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Jason Gray Christmas Stories with Special Guests Carrollton and Jonny Diaz with Carrollton

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Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter is bringing his Christmas Stories Tour to our Hartford stage. Since the release of his charted hit “With Every Act of Love,” Jason Gray has been inspiring faithful audiences on a number of hottest cross-country Christian tours. He is joined by Christian Rockers Carrollton (“Holding on to You”) and Christian singer/songwriter Jonny Diaz (“More Beautiful You”), to deliver a Christian Christmas show that you do not want to miss!!

Jason Gray

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jasongraymusic.com/jg

Artist Bio

The title of Jason Gray’s newest Centricity Music release, “Love Will Have the Final Word”, speaks of decisiveness and closure. It’s a statement of confidence and determination. And it’s true: we live in the assurance that through all of our ups and downs, the ultimate victory has been won for us, and Love has spoken.

It’s those ups and downs, though, that are the tricky part, and this soul-stirring collection of music speaks directly and powerfully to our present reality. This is an album that bravely avoids trite and simple platitudes thrown at our very real and complex circumstances. It’s an album that recognizes our loneliest of lows and our most hopeful highs. It’s an album that knows when to show empathy, when to give advice, and when to just come alongside and grieve.

Jason Gray has emerged as a songwriter of extraordinary depth, with a noteworthy ability to convey deep theological truths in engaging three-and-a-half minute songs. The Minnesota native is steadily drawing legions of fans who recognize his ability to connect with listeners on an emotional level, offering not escape or distraction, but healing and hope. His 2012 release, “A Way To See In The Dark”, was named Album of the Year by critics and garnered three top-five radio singles, including Nothing is Wasted, which hit #1 for nine weeks.

That success and exposure is a testimony to the power of music and an artist willing to be used by God. As a child, Gray developed a speech handicap. Like Moses arguing with God over his effectiveness as a communicator, Gray naturally resisted the call to ministry through music. But God, the Champion of the lost cause, chose Gray to become a living, breathing, stuttering example of His strength in our weakness. Maybe that’s why so many are drawn to Gray’s music. Through songs like All the Lovely Losers and Remind Me Who I Am, he’s been vulnerable, honest, and trustworthy in making music that ministers.

It was in the response to one of those songs that speaks hope into our trials – Nothing is Wasted – that Gray noticed something important. People are hungry to believe that when bad things happen, God is in it, that the experience won’t be wasted. “But I found,” Gray says, “that it was harder for people to believe that about their own failure, their own shame, and I thought, man, if the Gospel’s not true there, then it’s not true anywhere.”

Shame is a daunting and hopeless word, but it doesn’t have to be. The new album’s anthem As I Am retells the emotions of Adam and Eve in the Garden, after they’ve sinned. “They become aware of their vulnerability, their nakedness, and they become ashamed,” Gray observes. “Then they become afraid, and then they hide. What does God do? God comes to the garden looking for them, calling their name. He doesn’t withdraw. We are the ones who withdraw out of fear and shame. We are the ones who hide our presence from him. He doesn’t hide from us. God’s part in the story is, He comes to the garden, He draws closer, He comes looking for us, calling us by name, in order to draw us out of our hiding places and make sacrifices necessary to cover our nakedness and to assure us that there’s a way back home.”

Ultimately, that’s the theme of the album: the redeeming power of love. But here’s where Gray is different: he recognizes that sometimes it’s just not adequate to declare to someone, in the midst of their shame or their challenging circumstances, that if they’ll just trust in Jesus, everything will be okay. Instead, Gray clings to an idea expressed in a quote by Keith Miller: “The way to love someone is to lightly run your finger over that person’s soul until you find a crack, and then gently pour your love into that crack.”

The idea is voiced in the song If You Want to Love Someone, and in Gray’s ability to speak into the cracks in people’s souls. He will be the first to admit, though, that often it’s because God has used others to pour love into his own failure and shame. Gray recalls a time when the man who co-wrote the song with him, Andy Gullahorn, embodied its very core. “It was four years ago, and I was on tour with him and Andrew Peterson. It was at a painful time in my life, and I was in the back lounge talking with him, and just spilling out my pain and regret. I got done and I braced myself for the point where he would offer me an answer or try to fix it. Instead, he said ‘Okay, I want you to stand up, and here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to hug you. And I’m going to time it, and you have to let me hold you for two minutes.’ Okay. Awkward. He’s a man’s man, he’s not a huggy person at all. But I stand up and he hugs me and he has his watch and he goes, ‘Okay, I’m timing it, I’m not letting you go. And I’m kind of laughing, and then I start crying, and then I start ugly crying, and I kind of slump, and my friend Andy is just holding me. He didn’t offer answers, didn’t offer me anything except for loving kindness in that moment of pain and shame. It’s one of the most healing things I’ve ever experienced in my life. A real example of him pouring love into a very exposed, broken place in my life.”

