The Christian Music Blog Podcast: Christian Music | Songwriting | Worship | Creative Productivity | Music Business

A bittersweet episode, but a good one to end on.... Nate explains a big transition for his family, and why it's time to wrap up CMB. View the blog post for this episode here.

Merry Christmas! Check out the show notes here.

In episode 70 of the CMB Podcast, Stephen and I talked about his latest record Liberating King, his new book that goes with it, and an exciting new worship community called Rooted Network. Check out the show notes here.

Matt Tinsley's new EP "The Hardest Part" is FANTASTIC.... View the show notes here.

Win a copy of their new book! Visit http://natefancher.com/ for more.

In episode 67 of the CMB Podcast I spoke with emerging artist Meredith Kinleigh. Get the show notes here.

Jeremiah Carlson and Nate Fancher sit down to chat about Jeremiah's band The Neverclaim, and their latest release The Joy.

CMB 065 : A Special Christmas Episode

View the show notes here.

In episode 63 of the CMB Podcast I was stoked to sit down with an awesome new artist Lauren Daigle. Unsure if it was her true calling, she almost pushed music to the back burner until a devastating illness brought her young life into sharper focus. Now Lauren is living up to the high expectations for her new single, “How Can It Be.” We talked about her story of faith and music, her new EP, life on the road, future projects, and a lot more... See the full notes here at http://natefancher.com/

In episode 62 of the CMB Podcast, I was honored to talk with singer/songwriter Joanna Beasley. Her latest album Loud Love, is her third full length album since she started back in 2005 as a nineteen year old, with no record label. Her musical journey started as a semi-finalist for American Idol's third season in 2003, opening up several doors and opportunities for her music career. We talked about her story growing up in a Christian home, but later discovering the gospel in a fresh way. We also talked about her journey as an indie artist, the importance of building the right team around you, her songwriting process, and more. Win A Copy of Loud Love! Leave a comment in the comment section below, sharing your thoughts about the interview, and you'll be included in a drawing to win Joanna's latest record Loud Love. I'll send you a personal note in the mail with it too! Some More Highlights Her encounter with grace and the gospel Her experience as an American Idol semi-finalist Building the right team that understands your vision Finding people who you trust to speak into your life Don't allow perfectionism to stop you Why you need to advance on all fronts Mentoring other young artists Does age matter? Her latest album "Loud Love" When God said to lead worship Singing truth instead of cliches a revelation of God's love changing everything Gearing up for what's next Songwriting while worshiping God in the living room Being yourself and who God created you to be Web Links Joanna's official website Loud Love on iTunes Joanna on Instagram Joanna on Facebook Joanna on Twitter Joanna on YouTube YouTube Video of Rooftops Other Things Mentioned The new http://natefancher.com site coming soon Big changes coming to CMB.... Join the mailing list here to find out more.          

Today on the CMB Podcast, we get to hear from talented new worship leader and songwriter, Corey Voss. Back in episode 57 we had music publisher Steve Rice on the podcast to discuss the launch of the new worship label CentricWorship. This time around, it's an honor to have their first artist on the podcast to talk about his story so far as a songwriter and worship leader. Corey's heart for Jesus, his church, and writing songs that help people encounter truth, is genuine and refreshing. His song "Nothing But The Blood", a primary song from the EP All The Saints - Live From The CentricWorship Retreat - #1, speaks of the beauty of the timeless gospel in a relevant and engaging way. We talked about his story of faith and music making as a teenager, songwriting, and his recent signing to CentricWorship. Some Highlights Being exposed to Christian music as a teenager Studying Church Ministries at Southeastern in Lakeland, FL Discovering the call to worship ministry and music Developing on staff at Life Church Moving from Florida to the Nashville area Open doors in Music City Signing to CentricWorship Co-writing at the CentricWorship retreat Strengths and weaknesses as a young artist Charlie Peacock's insights for young artists Balancing local church ministry with travel and artist life Trying worship songs at his church Discipling other worship leaders in your church Seeing new songwriters grow in your church Loving and serving your local church first Links for Corey Corey's official website Corey Voss on Facebook Corey Voss on Twitter CentricWorship's official site NoiseTrade Sampler Corey at the CentricWorship Retreat      

