The recording that launched the music career of critically and commercially successful singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan, The Song Inside The Sounds of Breaking Down, will be independently reissued Sept. 4. Originally sold out of his basement in 2005, the album has been digitally re-mastered and re-mixed and includes the never before released tracks “Hold On” and “Dancing On The Doors.” In addition, the re-release will feature the original extended version of “How He Loves,” as well as an alternate unreleased version of the congregational favorite.
“How He Loves” was recently listed by Integrity Music as one of the 25 most influential worship songs in the past 25 years, and has spent the last 14 months on CCLI’s Top 25 chart, indicating the songs most often used in North American churches. The song has also been covered by David Crowder Band, Kim Walker of Jesus Culture, Todd Agnew, Flyleaf and several others.
Pre-order packages for The Song Inside The Sounds of Breaking Down: Deluxe Reissue are available beginning today (Thursday, Aug. 23) at thejohnmark.com with everyone who pre-buys receiving instant access to the new original track, “Dancing on the Doors,” and the full digital album one day early (9/3/12). An autographed copy of the album is also being offered as a pre-order incentive.
Enigmatic singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan launches the 25-city “The Economy Class Spring Tour: A Mighty Raucous Evening with John Mark McMillan and Friends” hitting Nashville April 15 at 12th & Porter with special guests Kye Kye and Jude Moses (www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4312525). The tour follows the fall release of his widely acclaimed and commercially successful sophomore album, Economy. Available on Integrity Music and distributed by Provident and RED/Sony, McMillan’s Economy became a Top 20 iTunes® overall “LP” hit and was recently tapped by ABC Network for its Grey’s Anatomy promotions. McMillan’s “Seen A Darkness” was featured on the 30-second promo for the show’s episode, “Hope for the Hopeless” (Season 8: Episode 12), which aired on Thursday, January 12 (www.tvfanatic.com).
Music fans will be able to hear more new songs from Economy, as well as fan favorites, on McMillan’s “Mighty Raucous Evening” tour that travels across the Southern and Eastern US hitting New York City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta, Birmingham and other major markets before wrapping up in Jacksonville April 21. For all the tour dates and more details, go to thejohnmark.com, and the tour video trailer can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmbrNncjD8.
“The ruckus rolls again in early spring of 2012,” says McMillan. “We hope to see many of you as we visit your fine cities, sharing new songs, telling new stories and introducing you to new friends. I hope you will welcome us into your communities and help cause a bit of a scene together for a few hours. After all, this is something we want to do together, so bring your voice, bring your story and bring your heart.”
Perhaps best known for penning the anthem “How He Loves” from his acclaimed label debut, The Medicine, McMillan is hailed for his concise, poetic and often “raw” lyrics. A natural progression and a departure, McMillan’s Economy has moved away from the themes of death and resurrection that clothed his debut album to the interior psychology of a man trying to live in the uneasy valley between this world and the next.
“For me, the greatest days—the birth of a child, the success of a career—have always been coupled with the worst ones—the death of a loved one, a friend’s divorce,” McMillan explains. “It’s a tension we all live in.”
On Economy, that tension is electric. From the first drumbeat of album opener “Sheet of Night” (www.youtube.com) to the post-rock cacophony that closes out song and new video, “Seen a Darkness,” there is a palpable weight that permeates the entire project. It is the music of a man who cut his teeth on Dylan, Kerouac and Springsteen while simmered in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
“With a cracking voice and soaring, fuzzed-out amplification, McMillan stands out as a true worship pioneer," says RELEVANT magazine about the album that shares the sound of glory and shame, murder and grace, and darkness and daylight in the delicate beauty of “Love You Swore,” the rowdy drawl of “Daylight” and the quiet solemnity of “Murdered Son.”
For those following the North Carolina-based songwriter’s steady rise as an artist, Economy, produced by Jeremy Griffith and Joel Khouri, accompanies McMillan's searching, searing vision of a world that is “not as it should be.” But it’s not just a broken world that McMillan is singing about. With Economy, he’s pointing across the horizon to the hope of something much more than “broken hearts and counterfeit currency.”
Additional information on McMillan, including tour updates, can be found at thejohnmark.com, www.facebook.com/TheRuckusRoom.
