Look who’s on MTV

Fresh off a tour with MercyMe and Jeremy Camp, melodic rockers The Afters are now making a dent on the airwaves. The group recently scored a slot on MTV’s “Advance Warning,” a 30-minute program dedicated to brand new artists worth keeping an eye on.

Wedding bells and babies

CrossWay’s unique bridging of southern gospel and pop may have propelled its hit, “Long Arm of Love,” to the top of the charts, but members are celebrating for different reasons these days. Bassist-vocalist Chris Weaver married Carla Quinn in June, with group mates Marty Hurt, Matt McFarland and Paul Smith serving as groomsmen. Equally exciting news comes from Hurt and his wife, Christy (coincidentally Weaver’s sister), who are expecting triplets in October.

It was 20 years ago ...

On July 13, 1985, the music world came together for the internationally televised, cross-continental concert known as “Live Aid.” Two decades later with a slightly modified title, “Live 8” occurred in America, London, Rome, Paris, Tokyo and many more places to raise awareness about poverty in Africa and encourage the leaders of the G8 nations (eight of the world’s most wealthy and powerful countries) to eliminate Third World debt, increase aid to Africa and adopt fair trade practices. Frequent mainstream crossovers Jars of Clay participated in the Philadelphia event, alongside the illustrious likes of Stevie Wonder, Destiny’s Child, Will Smith, Black Eyed Peas and Toby Keith. Africa has always been close to the group’s heart, as demonstrated by Jars members’ 2002 founding of Blood:Water Mission.

Presidential presence

Singer-songwriter-pianist Ginny Owens has never been a stranger to charity work and her recent reaching out for Habitat for Humanity proved to pay off. Not only did she help raise awareness for the home-building operation, but she also got to visit with the organization’s work project figurehead, former president Jimmy Carter, along with his wife, Rosalynn Carter.

Lending a helping hand

Socially conscious members of brand new Fervent Records act Inhabited took time out from their tour schedule this summer to aid the charitable One Heart, Many Hands organization. The community program helps renovate and repair homes for elderly, disabled and single-parent families. After a long day of hard work, the female-fronted rock group performed a concert for nearly 5,000 fellow volunteers.