Before we look ahead into the new year, let’s reflect on the wonderful music that was birthed in 2011 – which was an amazing year for fans of gourmet music.  With the help of our 10-member panel of critics, we have determined the best of the best – in originality, spiritual insight, and artistry.  With great honor, we present UTR’s Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2011.  [Albums qualified for consideration if they were from a Christian artist/songwriter and released between 11/30/10 and 11/30/11.]   1.   Invisible Empires – Sara Groves This ambitious album hits a cultural nerve as Sara addresses themes of loneliness, self-worth, personal image, and interpersonal challenges in …

What an amazing year of quality music!  It’s our tradition to pool the talented resources of our 10-member critics’ panel (yes, the panel grew by 1 this fall), and vote on the best, most creative, most artistic albums by Christian songwriters over the last year.  On the eve of revealing the “Top 11 Gourmet Albums of 2011,” we realize that there were some albums that almost made the Top 11, but just missed out.  These Honorable Mentions are still worth celebrating and sharing as some of the best art to grace our ears this year.   Odd Soul – MuteMath Ever since I had one of the concert experiences ever …

One of our favorite things at UTR is finding underdog artists that the world needs to hear, and sharing it with our listeners.  Some folks find out about these terrific bands and solo artists through our program, and some of our listeners introduce us to hidden gems.  We recently heard from over 300 members of the Under the Radar community answering the question - "Who are your top finds of 2011?" They aren't necessarily new artists and they don't need to have a new album out this year; the following artists were simply the top discoveries of 2011, submitted by you, the listeners.  [Yes, these are in numeric order based …

What do I love about Christmas?  Where do I start?  Gingerbread houses. Snowball fights. Ornaments on the tree. Huge sales at department stores. The "Rudolph" claymation movie. Wrapping presents. Unwrapping presents. Colorful lights on houses. Cookies with green and red sprinkles.  It dawns on me - these things aren't really celebrating the main purpose of the holiday.  Does that make them bad?  No way.  All of these things bring me joy.  However, it reminds me that if I'm not careful, I could crowd out the very thing we're supposed to be celebrating the most.  So, we polled nearly 150 UTR listeners to find out what their families do to help …

You don't have to hang around with us long to learn that Under the Radar supports independent artists. One way we show our support is through mini-tours and most recently the In Your House Tour with Eric Peters. While on tour this fall, we were interested to find out what kind of impact lesser known music has on people's lives and spiritual walk. Here are some of the comments from the attendees:   Living in a quaint but very small town it's easy to become sheltered & disconnected from other Christian's journeys. Eric Peters' music was just lovely, but deeper than that, it provided a way to deeply connect with another Christian's …

We’re such fans of Eric Peters that we decided to partner with him on a 2+ month nation-wide tour of (mostly) living room concerts.  The experience was a major highlight of 2011, and – as always – it was a treat to spend so much time on the road with Eric.  We did manage to corner him into the UTR studio and asked him a few questions:   DT:  Tell me about your perspective of the UTR “In Your House” Tour. Eric:  I must say that I was a little, not hesitant – that’s the wrong word, but slightly terrified doing the house show tour because I’ve done a smattering …

With Thanksgiving in the rear view mirror, you get the official green light to dust off your collection of Christmas music to give it the annual spin. I am a sentimental guy, so I love revisiting "Rudolph," "Silver Bells," and "White Christmas," but there comes a point where I can't take one more Kenny G. holiday tune. If you can relate, then you'll be happy to learn of some new music that's low on cheesiness and high on artistic quality. This list of the 6 Best Christmas Albums of 2011 will give you some great options to improve the quality of your seasonal soundtrack. 1. This Winter's Eve by Sarah …

I always find myself reflective this time of year.  It's not that I'm unthankful the rest of the year, but the Thanksgiving holiday gives me the opportunity to look back over the last year and "count my many blessings, name them one by one."  This year, I don't have look back more than a few days to find the thing I'm most grateful for. At 1:12pm on Wednesday, November 16, my wife and I welcomed our fourth (and likely final)  child into our family.  Molly Lynn weighed in at 6 pounds, 2 ounces - and her cuteness levels were officially off the charts! We didn't expect our daughter to get …

She’s no doubt one of my all-time favorite songwriters.  She’s one of the kindest and most authentic artists you could meet.  She’s recording timeless arrangement that will still be relevant 40 years from now.  I’m talking about the one-and-only Sara Groves.  In fact, this summer I wrote a blog post called “The 6 Things I Love About Sara Groves.”  She’s the featured guest this week on Under The Radar, and here’s part of the interview I recently did with her.   DT:  When did you first know you wanted to pursue music as a career? Sara:  Well, I wanted that as a little girl singing into my hairbrush. It’s not …

It started as an idea over beef sandwiches.  It became an experiment.  It ended as an epic adventure. One of our missions is to find various ways to show support for artists that deserve more attention.  We also want to foster a community of music lovers that are also patrons of good art.  In that spirit, UTR developed and launched the "In Your House" Tour - a grassroots effort to talk face-to-face with folks about our little program, and a way to support Eric Peters and help more people discover his music.  Between August 26 and October 29, 2011, we planned out 7 different trips to various regions of the …

