MUSIC

Christian singer Chris Tomlin takes worship nights to Israel. And you're invited

Cindy Watts
The Tennessean

Chris Tomlin has been a force in contemporary Christian music for the last 15 years. In that time, Tomlin has released 12 albums, charted 16 No. 1 songs, won a Grammy Award and sold 8 million records. An estimated 20 million to 30 million people sing one of his worship songs each week. 

While Tomlin is a leader in contemporary Christian music, he’s never been to Israel, the setting for so many Bible stories that have become his inspiration. He plans to rectify that this summer and take a crew of fellow fans and believers along for a concert tour of the holiest sites in Israel.

"Chris Tomlin’s Worship Nights in Israel, a Journey through the Holy Land" is set for June 20-27. The eight-day trip will include stops at Galilee, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes and the Garden Tomb, with Tomlin hosting his Christian music concerts at many of the historic locations. 

“I keep hearing from everyone who goes that it is one of the most life-impacting trips you’ll ever take,” Tomlin said. “To experience that for the first time and to be able to have concerts at the Sea of Galilee and have concerts in Jerusalem and gather people around the Garden Tomb, this is going to be unlike anything I’ve ever gotten to do. We’re going to be standing in places where he said things that changed the world. To sing about the cross and be right there in that place, I can just imagine that’s going to be a different level of emotion and a different level of power.”

Chris Tomlin released “HOLY ROAR: LIVE FROM CHURCH” on March 15.

Tomlin has already had a memorable 2019. His live album “HOLY ROAR: LIVE FROM CHURCH” was released Friday. Recorded at a church in Nashville in front of an audience of 200 worship leaders, the album is the eight-song live version of Tomlin’s “Holy Roar” studio project, which he released in October. 

“For me, all the songs have always been for people to sing,” Tomlin said. “I want to write songs that give people a voice to sing and fill the churches. It’s not just a studio recording, but you hear all the people and the life that’s in that. I think this is so important to have this because you hear the songs in the truest form in which they were written.”

Chris Tomlin recorded a live version of his new album "Holy Roar" in a Nashville church.

In addition, Tomlin launched his "Holy Roar" tour in early March, with plans to play about 30 shows in six weeks. The tour will wrap just before he headlines Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for his annual Good Friday Nashville concert April 19. A couple of weeks later, he’ll spend his birthday headlining Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl for the first time. In July, Tomlin will play back-to-back concerts at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, then mount fall and Christmas tours.

For more information on touring Israel with Tomlin or seeing him stateside, visit www.christomlin.com.