The moment was pivotal in forming one of the album’s standout tracks, Not Right Now. It’s a first-person song about grief, spoken not unlike Job’s desperation in the midst of his less-than-helpful friends. And it hits directly at the sentiments so many well-intentioned Christians offer to friends who are hurting, when sometimes it’s better just to be present. “Don’t tell me, when I’m grieving,” the singer declares, “that this happened for a reason.”

In time, love does its redeeming work, and this album speaks to every step in that recovery. The Final Word is set in the midst of confusion and struggle. Begin Again is a beacon of light, pointing to recovery, even if “you’re afraid you’ve failed everybody you love.” Finally, love does its mighty work and we feel the joy swirl around us. Laugh Out Loud is our celebration, and With Every Act of Love recounts the positive actions that follow redemption. “It was important to me to have a song about grief and a song about laughter on the same record,” Gray notes. “Each makes the other one more meaningful and believable.”

Lead single With Every Act of Love has already broken records. Its debut helped mark the most successful week at radio in Centricity music history with 39 adds across the country. The song was inspired by N.T. Wright’s book Surprised by Hope, and it’s a direct challenge to the sentiment that this world is not our home, we’re just passing through, so little of what we do here matters. “Everything matters,” Gray declares. “The kingdom will come, but the kingdom is also coming right now and we are invited to participate in it. With every act of love we are allowing the kingdom to come into the little part of the world that we influence, whether we are building a home for the poor, or building a PB&J for our kid. Whether we are clothing those in need, or doing laundry for our family, if we’re doing it as an act of love, then it’s eternal, it lasts forever.”

Producers Jason Ingram and Cason Cooley provide a strong soundscape for these truths, blending elements of Gray’s acoustic guitar with touches of banjo, mandolin, and sweeping pop. The music is at turns somber, thoughtful, and ebullient, matching and emoting the powerful lyrics. Gray co-wrote every track with an all-star team including Ingram, Gullahorn, Ben Glover, Josh Wilson, and Nichole Nordeman.

“Love Will Have the Final Word” is, in the end, an album that meets us where we are, gently points us to the redeeming power of love, and spurs us on to share it. We move from the idolatry of shame to the restoration of action: “God put a million, million doors in the world for His love to walk through. One of those doors is you.” Without even realizing it we notice how far we’ve come, we marvel at the impossibility of it all, and we laugh out loud.

Carrollton

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carrolltonband.com/site

Halfway between their hometowns of Cincinnati, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky, lies the small town of Carrollton. Although only a little over 3,000 people call it home, for Justin Mosteller, Jeremy Menard, Michael Loy, and Jordan Bailey it signifies their brotherly bond, their music, and their namesake. Justin and Jeremy live in Cincinnati, while Michael and Jordan call Louisville home. It’s not very easy living 2 1/2 hours away from one another, but that’s what the guys have always been used to since the beginning. The quaint town of Carrollton is the breath of fresh air on the road and the hope-filled reminder of the places they call home.

Previously performing under the moniker Mosteller, Justin’s last name, the band went through more than 100 possible names before landing on Carrollton. “We drive back and forth from Louisville to Cincinnati constantly to rehearse and write, so Carrollton has become this really cool little exit for us and a special place,” Justin explains. “When we pass Carrollton we’re halfway home, and we’re halfway to where we’re going. It represents that restful feeling for us.”

The members of Carrollton didn’t grow up playing together. Instead, their origin was providentially orchestrated in a more organic fashion. All four members began playing music and leading worship at church in high school. The band’s final line-up came together over the course of several years as Justin was introduced to each of the other guys through friends when he needed additional players to help him lead worship. “We all just love each other,” Jeremy shares. “So once it was the four of us, it just felt right. We loved playing together and hanging out with one another. Our hearts and passions for what we do were the same.”

Growing up in a Christian home, Justin (lead vocals, guitar) began leading worship as a freshman in high school. Michael (drums) grew up an only child in a loving Christian home and had his sights set on music from day one. Meanwhile, Jeremy (lead guitar) grew up in a self-described “religiously confused home.” However, looking back he now sees this as the very thing that pushed him toward Christianity. “As frustrating as it was then, I realize now how valuable that was just because it forced me to really wrestle with what I believe,” he says. Jordan (bass) grew up in a tight-knit Christian family as one of 10 kids, all of whom were homeschooled. He spent his summers during high school working with his dad restoring log cabins and barns but started playing guitar around age 12.