“The Economy Class Spring Tour: A Mighty Raucous Evening with John Mark McMillan and Friends” itinerary includes:
3/16 Boston, MA Red Room/ Club 939
3/17 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
3/20 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
3/21 Annapolis, MD The Whiskey
3/23 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
3/24 Charlotte, NC McGlohon Theater
3/25 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
4/10 Charleston, SC The Music Farm
4/11 Chattanooga, TN Rhythm & Brews
4/12 Knoxville, TN The Square Room
4/13 Louisville, KY The 930 Art Center
4/14 Selma, AL Pickard Auditorium
4/15 Nashville, TN 12th and Porter
4/16 Birmingham, AL Workplay Theatre
4/17 Atlanta, GA The Loft
4/19 Naples, FL Center Point
4/20 Lakeland, FL First Presbyterian Church
4/21 Jacksonville, FL Murray Hill Theater
Enigmatic singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan launches the 25-city “The Economy Class Spring Tour: A Mighty Raucous Evening with John Mark McMillan and Friends” that follows the fall release of his widely acclaimed and commercially successful sophomore album, Economy. Available on Integrity Music and distributed by Provident and RED/Sony, McMillan’s Economy became a Top 20 iTunes® overall “LP” hit and was recently tapped by ABC Network for its Grey’s Anatomy promotions. McMillan’s “Seen A Darkness” was featured on the 30-second promo for the show’s episode, “Hope for the Hopeless” (Season 8: Episode 12), which aired on Thursday, January 12 (www.tvfanatic.com).
Music fans will be able to hear more new songs from Economy, as well as fan favorites, on McMillan’s “Mighty Raucous Evening” tour that launches March 8 in Lexington, KY and travels across the Southern and Eastern US hitting New York City, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Boston, Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham and other major markets before wrapping up in Jacksonville April 21. Special guests at select stops along the tour include The Embers, The Royal Royal, Kye Kye and Jude Moses. For all the tour dates and more details, go to thejohnmark.com, and the tour video trailer can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmbrNncjD8.
“The ruckus rolls again in early spring of 2012,” says McMillan. “We hope to see many of you as we visit your fine cities, sharing new songs, telling new stories and introducing you to new friends. I hope you will welcome us into your communities and help cause a bit of a scene together for a few hours. After all, this is something we want to do together, so bring your voice, bring your story and bring your heart.”
Just prior to the launch of the tour, McMillan will host Livestream events Feb. 28, March 1 and March 5 beginning at 10:30 pm EST each night. During the events, McMillan will discuss topics ranging from worship and church to music while live footage of tour rehearsals will be shown on the final Livestream event. McMillan will also answer questions submitted in advance to the events via twitter (#!MightyRaucousTour) and DiscRevolt (http://discrevolt.com/artists/johnmarkworship/johnmarkworship.html). Each event will also be cross promoted through DiscRevolt, where people can preview videos and more.
McMillan is further connecting with other worship leaders in each tour market through DiscRevolt, handing out cards with redemption codes that the worship leaders then use on the site for exclusive content.
Perhaps best known for penning the anthem “How He Loves” from his acclaimed label debut, The Medicine, McMillan is hailed for his concise, poetic and often “raw” lyrics. A natural progression and a departure, McMillan’s Economy has moved away from the themes of death and resurrection that clothed his debut album to the interior psychology of a man trying to live in the uneasy valley between this world and the next.
“For me, the greatest days—the birth of a child, the success of a career—have always been coupled with the worst ones—the death of a loved one, a friend’s divorce,” McMillan explains. “It's a tension we all live in.”
On Economy, that tension is electric. From the first drumbeat of album opener “Sheet of Night” (www.youtube.com) to the post-rock cacophony that closes out song and new video, “Seen a Darkness,” there is a palpable weight that permeates the entire project. It is the music of a man who cut his teeth on Dylan, Kerouac and Springsteen while simmered in the presence of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
“With a cracking voice and soaring, fuzzed-out amplification, McMillan stands out as a true worship pioneer," says RELEVANT magazine about the album that shares the sound of glory and shame, murder and grace, and darkness and daylight in the delicate beauty of “Love You Swore,” the rowdy drawl of “Daylight” and the quiet solemnity of “Murdered Son.”
For those following the North Carolina-based songwriter’s steady rise as an artist, Economy, produced by Jeremy Griffith and Joel Khouri, accompanies McMillan's searching, searing vision of a world that is “not as it should be.” But it’s not just a broken world that McMillan is singing about. With Economy, he’s pointing across the horizon to the hope of something much more than “broken hearts and counterfeit currency.”
