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MULTI-PLATINUM, GRAMMY-WINNING CASTING CROWNS ANNOUNCES ‘THE VERY NEXT THING’ FALL TOUR

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS MATT MAHER AND HANNAH KERR

39-City Tour Presented By Compassion International and Museum Of The Bible

New Studio Album The Very Next Thing Releasing Sept. 16

L to R: Juan Devevo, Megan Garrett, Brian Scoggin, Mark Hall, Chris Huffman, Melodee Devevo, Josh Mix

NASHVILLE,Tenn.(May20,2016)-Multi-platinumsellingandGRAMMY®winninggroupCastingCrownswillhittheroadthisfallfor"TheVeryNextThing"TourpresentedbyCompassionInternationalandMuseumoftheBible.The39citytourwillfeaturelabelmateMattMaherandspecialguestnewcomerHannahKerr.Thetourwillsupporttheband’snewstudioalbum,TheVeryNextThing,releasingonSeptember16(BeachStreet/Reunion).Thismarksthegroup's15threleaseandeighthstudioalbumsincethelabeldebutreleasein2003.Withmorethanninemillionrecordssold,CastingCrownscurrentlyholdsthepositionasBillboard’stop-sellingactinChristianmusicsince2007.CastingCrownsbeganin,servesinandcontinuestoberootedinthelocalchurch.Itisatthelocallevelthattheyarewalkingalongwithpeopleinministryandwheretheinspirationforalbumsareformed.“Becausewehavethehonorofwalkingwithpeopleinourchurches,wegettoseewhatpeoplearegoingthrough-theissuesthatareimpactingeveryonenow,”sharesfrontmanMarkHall.“Itisinthesesituationsthatideasarebornforwhatweallneedtohearrighthererightnow.”TheVeryNextThingisfullofintimatesongsaswellasupbeat,freshsoundingtracksthatwillmeetthelistenerwithlyricsthatimpactwithastrongmessagesongaftersong.

Hallsharestheinspirationbehindthenewalbumandtitle.“Weareallindifferentstagesof‘next.’There’sanextstepfromwhereyouarerightnow.Weallfeellikethere’sastagethatwehavetoreachtomoveontowhatisnext–butGodhasyourighthererightnowforyour‘next,'andallofthesesongstouchonthatidea.”CastingCrownscontinuestoimpactaudienceswiththeirpowerfullyricsandliveshowastheyhaveperformedformorethansixmillionfans.Inaddition,morethan85,000childsponsorshipshaveresultedthroughCastingCrowns’liveshows.Formoreinformationon“TheVeryNextThing”Tour,visitwww.CastingCrowns.com.ABOUTCASTINGCROWNS:ProlificCCMbandCastingCrownshasachievedsalesmilestonesincludingoneRIAA2xmulti-Platinumalbum,fourRIAAPlatinumalbums,twoRIAAPlatinumDVDs,sevenRIAAGoldalbums,fourGoldDVDs,oneRIAAPlatinumcertifiedsingleandfiveRIAAGoldcertifieddigitalsingles.ThebandcurrentlyholdsthepositionasBillboard’stop-sellingactinChristianmusicsince2007.CastingCrownshasalsobeenhonoredwithfourAmericanMusicAwards(outofseventotalnominations),aGRAMMYAwardforits2005albumLifesong,andsixGRAMMYnominations.Inaddition,thegrouphasgarnered17GMADoveAwardsandtwoBillboardMusicAwardsfrom11totalBillboardMusicAwardnominations.CastingCrowns’sevenbandmembersallremainactiveinstudentministryintheAtlantaareaandtouraccordingtotheirlocalchurchcommitments.Servinghis25plusyearsinyouthministry,leadsinger/songwriterMarkHallmaintainshisroleasthestudentpastoratEagle’sLandingFirstBaptistChurchinAtlanta.ABOUTMATTMAHER:Sincehis2008majorlabeldebut,MattMaherhasbecomeastapleintheartisticandsongwritingcommunity.Aneighttime-GRAMMYnominee,hehasgarneredmultipleradiosuccesseswritingandrecordingsongslike“Lord,INeedYou,”“HoldUsTogether,”“ChristIsRisen,”“AllThePeopleSaidAmen”and“YourGraceIsEnough.”MaherhaspennedsongsrecordedbyChrisTomlin,Crowder,ThirdDay,MattRedman,Hillsong,CastingCrowns,JesusCultureandBethelamongothers.Matthaswrittenorco-writtenfiveNo.1radiosingles.In2013,MaherhadacareerhighlightperforminginRioinfrontofPopeFrancisandacrowdof3millionpeople,aswellasperformingin2015indowntownPhiladelphiaaspartoftheWorldMeetingofFamilieswithTheFray,ArethaFranklin,Juanes,JimGaffigan,amongothers.In2015,MaherwasawardedhisfirstRIAAGoldcertificationforhispopularsingle"Lord,INeedYou."ABOUTHANNAHKERR:HannahKerristhefirstartistsignedtothenewlabelBlackRiverChristian,whichwasstartedbyCastingCrowns’MarkHall,veteranproducer/SawyerBrownfrontmanMarkMillerandBlackRiverEntertainmentCEOGordonKerr.PartneredwithProvidentLabelGroup,BlackRiverChristianintroducedHannahlastfallattheChristianMusicBroadcastersMomentum(CMB)Conference.KerrjoinedMattMaheronhis“SaintsandSinners”tourearlierthisyearandiscurrentlyworkingonherfull-lengthalbumcomingthisfall.ABOUTCOMPASSIONINTERNATIONAL:CompassionInternationalistheworld’sleadingauthorityinholisticchilddevelopmentthroughsponsorship.Itistheonlychildsponsorshipprogramtobevalidatedthroughindependent,empiricalresearch.CompassionrevolutionizedthefightagainstglobalpovertybyworkingexclusivelywiththeChurchtoreleasechildrenfrompovertysothattheymaybecomeresponsible,fulfilledChristianadults.Compassionpartnerswithmorethan6,800Christianchurchesin26countriestoreleaseover1.7millionbabies,childrenandyoungadultsfrompovertyinJesus’name.Compassionhasbeenawardedthehighestratingforfinancialstewardshipandtransparencyfor14consecutiveyearsbyCharityNavigator,America’slargestcharityevaluator.Formoreinformationontheministry,visitcompassion.comorfollowthemontwitterat@compassion.ABOUTMUSEUMOFTHEBIBLE:In2017,themuseumwillopenits430,000-square-footnonprofitmuseumjusttwoblocksfromtheNationalMall.Thismuseumwillshowcaseanunparalleledcollectionofantiquitiesrepresenting3,000yearsofhistoryandprovidevisitorswithanimmersiveandpersonalizedexperiencetodeepentheirunderstandingofthehistoricalmagnitudeoftheBibleanditsimpactontheworldaroundus.Asof2015,themuseum’stravelingexhibitshavevisitedsixU.S.citiesandfourothercountriesincludingVaticanCity,Jerusalem,