On today's podcast, I was honored to sit down with Josh and Angela Walker, a couple with an awesome story and a purpose to get behind.... The following story is taken from http://hymnsforselena.com Hymns For Selena is a story that started in the heart of Josh and Angela Walker five years ago while on a mission trip. It was then that they met Selena, a Guatemalan orphan living in an orphanage. While returning home they both felt that God wanted them to pursue Selena’s good. Believing that adoption was what they were to pursue, Josh and Angela started researching their options, but sadly discovered that Guatemala had recently closed the doors to international adoption. Heartbroken, but determined to follow in God’s leading, they decided to continue moving forward, doing whatever possible for the good of this one particular child they now so dearly loved. They took many other trips to visit Selena, and through a set of God ordained events, they were able to move Selena out of the orphanage and into the Echeverrias home, where they are now her legal guardians. This family, Nufito, Mimi and their son Junior, is a local Guatemalan Christian family, who were friends with their missionary contacts there. Hymns For Selena was created in an attempt to do something unique and special for the Echeverrias family and Selena. Over the last few years, Josh reworked and rewrote 10 hymns that were special for them on this journey. The project brings on many friends of the Walkers to guest feature on each hymn. From vocals, to musical production, and even website design, friends of Josh and Angela have freely given their time and talents to make this project happen. The Hymns for Selena album is a free download on http://noisetrade.com with the option of leaving a tip. Any resources that are ever brought in from this album, or these songs, will be sent directly to Selena and the Echeverria family. Highlights From The Conversation Josh and Angela's story about Selena Praying together as a family How the album "Hymns For Selena" was born Getting people from The Village Church involved Music and Movement Links Official Site Noisetrade link Facebook Twitter YouTube Videos Music and Movement (blogpost at Gospel Coalition) Article at Orphan Care Network If this story inspired you, would you consider sharing it? Simply click here for Twitter or here for Facebook.  

Not many songwriters understand the power of storytelling the way Andrew Peterson does. He truly has a gift to connect with people through his art, which has obviously come through in his more than 12 studio releases, and his knack for writing great fiction. In fact, earlier this week, his fourth and final installment of "The Wingfeather Saga" hit retail. The Warden And The Wolf King is the epic ending of this truly engaging story. Christians who know and love the fantasy novels of Lewis and Tolkien, will feel right at home with Peterson's ability to envelop you in his world of "toothy cows" and "sea dragons". Andrew is also a successful songwriter and musician. He’s worked with all kinds of artists like Matthew Perryman Jones, Brandon Heath, David Wilcox, Allison Kraus, Bebo Norman, Phil Keaggy, Derek Webb, and many more. We talked about his story as a young guy that loved being creative, the difference between songwriting and book writing, his super successful 6 figure Kickstarter campaign for his latest book The Warden And The Wolf King and a lot more. The Highlights Andrew’s story of creativity Taste and ten-thousand hours The power of story telling There’s not a secular molecule in the universe The difference between songwriting and book writing How The Wingfeather Saga was born The only way to learn how to write Let the song and the story be what it wants to be How The Warden And The Wolf King became book four Pembrick’s Creaturepedia The $118,000 Kickstarter The Rabbit Room community Songs in today's podcast are "The Cornerstone" and "Carry The Fire" from Andrew's album Light For The Lost Boy Andrew’s Links The Warden And The Wolf King (Link to Rabbit Room) Official site Andrew on Twitter Andrew on Facebook Ira Glass On Storytelling        

Stephen Altrogge's book Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff, is a must read. I've followed Stephen for some time at his blog The Blazing Center and was eager to get this self-published book. It's a wonderfully refreshing book on what it means to be creative in light of the gospel. When it was released, I immediately got it and read it in one day. In today's podcast, I asked Stephen to give us his insights regarding the life of a habitual creative. When it comes to writing great songs, producing great art, or anything creative, there are no shortcuts or quick-fixes to creating quality stuff. There is no such thing as overnight success. We simply do the work. We get our butt's in the chair and discipline ourselves to start. Stephen does an excellent job addressing the heart first. He often talks about identity and the freedom that we have in Christ, as we grow in both confidence and humility in making art consistently. Here are the highlights from our conversation Stephen's story growing up in a creative family The reason the book was written Why creativity is needed everywhere Being okay with being okay The freedom for creatives from the gospel Understanding the season of life you're in, and how that affects your creativity Receiving criticism How the local church is vital for Christian creatives Top books for creative people Read until your brain creaks Overcoming fear Stephen's Links The book - Create: Stop Making Excuses and Start Making Stuff Other books by Stephen The Blazing Center blog Stephen on Twitter In A Little While (Album with Mark and Stephen Altrogge) Other Items Mentioned On Writing (Stephen King) Bird By Bird (Anne Lamott) On Writing Well (William Zinsser) Wordsmithy (Douglas Wilson) A must watch for artists I also mentioned the Ira Glass quote, which Stephen also references in his book. Here's an awesome video taking the audio of his quote and giving it an engaging video backdrop.... Enjoy!