The band’s common identity lies in their shared beliefs and love for music. They are on the same page when it comes to family, faith and life’s real source of contentment. “True joy’s found in a life with Jesus,” Jordan shares. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on here on earth, but our true joy’s found in Him alone.” That belief united the group when they first started playing together five years ago, just as it does now.

Once the line-up was locked in, a pop/rock band intent on serving at youth conferences and church services was born. It wasn’t until the members found themselves at an artist retreat in Winthrop, Wash., led by Centricity Music, that they realized the reality of their calling, the larger dreams God had for them and the hard work required.

“That’s the week when we really sat down and looked at each other and said, ‘We’re [committed to] this,’” Jeremy remembers. “I just think you really know when you love something if you see all the terrible things about it and still can’t not do it… But we were all like, ‘This is what we’re called to do.’

“We all just put this whole thing on the altar that week and gave it to God and said, ‘Listen, if You want us to kill it, we’ll do that, but if you want us to pick it back up and keep going, we’ll do that, too,’” he continues.

When they came home to their respective cities after the retreat, they had a renewed vision for the greater calling God had placed on their lives. At this point, they had no idea a record deal with Centricity loomed in their future. They just knew they had to serve God through music.

“It’s not just about being in a band. There’s a bigger picture to this. If there wasn’t, I don’t think we’d be here today because of the sacrifices you have to make, because of the sacrifices you ask your wives and kids to make,” Michael contends. “If we weren’t doing this to really try to build the kingdom and, in some way, bring hope to people, I think we’d have better things to sacrifice our families for than just to try to make a dollar.”

It wasn’t until recently that the band felt the freedom to step out of their comfort zone and try their hand at writing songs about life from a Christian perspective, rather than only writing straightforward worship songs. The result has been some of the most satisfying work of their career thus far. Michael says they are consistently seeking God’s leading throughout their writing process asking questions like, “Where is God leading me today? And just in general, where is He leading us as a band? How can we use those moments that will connect with a bigger audience that is probably going through the same kind of junk or riding the same kind of highs?”

It’s through this lens that they filter all of their songs, asking honest questions in order to write from a place of authenticity. “We want to write the most honest music we can that just really tells our stories,” Michael continues. “Nothing’s fabricated. It’s just us putting it with a melody.”

“I think we’re called as people who follow Jesus to have one ear to heaven and one ear to this earth and figure out what’s going on here and what God is saying to us about it, believing that He speaks,” Justin adds.

Carrollton has been writing both collectively and individually for the past 16 months, building a large creative pool from which to draw. They’ve written with a host of well-respected writers, including David Leonard (All Sons & Daughters), Sam Mizell, Justin Ebach, Matt Armstrong and Josh Bronleewe, among others.They’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to learn from some of their musical heroes and also fine-tune their craft throughout the creative process. “The joy of it is found in sacrificing and not living in the lines people tell you to, being yourself, being who you’re made to be,” Justin offers.

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Jonny Diaz

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www.jonnydiaz.com

On May 15, 2015, just before midnight, everything changed for Jonny Diaz. When he and his wife, Libby, welcomed their daughter, Charlie Grace, into the world, the singer/songwriter officially added “Dad” to his long list of accomplishments. In many ways, it was the beginning of a new chapter for Diaz and a period of change that’s proved far more exhausting and more rewarding than he could have ever imagined. In fact, the birth of his first child came in a long succession of events leading up to the release of his latest EP, aptly titled Everything Is Changing (Centricity Music).

“We didn’t even have the baby yet, and I just felt so overwhelmed with everything life was throwing at me,” Diaz admits. The Florida-native found himself staring down impending fatherhood in the midst of an intense 40-city tour. All the while, back at home, he was helping his wife launch a fitness studio and quickly approaching a deadline to turn in a new record.

“In some ways when I had to co-write, it was stressful, because I was like, ‘Man, I have to commit this entire day to writing a song, and I don’t even know if I’m going to use the song,’” Diaz recalls, looking back at the process.

When he would sit down for co-writes, more times than not, he simply began telling his fellow writers about his life’s current events—the songs naturally flowing out of the day-to-day, almost in real time. Thus, the tracks that rose above the cutting room floor for the six-song set ring true to the season of life where Diaz finds himself. However, fans shouldn’t expect a lullaby album. All of the songs except one were finished before Charlie Grace was even born—each cut standing as a testament to Diaz’s firm belief in transparency.

“From the very beginning, I just described myself as a Christian who loves music. It was, and still is, impossible for me to be authentic with my songwriting and not talk about my relationship with Christ and how He’s impacted my life,” he says. While Diaz’s faith is evident with each release, his songwriting has never shied away from the messiness of life and relationships.

“I’m at a point where I genuinely feel like I have nothing left to lose,” he shares, noting that he spent years trying to recreate the magic that transpired with early No. 1 hit “More Beautiful You”—a practice that pointed Diaz toward endless striving but yielded little fruit.