Additional information on McMillan, including tour updates, can be found at thejohnmark.com, www.facebook.com/TheRuckusRoom.
“The Economy Class Spring Tour: A Mighty Raucous Evening with John Mark McMillan and Friends” itinerary includes:
3/8 Lexington, KY University of KY / CSF Building
3/9 Cincinnati, OH The Underground
3/11 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
3/13 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
3/16 Boston, MA Red Room/ Club 939
3/17 New York, NY Mercury Lounge
3/20 Vienna, VA Jammin Java
3/21 Annapolis, MD The Whiskey
3/23 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern
3/24 Charlotte, NC McGlohon Theater
3/25 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle
4/10 Charleston, SC The Music Farm
4/11 Chattanooga, TN Rhythm & Brews
4/12 Knoxville, TN The Square Room
4/13 Louisville, KY The 930 Art Center
4/14 Selma, AL Pickard Auditorium
4/15 Nashville, TN 12th and Porter
4/16 Birmingham, AL Workplay Theatre
4/17 Atlanta, GA The Loft
4/19 Naples, FL Center Point
4/20 Lakeland, FL First Presbyterian Church
4/21 Jacksonville, FL Murray Hill Theater
Following today's release of singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan's major label sophomore album Economy, the project hit No. 1 on the iTunes® Christian chart with the exclusive iTunes® Economy “LP” landing in the No. 17 position overall ahead of major mainstream acts such as Toby Keith, Foster The People and Mumford & Sons.
Available on Integrity Music and distributed by Provident and RED/Sony, McMillan’s Economy follows his 2010 release The Medicine. And like its predecessor, Economy is being lauded by critics and fans alike. (See reviews below.)
Perhaps best known for penning the anthem “How He Loves,” McMillan is hailed for his concise, poetic and often “raw” lyrics.
“Raise your voice, chase away the ghosts.” So begins the title track from Economy. A natural progression and a departure, McMillan’s latest album has moved away from the themes of death and resurrection that clothed The Medicine to the interior psychology of a man trying to live in the uneasy valley between this world and the next.
“For me, the greatest days—the birth of a child, the success of a career—have always been coupled with the worst ones—the death of a loved one, a friend’s divorce,” McMillan explains. “It's a tension we all live in.”
On Economy, that tension is electric. From the first drumbeat of album opener "Sheet of Night" to the post-rock cacophony that closes out "Seen a Darkness," there is a palpable weight that permeates the entire project. Economy is the sound of glory and shame, murder and grace, darkness and daylight and all those spaces in between. And it shows up in the songs—in the delicate beauty of "Love You Swore," in the rowdy drawl of "Daylight," and the quiet solemnity of "Murdered Son."
For those following the North Carolina-based songwriter’s steady rise as an artist, Economy will not disappoint. Lyrically and sonically, the album is far greater than the sum of its parts, served by McMillan’s band and producers Jeremy Griffith and Joel Khouri. The team has created a perfect accompaniment to McMillan's searching, searing vision of a world that is "not as it should be." But it's not just a broken world that McMillan is singing about. With Economy, he's pointing across the horizon to the hope of something much more than "broken hearts and counterfeit currency."
McMillan has been touring the U.S. with the David Crowder Band including sold-out dates in New York, Seattle, Dallas, San Diego and Chicago. Tonight (Nov. 1), he performs at another sold-out concert in his hometown of Charlotte before heading to Atlanta on Nov. 5 and Orlando on Nov 11. In spring, he launches a 30-plus city Ruckus tour. Additional information, including tour updates, can be found at http://thejohnmark.com, https://www.facebook.com/TheRuckusRoom, and http://www.paradigmmgmt.com/stories/john-mark-mcmillan.
An EPK for Economy is posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVacXZg7Xm8 with a new music video for the album’s first single, “Sheet of Night,” premiering the week of November 7.
