Saint John sole Atlantic Canadian stop for Newsboys
Published Wednesday October 7th, 2009
SAINT JOHN - One of the biggest bands in Christian music will raise the roof of Harbour Station Thursday.
The Newsboys have been a staple of the Christian rock scene since 1985 and while the lineup has changed over the years, their success has been constant.
Mike Caddell, general manager of Harbour Station, said the band played the venue two years ago and loved the building and the crowd.
"At the end of the day, they've still been around since 1985 so they must be doing something right," Caddell said.
The Newsboys have racked up 25 No. 1 radio hits, five gold albums and sales that have exceeded the $6-million mark. Over their career they've taken home six Grammy awards and been nominated 23 times.
"This is the only Eastern Canada date on this leg of the tour," Caddell said.
The tour is in support of the band's May release In The Hands of God and features new front man Michael Tait. He takes over for longtime lead singer and original band member Peter Furler who stepped into the background to concentrate on songwriting and producing for the group.
"They don't get much bigger," Caddell said. "When you look at it, they've been around for almost 25 years and they're probably the most popular or best-selling Christian music artist in the past two years in Canada."
The Newsboys are bringing three opening acts with them to Saint John - Seventh Day Slumber, Bread of Stone and Me In Motion.
"This is a rock show," Caddell said.
Complete with a full-blown light show, scathing guitar riffs and even a rotating drum set, it has all the theatrics of a more traditional rock show. Only the lyrics are different.
"The stage will not be that much different from any other rock 'n' roll show we've had in the building."
With 2009 winding down, the shows at Harbour Station are not. On Oct. 30, illusionist David Copperfield plays two shows, and on Nov. 1 the Australian Pink Floyd Show brings its theatre of rock to the stage.
On Dec. 21, the So You Think You Can Dance tour brings its 10 finalists to Harbour Station.
"We've had over six million people in the building since it opened a little over 16 years ago. We've had everything from country, to heavy metal, to rock 'n' roll."
And, said Caddell, the Sea Dogs continue to heat up the ice in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
Caddell would only hint at a major upcoming concert announcement, saying that rap fans will be thrilled.
"We hope to have one more big announcement before the year end. It's going to be a fun one."
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