. Myself When I Am Real (2002) earned seven Dove Award nods and charted the defining hit, "Great Light of the World." Recent projects Try (2004) and Between the Dreaming and the Coming True (2006) continued the steady climb, the latter gaining a near-perfect score at ChristianMusicToday.com, which called it "his best." In 2007, Norman partnered with Seattle's BEC Recordings to release his first Christmas project that garnered another Dove nomination. In 2008, Bebo Norman released another critically acclaimed project (self-titled) receiving such reviews as "…feels like the beginning of a vibrant new chapter in an already distinguished career" (Billboard). In 2010, Bebo received a Dove Award for "Inspirational Recorded Song" for his song "The Only Hope" from his self-titled project. Norman resides in Franklin, Tennessee with his wife and two children and is a Compassion International artist.

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