Following the June 29 release of its widely acclaimed 20th recording, A Beautiful Exchange, which made its debut at No. 1 on several retail charts (No. 40 on the Billboard Top 200), Hillsong LIVE launched its highly anticipated tour of the U.S. July 21 and traveled to 12 major markets before culminating the tour Aug. 5 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. Averaging nearly 4,000 people per market, every venue sold out and the tour drew feature coverage from CNN, Dallas Morning News, CBN and many other regional and national publications across the country.
“With more than 11 million records sold, Hillsong is one of the most popular worship groups in the world… The two-hour service began with three power anthems, with the crowd singing along at full volume. The only time people sat was during a short intermission…” reported CNN following the Atlanta tour date.
“Its canon has become a major part of contemporary Christian worship in the U.S., Australia and around the world,” adds The Dallas Morning News prior to the Dallas event.
Writer of the current No. 1 Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) song, “Mighty To Save,” sung by an estimated 40 million people every week in church services around the world, and leading his first Hillsong LIVE tour of the U.S., Reuben Morgan says, “We were looking forward to this tour in America and have really been overwhelmed at the response. Every night of worship has been unique and inspiring. It has been amazing to see everyone and hear them joining in with us to sing praise to God each night of the tour.”
“After experiencing the Hillsong Live tour in Atlanta, I was so inspired having participated in an incredible evening of worship framed with compelling songs that have circled the globe,” says Peter York, EMI CMG Label Group President. “For myself, and the whole team at EMI CMG involved in supporting the tour and the group, we are humbled and inspired to continue to help grow the impact of the songs of Hillsong LIVE around the world.”
Promoting the Hillsong LIVE with Reuben Morgan tour in eight of the 12 markets, Premier Productions offered tickets on sale to the public beginning June 4 and quickly gathered tens of thousands of tickets sold sparking a second concert added at the 2,300-seat Club Nokia, both of which sold out long before the events happened this week. (See the full tour itinerary listed below. A post-tour video blog can be found at: http://vimeo.com/14078547.)
“This Hillsong LIVE tour has been nothing short of amazing,” reflects Shane Quick, Premier Productions coowner. “People young and old from coast to coast standing in long lines, singing to the top of their lungs was the norm. I believe Hillsong is at the beginning of a worldwide worship phenomenon. Their heart for the local church body and desire to see people connect in worship is life changing.”
Each year Hillsong Church, one of the world’s fastest-growing evangelical ministries, records songs from its worship community around the world that have resonated with the church throughout the year. Recorded live Nov. 8 along with thousands of worshippers gathered together in the Sydney Entertainment Centre and led by worship leaders Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Darlene Zschech and Jad Gillies, among others, Hillsong LIVE’s A Beautiful Exchange is the first release of brand new songs in the alliance announced earlier this year with EMI Christian Music Group. Known for such worldwide worship anthems as “Shout To The Lord,” “Mighty To Save,” “My Hope,” “From the Inside Out,” “Hosanna” and many more, Hillsong LIVE’s A Beautiful Exchange explores themes of sacrifice and redemption in the title track, extraordinary love in “Our God Is Love,” and features songs of hope, reconciliation and praise.
“This is Hillsong Church coming together from all over Sydney to celebrate, to pray, to seek God,” says Morgan. “We just press record. This is not about an album. This is really about a church, a family truly seeking God together…A Beautiful Exchange is a picture of that.”
In addition to the CD, A Beautiful Exchange is featured on DVD along with a “Behind The Scenes” documentary and subtitles in 11 languages, reflecting the worldwide reach of Hillsong LIVE. The Special Edition DVD further features five bonus recordings from Hillsong London.
Singing new songs from the album and congregational favorites spanning 20 recordings, the Hillsong LIVE with Reuben Morgan tour itinerary follows:
| Date | City | Venue |
| 7/21/2010 | Seattle, WA | City Church |
| 7/22/2010- THUR | Enumclaw, WA | Creation Festival |
| 7/24/2010- SAT | Atlanta, GA | Mount Pisgah |
| 7/25/2010- SUN | Spartanburg, SC | Evangel Cathedral |
| 7/26/2010- MON | Lexington, KY | Southland Christian |
| 7/27/2010- TUE | Detroit, MI | Northridge Church |
| 7/29/2010- THUR | Tulsa, OK | Church on the Move |
| 7/30/2010- FRI | Dallas, TX | Fellowship Church |
| 8/1/2010- SUN | Albuquerque, NM | Legacy Church |
| 8/2/2010- MON | Mesa, AZ | City Of Grace Church |
| 8/3/2010- TUE | Los Angeles, CA | Club Nokia |
| 8/4/2010- WED | Sacramento, CA | Bayside Church (Roseville, CA) |
| 8/5/2010- THUR | Los Angeles, CA | Club Nokia |
About Hillsong LIVE:
Beginning in 1988, Hillsong LIVE released its first worship album, Spirit and Truth, and now has 20 recordings with distribution in almost 90 countries worldwide. The Hillsong Church Worship and Creative Arts team, led by Joel Houston and Reuben Morgan, is made up of hundreds of dedicated singers and musicians, as well as a highly trained production crew. This team teaches new songs to Hillsong Church members almost every weekend. The Hillsong LIVE albums reveal the best of these songs and are meant to be a resource to enable people to enter into new dimension and atmosphere of praise and worship to the Lord, and to share some of what God is doing at Hillsong Church with Christians around the world.
About Hillsong Church:
Based in Sydney, Australia, Hillsong Church is one of the world’s fastest-growing ministries, with a 25,000-plus strong congregation in Australia, as well as one of the largest evangelical churches in London, Cape Town and Kiev. Hillsong also has churches in Stockholm and Paris, and recently announced plans to establish a new church in New York City. Hillsong Music has sold over 11 million albums to date and has earned 30 Gold and Platinum awards around the world.
For more information, tour tickets, etc., please visit: http://live.hillsong.com/ and www.theiheartrevolution.com.
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