Due to the popularity of the original 2007 Bethlehem Skyline project, Centricity Music will release Bethlehem Skyline Vol. 2 September 28, 2010. The Christmas album will feature eight Centricity Music artists; Downhere, Jason Gray, Andrew Peterson, Me In Motion, Sixteen Cities, Lanae’ Hale, High Valley and Matt Papa, who perform original compositions and holiday classics on the CD.
The concept for Bethlehem Skyline began at a Centricity Music retreat, when the staff wanted all of the label’s artists to perform, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” and that idea grew into a complete Christmas project. All of the artists enthusiastically embraced the album concept, including Jason Gray who also appeared on the first Bethlehem Skyline CD.
“The album actually had very humble beginnings,” Gray explains. “It was a project that we all got to work on and what is beautiful about it, is that it was a labor of love. I like the idea that it was not specifically born out of a marketing agenda.”
Downhere is the only other returning artist and they are joined by some of the newer acts on Centricity Music. Me In Motion give their rendition of Brenda Lee’s holiday hit, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” and Sixteen Cities performs a heartfelt version of “O Holy Night.” Humor has also found its way into Bethlehem Skyline Vol. 2 with Lanae’ Hale’s original song, “Starving Artist Christmas,” which became a fan favorite on last year’s Bethlehem Skyline Tour. And there’s some Country flavor thrown in with High Valley’s performance of “Away In A Manger” and a poignant original composition from Gray, “Love Has A Name.”
“I was trying to write a Christmas song and I was stressing, as it wasn’t working,” Gray admits. “I was interested in trying to bridge the gap between the secular and the sacred that we experience at Christmas time. Some people despise the secular aspect of Christmas and I totally get that and I feel it too. However, I think hidden in those things there is a longing for the gospel and a hope for Christmas.”
About Centricity Music
Centricity Music is an independent recording and publishing company based in Bellevue, Washington and Nashville, Tennessee. The company’s mission is to enable our artists to create life-changing experiences for the world. Centricity Music’s artist roster includes Jaime Jamgochian, Downhere, Jason Gray, Lanae’ Hale, Andrew Peterson, High Valley, Matt Papa, Sixteen Cities and Me In Motion. For more information about Bethlehem Skyline Vol. 2and Centricity Music visit online at www.centricitymusic.com.
Bethlehem Skyline Vol. 2 Song Listing:
- Give It Away/Me In Motion
- Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree/Me In Motion
- Christmas In Our Hearts/Downhere
- Silent Night/Downhere
- Do You Hear What I Hear/Jason Gray
- Love Has A Name/Jason Gray
- Away In A Manger/High Valley
- Carol Of The Bells/Lanae’ Hale
- Starving Artist Christmas/Lanae’ Hale
- Morningstar/Sixteen Cities
- O Holy Night/Sixteen Cities
- Long, Long Ago/Andrew Peterson
- Little Drummer Boy/Matt Papa
- Hope Has Come/Matt Papa
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