This week Marc Martel was voted winner of Best Fan Cover at the MTV O AWARDS 2.  His cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” has drawn nearly 5 million YouTube views and earned him an appearance on “The Ellen Show”. He was even complemented on live TV by Queen’s Roger Taylor, who said Martel is “an extraordinarily good singer who would make a wonderful Freddie.”  I wonder how many people know that behind Marc stands an extraordinary band. I was able to make one of the stops on Downhere’s current tour, The Called to Love Tour, and it certainly deserves our attention. Aaron Shust opened the concert with his unique …

I was introduced to the music of Michael Milton in early 2011.  When I interviewed him later in the year, I had no idea the number of titles he carries – Pastor, Author, Speaker, Musician… and the chancellor of Reformed Theological Seminary.  It was great to get to know more about Michael.  Here’s some of our delightful conversation: DT:  Your latest album Through The Open Door is not your first release, is it? Michael:  No it’s not, it’s actually the third, and on the same label – Music for Missions. Music for Missions is a great label that gives 2/3 of the profits to the artist’s choice of ministry. For …

I call it “love at first listen.”  It’s those rare moments you stumble upon an artist you’ve never seen or heard before – oftentimes as an opening act in a live setting.  I had one of those moments in late June 2010 at the Cornerstone Festival when I first saw The Farewell Drifters perform live.  They an uber-talented quintet whose music has a mixture of folk, bluegrass, country, and 60’s pop.  It was  a great treat to have the band in our studios recently, and here’s some questions I had for the band’s founding members Zach Bevill and Josh Britt:   DT:  When did you first fall in love with …

It's hard to believe that I didn't even know who Eric Peters was or even heard one of his songs just 3 years ago.  Since then, together, we have driven over 3000 miles, gone to 6 used bookstores, dined on over 75 meals, and consumed 1,087 ounces of Starbucks' beverages (give or take).  In just the last 19 months, Eric has surpassed DC Talk as White Heart as the artist I've seen play live the most in my life -- 31 live performances to be exact. In that time, Eric & I have formed a strong friendship.  We both have our own unique set of rough edges, but there's a …

One singer-songwriter that most of the world hasn't discovered yet is Melanie Penn.  Her debut CD "Wake Up Love" was released in Spring 2010 with some high critical reviews.  She flew from her home base of New York City to our studios in Chicago to hang out.  Here's some of my conversation with Melanie: DT:  When did you first realize you wanted to pursue music as a profession? Melanie:  Well, I always knew I was going to be a singer. I started singing at church when I was about six – and that kind-of did it for me. So from that age on I kind of did whatever I could …

Today begins the 6th of 7 trips for UTR's "In Your House" Tour with Eric Peters.  Dave & Eric are flying to Texas today to spend a few days in the Lone Star State.  A few of the shows are open to the public, and we still need help in booking the final night.  If you're in the area, please make sure to head out to say "hi" to UTR and support Eric's music.   Oct. 14, 7:00pm - Webster, TX - Westminster Christian Academy Fundraiser (private event) Oct. 15, 7:30pm - Fort Worth, TX - Fort Worth Presbyterian  (Free Admission!) Oct. 16, 12pm food/ 1pm concert - Flower Mount, TX …

Just over a week ago, UTR hosted a lunch concert and interview with Jenny & Tyler. Not only did I get to see them perform in this private intimate setting, I also saw them play that night at The Union in Naperville, Illinois, in front of the most responsive crowd they’ve seen outside of Delaware, their home state. When I pulled up to what looked like an older conservative church, I had doubts about The Union, a concert venue sponsored by North Central College. Could this really be the same artsy place I checked out online? As soon as I reached the entrance, I was greeted with an excited buzz of college …

I’ve not yet lost the wonder of interviewing gifted songwriters, and sometimes the setting makes the interview.  When I was invited backstage at Chicago’s House of Blues to interview Matt Wertz, it definitely made me feel less nerdy for approximately 5.875 hours.  It was also a memorable interview because it almost never happened.  Matt was trying to save a sore throat before he hit the stage, but was gracious to spend time with UTR.  I even blogged about the the opportunity a friend & I had to pray for Matt and how it touched him deeply.  Here’s some of that interview:   DT:  When did you first begin to write …

Over the last 4 days, I got to experience one of the most amazing gatherings of community, faith, and art.  Hutchmoot is an annual gathering in Nashville, organized by The Rabbit Room, an online community founded by one of my favorite artists, Andrew Peterson.  It sounds like an exaggeration, but I believe this event has ruined me in all the right ways - something I won’t forget for the rest of my life.  Here’s my daily notes:   Day #1 - Appropriately, the very first event on the schedule was dinner.  I learned quickly that here meals were sacred experiences. It was also clear that the presenters were “one of …

Singer/songwriter Josh Wilson has had quite a few songs roll through Christian radio rotations—most recently the song "Fall Apart." But my fingers rarely grace the radio dials so when I was invited to a Josh Wilson concert, I didn’t know he’d received a lot of radio play. In fact, I was pretty clueless about him and his music. I count that a blessing. If had known he was so loved by Christian radio,  I might have made hasty judgments about him and not made the effort to get to know this down-to-earth songwriter/one-man band/comedian.   There’s something about Josh Wilson that makes you feel like you’re having a house show …