November 6-10, Nashville TN at the ICMA convention and Awards.
Rory has been nominated for Entertainer of the year as well as Musician of the Year! Check out www.icmawards.com

The Connection 2006 - Overland Park, KS

There were 130 artists representing 8 different genres; well, actually 7, but there were so many in the contemporary Christian category that they split them into 2 groups.  The first elimination round was decided by judges.  The 3 top artists in each genre were given a bronze, silver, or gold medal.  I was blessed and honored to receive the gold medal in the country Genre.  The judges were all respected people in Christian music industry and media.  I think you can see a list of who they were at hearken Studios website.

So, now the 24 remaining artists, 3 from each genre, performed again in the semi-final round.  At this point there were no more judges, and no more genres.  The top 10 finalists were decided via a voting process of all Connection 2006 registrants.  The top 10 vote getters, regardless of genre, moved into the final 10. 

The top 10 concert on the final day of connection was a great one.  All that was left were the top artists out of an original 130, so the music was all very high quality.  Once again, the winner for the grand $20,000 prize was voted on by attending registrants.  In this final round, I came in third.  So, I didn't win the big pot, but I was very glad I made a showing.  Incidentally, the winner, Naomi Carroll, was in the contemporary genre.  Since Christian contemporary was the largest genre represented there, I was not very surprised to see the winner come from that group.  Naomi is a excellent songwriter and singer; I've had the privilege of producing one of her songs.  I'm sure the prize will be very useful to her ministry. 

Agape Fest Hughes Springs Texas

This event was all about Christian Country music.  There was music going on all day for 3 days.  The main stage was the Hughes Springs Amphitheater, which gets rather hot in Texas in June I might add.  Also, there were other stages spread all over town in different restaurants and businesses.  The city was saturated with the Gospel to be sure.

Saturday was their awards show.  The awards were decided by the public; the fans and listeners of their radio station.  I received "instrumentalist of the year".  I know they aired the award show live over their internet radio station, but I don't know for sure whether they will rebroadcast it.  They might have some information at

www.kingcountry.org

All in all, it was a busy and exciting 2 weeks.  There was such a good spirit both at Connection and at Agape fest.  There was no rivalry or ego, which there could have easily been in a contest situation.  It's a lot of fun to meet and interact with other artists and music industries from around the nation.

5-15-06 :: Rory Goes for the Gold!

Rory will be in Overland Park Kansas May 25-27 for the Connection.  The connection is a conference that gives independent artists the skills they need to be successful in the music industry.  As part of the Connection, Rory will be entering the Music Olympics. He will compete in  both the instrumental and country categories for a grand prize worth $20,000.

Learn more about the Connection at
www.hearkenstudios.com

June 1-3 will find Rory in Hughes Springs Texas for the Agape Fest.  He is up for Musician of the Year with that organization. 

Learn more about Agape fest at
www.kingcountry.org

Rory will definitely appreciate the prayers of his fans and supporters over the next couple weeks.  Check back here for a report on how it all turns out.

3-22-06 :: Hey everybody!  I'm just a little excited to share some great news with you!  I am going to be on one of the biggest, (if not thee biggest) Christian tours in the country.  I have been selected to be on the Winter Jam 2007 tour.  We're talking 8 to 12 thousand people a night. If you want to know just how big this is, see www.jamtour.com there is no info about me there yet, because winter jam 2006 is still underway, but this will give you a feel for the scope of this tour.
   I was in Nashville for a Tom Jackson "All Roads Lead to the Stage" workshop.  Tom Jackson is one of the foremost authorities on putting together a show, pleasing
your audience, stage presence, etc.  The last night of the conference was a contest of sorts.  Out of 18 bands, 3 were chosen to be on the winter
jam tour.  So they will probably divide us up and give us each 1 month of the tour, but I don't really have any of those details yet.  All I know at this
moment is that I've been chosen, and this my friends is one huge step in the right direction for me.  It was amazing how it all came about; I had the only Christian country band there.  All the other bands were varieties of rock and contemporary pop. 

I'll definitely put more details up as I get them.  I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to take my music to new audiences.  So look for me in a city near you in 2007!

Be Blessed one and all,
Rory