What reviewers are saying:
“Sturdy rock with a heart of praise… a strong, turbulent collection that rambles with the same mid '70s rock-influenced drive of artists like Wilco and Bright Eyes.” – ChristianityToday.com
"With a cracking voice and soaring, fuzzed-out amplification, McMillan stands out as a true worship pioneer." – Relevant magazine
“John Mark McMillan continues to create vivid lyrical imagery and supports it with moving melodic and rhythmic arrangements… there is absolutely nothing that I don’t like here. NOTHING.” – TheWorshipCommunity.com
“Poetic lyrics, nuanced imagery and a folk-indie rock sound make this one of the most authentic releases of late.” – Worship Leader magazine
"…the North Carolina worship leader is up to his same old tricks: crafting honest, personal songs that impact the heart with an emotional intensity few artists can layclaim to." - CCMMagazine.com
“Economy is a great investment in profound and awe-inspiring worship, and it’s unhesitatingly one of the best albums of the year as a result.” – JesusFreakHideOut.com
“Thematically profound and technically tight, Economy rises from the strong, inspiring foundation McMillan’s previous efforts have built, and stands on its own as an earmark in this artist’s career, as a portent for the music scene at large.” – TheBlueIndian.com
“…Economy serves not only as a great album to enjoy musically, but also one to soak in lyrically.” – CollisionCM.com
“…a CD that invites us to listen to it again and again. –NewReleaseTuesday.com
“Whatever your expectations for Economy, I assure you, he(and his team) exceeded them... If John Mark can do one thing, it’s write poetry that also perfectly fills in a melody that you can’t not sing.” – TheEstherProject.com
Singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan, perhaps best known for penning the anthem “How He Loves,” delivers his major label sophomore album Economy November 1 from Integrity Music with U.S. distribution through Provident and RED (Sony) and an exclusive “LP” offered through iTunes.
“Raise your voice, chase away the ghosts.” So begins the title track from Economy. A natural progression and a departure, McMillan's latest album has moved away from the themes of death and resurrection that clothed the critically-acclaimed The Medicine to the interior psychology of a man trying to live in the uneasy valley between this world and the next.
“For me, the greatest days—the birth of a child, the success of a career—have always been coupled with the worst ones—the death of a loved one, a friend’s divorce,” McMillan explains. “It's a tension we all live in.”
On Economy, that tension is electric. From the first drumbeat of album opener "Sheet of Night" to the post-rock cacophony that closes out "Seen a Darkness," there is a palpable weight that permeates the entire project. Itis the music of a man who cut his teeth on Dylan and Kerouac and Springsteenall the while haunted by the presence of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Economy is the sound of glory and shame, murder and grace, darkness and daylight and all those spaces in between. And it shows up in the songs—in the delicate beauty of "Love You Swore," in the rowdy drawl of "Daylight," and the quiet solemnity of "Murdered Son."
For those following the North Carolina-based songwriter’s steady rise as an artist, Economy will not disappoint. Lyrically and sonically, the album is far greater than the sum of its parts, served by McMillan’s band and producers Jeremy Griffith and Joel Khouri. The team has created a perfect accompaniment to McMillan's searching, searing vision of a world that is “not as it should be.” But it’s not just a broken world that McMillan is singing about. With Economy, he is pointing across the horizon to the hope of something much more than “broken hearts and counterfeit currency.”
As McMillan sings on the album’s closer “Seen A Darkness”:
The valley of the shadow knows our name/We have seen a night, but we have seen the day/Dressed in the blood of love’s hot veins… born into the grave, but born a second time/We’ve been born again… On someone else’s dime.
The complete track list for Economy is:
1. Sheet Of Night
2. Daylight
3. Heart Bleeds
4. Love You Swore
5. Murdered Son
6. Economy
7. Who Is This
8. Sins Are Stones
9. Chemicals
10. Seen A Darkness
McMillan has been touring with the David Crowder Band including dates in New York City, Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago. Forthcoming dates include a “street date” appearance at the Fillmore in his hometown of Charlotte on Nov. 1, The Tabernacle in Atlanta on Nov. 5 and the House of Blues in Orlando on Nov 11. He is also planning a 30-city spring Ruckus tour.
The GRAMMY ® nominated David Crowder*Band will headline the highly anticipated “The 7 Tour” with acclaimed artists Gungor, who is doing an acoustic set, Chris August and John Mark McMillan. The shows will span from September through November and hit over 30 clubs and theaters across the U.S. including key markets such as: Dallas, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., Portland, Ore., Seattle, Wash., Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y., Atlanta, Ga. and Orlando, Fla.
