One of the great joys of my job is learning about terrific Christian artists that are mostly undiscovered.  One up-and- coming songwriter is Andrew Greer.  I had the chance to talk with him recently, and here’s some of our conversation: DT:  When did you realize that you wanted to do music as a full-time career? Andrew:  I loved music my entire life. My mother is a music educator and has been educated in music, so she infused my brothers and I with music of all sorts from an early age. And then, into high school - actually when I began going to live concerts and I began seeing the interaction between …

This past Saturday, a big benefit concert took place at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. The efforts were to raise funds for the Haiti relief efforts through Compassion International, an organization that has already been ministering in Haiti for over 4 decades. OK… those are the facts. Now, let me kick my shoes off and tell you what it was like to experience this event first-hand. In a word… Amazing! It was one of the coolest concert experiences I’ve had in my life. Any concert in the Ryman is special, but this was a sold-out concert featuring some of my favorite artists (many of which I regularly play on …

I’ve been thinking lately about the songs that I’m drawn to, and the ones that I connect with emotionally.  There was a day when I was digesting a steady diet of CCM Radio Music – which has a tendency to be overtly encouraging and happy. But in the last year, I have fallen more in love with sad songs.  The artists that inspire me tend to look through melancholy glasses.  But why is this happening?  Why am I growing less interested in the standard contemporary praise songs of the day, and finding solace in the arms of minor chords?  I don’t feel any more sour or depressed.  So why? I’m wondering …

I had the privelege of seeing my first ever Switchfoot concert this week at Chicago's House of Blues.  Even on a Tuesday night, it was a sold-out crowd, and you could sense an excitement in the air.  It was the first time I received a press pass specifically with UTR, so I was feeling like Daddy Warbucks!After the so-so opening act Paper Tigers (didn't impress me all that much), Switchfoot took the stage and ripped into their opening track from Hello Hurricane, "Needle and Haystack Life."What didn't surprise me at all was the musical excellence, the energetic stage presence of Jon Foreman, and the loyal fan participation.  One thing that did …

Last month, I went on a mini-tour with Nashville songwriter Eric Peters in an effort to promote Under The Radar.  True, this was small potatoes in the world of touring.  All of our venues were either in Chicagoland or Western Michigan – which allowed me to actually sleep in my own bed most nights.  But still, this was a first for me – so here’s the Top 10 things I learned from the tour. 10.  Eric Peters loves his family.  This was the longest Eric had been away from home in years.  He checked in with his family several times per day, and missed them a ton.  It was admirable. 9.  …

Congrats to our grand prize winner: Judson Neer.  You'll be receiving 2010 minutes of music (over 40 CD's)!But that's not all.  These 6 listeners will win our runner up prize, a new UTR t-shirt:  Brandon Kashitani, Randy Doleman, Anjeanine Brown, Walt Coyle, Doug Kimball, and Adam Cline.

Reflecting on the year gone by, our UTR panel of critics made their recommendations for the Top Gourmet Songs of last year. As you might expect, the choices vary widely because a lot of these are based on how certain songs connected with each person. However, we're confident that you can peruse this list and find some new gems to add to your music collection.

In a small step toward global dominance, Under The Radar is getting the word out grassroots-style about the program by promoting & sponsoring a Chicago-area tour featuring Nashville indie songwriter Eric Peters.  If you’re in IL or MI, we’d love to see you at any of these shows...

For the first time, Under The Radar presents the Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2009. This list is a collaboration of a panel of critics who nominated the best art made by Christians in the CCM industry and in the mainstream - based on creative songwriting, production quality, artistic presentation, and spiritual depth.

In addition to our Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2009 we have a few honorable mentions.

Our Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2009 list would not have been possible without the hard work of our panel of critics.

This morning, the town where I live experienced the first snowfall of the season. I'm sure it was pretty. I'm sure God wanted to remind me of the whiteness of His forgiveness. But, I was running late on getting my kids to school, so we were rush, rush, rushing. As my car slid on the cold pavement, I was beginning to look at the snow as a serious inconvenience; heaven forbid I have to drive 5 MPH slower! The Christmas season tends to bring out the worst of our impatience. Yes, the cards are stacked against us. On the one hand, there seems to be so much more to do this …

One of the roles I love as a Dad is helping my children overcome their fears. Sometimes it's in the very small things, like trying a new food. At times it's a bigger challenge, like getting on one of those rickety rides at the local carnival. My kids are a bit introverted, so they seem to be prone to timidity. I take on the role of coach as I challenge them often to stretch beyond their comfort zone. I've seen how fear can affect people's health, cripple a church, hurt marriages, and cause businesses to fail. I also think of the football quarterback that loses his accuracy because he's afraid of …

Congratulations to these 3 UTR listeners who will each receive a Phil Wickham Discography.  (Thanks to INO Records for their partnership!)

How thankful are you the day after Thanksgiving? I mean, we sit at our tables, with turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and talk about how blessed we are. We say prayers of thanks to God and we thank the people in our lives for the things they have done for us. We remember the people that have died in the past, and the troubles we had to face to get to where we are in life, love, and a million other things. And then we put away the turkey and buy a newspaper so we can scope out the best deals. We make plans of attack, pack baggies full of …