“I just wasn’t trying to recapture any of that old stuff,” Diaz says of Everything Is Changing. “I wasn’t trying to make sure I hit any sales figures or any radio charts. I just wanted to write authentic songs, because I realized those are not only the ones that I’m going to be most proud of, but those are the ones that connect the best anyway.”

The evolution in his approach and subsequent viewpoint resulted in a newfound joy unearthed during the recording process. Diaz may have been unsettled as he attempted to spin too many plates—both personally and professionally—but he also discovered a peace culled from being certain of his calling. “Ultimately, this is where God has led me just through trying to be authentic,” he maintains. “I don’t have all the answers and not everything is going to be perfect, but there’s still joy down in my soul.”

That thought became the hinge for the album’s buoyant cut, “Joy.” “Honestly, I am just at this really joyful state,” he shares, adding, “When you decide you want to write a song about joy, you sure don’t want to write a slow song about the subject.” The cheerful track is the most upbeat of the half dozen songs, adequately reflecting the feeling that should permeate a believer’s life, regardless of circumstances shaping our happiness.

First track, “Enough In You,” points to God being the source of true joy. “I want to acknowledge all the areas where life is tough and acknowledge every area where we come up short but also realize that Christ is enough…and find truth and joy in that,” Diaz says. The song reveals the singer finally coming to terms with his genuine identity in Christ, a theme that also shows up on the playful “Saved From.”

Meanwhile, poignant lead single “Breathe” provides a glimpse into the frenetic pace of life Diaz navigated during the writing process. Musically, the song gives listeners space for respite as the up-tempo verses slow down to a crawl in the chorus, as if the singer is literally taking a breath. “I realized I’m not the only one feeling that way, and I think a lot of listeners can relate to that,” Diaz notes of the song centered on finding rest in the midst of the rat race. He also reminds us that the things that often keep us busy aren’t always bad with the lyric: “Lay down what’s good, and find what’s best.”

Centerpiece “Chance” proves an original take on how God can use hardship for good. “Somebody once told me that they really don’t know why God allows hard things to happen to us, but one of their thoughts is that God wants to show Himself completely to us,” Diaz explains. “One of God’s characteristics is a healer, and how could He show Himself as a healer if He didn’t allow hurt? How could He show Himself as a restorer if He didn’t allow brokenness? Maybe God allows all these things to happen so that we can fully see who He is, because those are all big aspects of His character and His personality.”

Closing out the set is his dedication to Charlie Grace, “All Because Of You.” Diaz began the track before she was born and finished it once he held her in his arms, but the process of writing a song for his daughter left him conflicted. “It’s so easy to write a song for a newborn and just talk about how it turns you into a pile of mush,” he muses. “I feel like it’s so easy for it to be a song that connects with you but not with other people. For months I was just trying to rack my brain for a way I could write Charlie Grace a song and not have it be cheesy.

“I wanted to acknowledge the fact that this is not all easy, and it’s not all perfect,” he continues, as the candid song recounts all the limitations fatherhood often inflicts. “There are some things about this baby coming that are absolutely going to turn my world upside down, but at the end of it, I wouldn’t want to change a thing."

Like anything else, parenthood is a process and one Diaz is still working through. “Everybody says, ‘This will be the best and the toughest thing you do,’ and we’re right in the middle of that,” he shares. “There are a lot of things I’m processing…just trying to figure out my role as her dad. Clearly, one of those roles is provider, and the way I’ve done that for my entire adult life is music; but also one of my roles is to be there in person. I’m just figuring out how those balance out.”

At times, Diaz has also attempted to balance two full-time jobs as he acts as general manager of Fit Factory Nashville, the local 6,000 square-foot gym he owns and operates alongside Libby, who acts as head trainer. The new business venture has become an unconventional source of community and support for the couple and its more than 200 members.

“There’s something about getting through a tough work-out or even kind of suffering through something that just brings people together,” Diaz says. “We’ve seen God create a cool community through what we’ve done. It’s been such a neat way for us to meet, minister and invest in so many young adults in our area.”

Like any hard-working husband and father, he may be wearing a multitude of hats and life may not always be perfect, but he’s learning to find and appreciate the beauty in the messiness. Everything is changing, but it’s really Diaz who’s being changed in the process; and he’s more than OK with letting God shine through his imperfections.

“In my effort to be genuine, one of the things God has called me to do is to not stand on stage and try and look like I have it all together,” he says, “but instead, stand on stage and admit where I need saving, because I can make my Savior look big by admitting all the things He’s saved me from. I can stand up there and say, ‘Here’s where my life has completely fallen apart, but here’s how God has pieced me back together.’”

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