IsraelandHavana,Cuba.Newexhibitsandlocationsarecontinuallybeingplanned.ThemuseumalsosupportsresearchandeducationthroughtheMuseumoftheBibleScholarsInitiative,thedevelopmentofaBiblecurriculumforstudentsaroundtheglobe,andotherprogramssuchasarchaeologicaldigsandeducationaltravelopportunitiesforbothstudentsandadults.SEPTEMBER:22AbrahamChavezTheater–ElPaso,TX23GrandCanyonUniversity–Phoenix,AZ24CitizensBusinessBankArena–Ontario,CA25HendersonPavilion–Henderson,NV27SanJoseStateUniversityEventCenter–SanJose,CA29MemorialAuditorium–Sacramento,CA30ModaCenter–Portland,OROCTOBER:1ToyotaCenter–Kennewick,WA2ShowareCenter–Kent,WA4BrickBreedenFieldHouse–Bozeman,MT6RedRocksAmpitheatre–Morrison,CO7SantaAnaStarCenter–RioRancho,NM8AmarilloCivicCenter–Amarillo,TX13BatonRougeRiverCenter–BatonRouge,LA14ShorelineChristianCenter–Austin,TX15ReedArena@TexasA&MUniversity–CollegeStation,TX20MabeeCenter–Tulsa,OK21RalstonArena–Ralston,NE22FamilyArena–St.Charles,MO27BankersLifeFieldhouse–Indianapolis,IN28SchottensteinCenter–Columbus,OH29AllenCountyWarMemorialColiseum–Ft.Wayne,INNOVEMBER:

3VeteransMemorialArena–Jacksonville,FL4FirstBaptistWoodstock–Woodstock,GA5GreensboroColiseum–Greensboro,NC10PensacolaCivicCenter–Pensacola,FL11GermainArena–Estero,FL12CruzanAmphitheater–WestPalmBeach,FL13ThePavilionattheCentreofTallahassee-Tallahassee,FL15FreedomHall–JohnsonCity,TN17HopeChurch–Cordova,TN18BridgestoneArena–Nashville,TN19MississippiColiseum–Jackson,MS25BoutwellAuditorium–Birmingham,AL26CenturylinkCenterArena–BossierCity,LADECEMBER:1DunkinDonutsCenter–Providence,RI2EaglebankArena–Fairfax,VA3SantanderArena–Reading,PA4RuppArena–Lexington,KY

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