Known for their fan-centric focus, David Crowder*Band unveiled a fan-exclusive pre-sale in order to give their core group of supporters the opportunity to purchase tickets before everyone else without high ticket fees and with the incentive of being the first ticket-holders into the venue each night. The pre-sale was such a success that in addition to the website initially crashing due to high traffic, nearly half of the dates sold out of their limited presale quantities seven months early.
“We're really excited about this tour,” comments David Crowder. “The line up is ridiculous! We're pretty sure this is going to be a really special outing.”
David Crowder*Band is currently working on their new album slated for release later this year or early 2012, this will be the follow-up to their GRAMMY ® nominated Church Music which released in the fall of 09.
For tickets and further tour details, visit http://davidcrowderband.com/schedule.
Nominations were announced today for the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards with Integrity Music’s signed and distributed artists and songwriters receiving 14 nominations, including three each for Israel Houghton and John Mark McMillan.
The Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced the nominations today from the Grand Salon of the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Integrity’s own Carlos Whittaker was among the artists participating in the press conference.
Carlos Whittaker announced nominations at the Atlanta press conference.
Photo by Rick Diamond/WireImage
Integrity Music’s nominations include:
Israel Houghton
Male Vocalist
Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song for "You Hold My World"
Contemporary Gospel Album for Love God. Love People.
John Mark McMillan
New Artist
Worship Song for “How He Loves”
Rock/Contemporary Album for The Medicine
Don Poythress
Inspirational Recorded Song for writing “Joseph” (with Tony Wood)
Paul Baloche
Worship Song for writing "How Great Is The Love" (with Meredith Andrews, Jacob Sooter)
Shout Praises Kids - Today is the Day
Children’s Music Album
Cuan Gran Amor-En Vivo Miami, Ingrid Rosario
Spanish Language Album
Devocion, Danilo Montero
Spanish Language Album
Mi Declaracion, Hector Sotelo
Spanish Language Album
Annette Oden
Musical for “Just Run”
Jeff Sandstrom/Annette Oden
Youth/Children's Musical for “Get to the Manger”
Fresh from winning his fourth straight GRAMMY Award on Sunday, Israel Hougthon’s three Dove nominations include Male Vocalist of the Year, Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year and Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year, recognizing him for his critically and commercially successful Love God. Love People. Love God. Love People. released in August on Integrity Music/Columbia Records and has garnered praise from critics reaching out to a diverse variety of music fans nationally and beyond. The album features the musically masterful energy that has become synonymous with Houghton recordings, and includes special guest appearances by Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and Take 6’s Claude V. McKnight, III, Mark Kibble and Joey Kibble, and was recorded and engineered at Abbey Road Studios.
The eight-time Dove Award winning Houghton now hits the road for the Love Revolution Tour, which will visit more than 20 cities in February and March. Tour dates can be found at www.israelhoughton.net.
John Mark McMillan is new to Dove Award nominations and is recognized as such with a New Artist of the Year nod as well as nominations for Worship Song of the Year and Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year on behalf of his Integrity debut The Medicine.
Heart-on-sleeves rock is what North Carolinian McMillan does best and it’s his bluesy voice and well-crafted lyrics that have brought him heightened popularity and universal critical acclaim with The Medicine, an intriguing, musically compelling and intensely in-depth project which expresses McMillan’s soul and personal life journey. Through his lyrics, McMillan takes listeners through a story of emotions. Poetic metaphors and vivid imagery thread themselves through the album binding together a universal theme of brokenness and love’s power over the weak and the wounded.
McMillan embarks on his national concert tour “A Mighty Raucous Evening” in March. Complete information about the dates and tickets can be found at www.thejohnmark.com or at www.facebook.com/therukusroom.
The 42nd EST Annual GMA Dove Awards will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2010 at 8:00 p.m.at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre and will be t elevised nationwide on GMC( www.watchgmctv.com), on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011 from 7-9p.m. ESTThe evening will be full of rare and exciting performances showcasing the genre’s hottest and most diverse artists.
Coming off the successful release of his new worship project, BEC Recordings’ artist Jeremy Camp announces his fall headline tour: “The Worship Tour” featuring Integrity worship artists’ Carlos Whittaker and John Mark McMillan. The tour will kick off with a special Nashville-edition concert on October 8th concluding on October 31st in Salem, IL (see below for the tour schedule).
"I am so excited about this new season the Lord has me in right now,” shares Jeremy Camp. “Putting this album out last week and then taking it out on the road with Carlos and John Mark is something I am looking forward to in a huge way! The unity of all of our hearts for worship will make for an amazing evening of praise to our Lord and Saviour"
The Worship Tour is also featuring local church leaders exclusive Q&A sessions. These sessions, “Conversations from the Red Chair” presented by Integrity Live, will be an open conversation with Jeremy Camp, Carlos Whittaker, and John Mark McMillan to encourage and fellowship with local church leaders before the show. For the registered price of $25 (limited number of tickets at each date), each church leader will receive entrance to the Conversations Pre-Show, one premium-seat ticket to the concert and a church leader gift bag including song sheets and chord charts. Registration and dates are available now at this site: http://jeremycamp.com/conversations/
The kick-off event is taking place in Jeremy’s home base in Nashville, TN on October 8th at Allen Arena at Lipscomb University. This concert is a free event for the area and specially titled “Jeremy Camp’s Come Celebrate Nashville.” This will be an evening of music from Camp and special guests as well as community outreach that he hopes becomes an annual event. Honoring Nashville, the show will be benefiting two local organizations: Second Harvest Food Bank and Warm Coats from Warm Hearts. Concert attendees are encouraged to bring canned goods and/or winter coats.
For tickets and more information on “The Worship Tour,” visit http://jeremycamp.com/content/tour .
Integrity Music’s John Mark McMillan hits the road with his unique brand of gutsy, poetic Rock n’ Roll starting tonight in a unique touring set-up, alternating between an "Out Of The Ground Tour,” co-headlined with worship artist Gungor and live solo dates visiting 12 cities through the month of June.
North Carolinian McMillan has already built a faithful following that will be eager to see his live show. He has drawn unparalleled praise for his three previous independent releases, and his Integrity debut CD The Medicine is one of the most anticipated of the year and will release in July. Both his first single, “Skeleton Bones” and a music video for “How He Loves” are currently on sale at iTunes at http://bit.ly/bMxL8Y.
JOHN MARK MCMILLAN TOUR DATES
MAY
5/27 Lynden, WA, North County Christ the King
5/28 Seattle, WA, Horizon Church
5/29 Longview, WA, Longview Church of the Nazarene
5/31 Portland, OR, Backspace
JUNE
6/2 Folsom, CA, Lakeside Church
6/3 Sacramento, CA, The Crossing Church
6/4 Redwood City, CA, Tapestry Church
6/6 Visalia, CA, Rotary Theater
6/7 Temecula, CA, Sunridge Com. Church
6/9 Albuquerque, NM, Tramway Com. Church
6/11 Amarillo, TX, MORE Church (The Music Coope Festival)
6/13 Overland Park, KS, The Refuge
On July 6, Integrity will release The Medicine as an exclusive limited edition CD with four bonus tracks and live video performances. Among the bonus material is a moody performance of McMillan's modern classic, "How He Loves" and the swaggering, raucous "Carolina Tide," an allegorical narrative of resurrection told from the perspective of a second chance love, admittedly inspired by Springsteen's "Thunder Road" and the Biblical story of Ruth.
McMillan originally released The Medicine in 2008, earning applause and admiration throughout the independent music blogosphere. David Kern on the Intothehill.com blog describes The Medicine as a "collection of unique, spiritually minded, indie rock songs that will play well in the vast spaces of a warehouse church as well as in the intimacy of a small, downtown music club. The Medicine has an epic sound - a grand, impressive, emotional, heart-on-sleeves, rock sound. The kind with aggressive guitars and aggressive vocals. But it's also air-tight, precise, measured rock n' roll, with just the right amount of whiskey soaked folk; McMillan is confident in his vocals and his songs are consistent with his vision. Think Springsteen, Tweedy, or Yorn singing about the troubles and rewards of faith."
Joining McMillan on select "Out of the Ground" dates, Gungor is one of this year's most talked about worship artists. Formerly known as The Michael Gungor Band, the group released their critically acclaimed Beautiful Things CD in February. Described as "liturgical post rock," and featured on the cover of the February issue of CCM Magazine's new digital magazine, Gungor was called one of the artists redefining worship music.
More information about McMillan's upcoming schedule as well as his personal blog can be found at www.thejohnmark.com. Fans can also stay connected through McMillan's Twitter account, http://twitter.com/johnmarkmc.
