By David F. Dawes

DOWNHERE triumphed at the Juno Awards in Vancouver, BC, March 28. The band won their third Juno, this time in the Gospel Album of the Year category. Several songs from the album, Ending is Beginning, have received a lot of airplay. Downhere has also won a Dove Award.

"We feel honoured by the Juno," vocalist Jason Germain told CC.com. "Being recognized by our peers is encouraging." However, he emphasized, "we don't write songs for a Juno nod. We write about what's most important to us."

Faith, he said, is "in the fabric of what we do. It's the lens through which we see the world. I love the story of the gospel, the poetry -- and the way I can live a life through the gospel."

Germain noted that he and his colleagues have limited the number of concerts they do, to spend more time with their families. "We try to protect our marriages," he said.

He also said he and his bandmates strive to keep things in perspective with their fans. "We chose the name Downhere because we wanted to be 'down on the planet,' and approachable. People tend to lift up artists; we try to knock that notion down."

Downhere was formed at Briercrest Bible College in Saskatchewan. The group has maintained its ties to the school, playing at Briercrest's Youthquake event on five occasions. There are tentative plans for a Canadian tour this fall.

Other Juno nominees in the Gospel category this year were Starfield, Article One, Life Support and Newworldson.

Starfield

Starfield, based in Abbotsford, BC, was nominated for I Will Go. The title song, said lead singer Tim Neufeld, is both a worship song and a commentary on the materialism of this culture.

"We're so privileged, yet we're so dissatisfied with our lives no matter how well we're doing," he said. "There's always this underlying pressure to be doing better, when the exact opposite should be the case. The pressure and call on our lives should be to live with less, and give away more."

The purpose of the song, he emphasized, is to inspire Christians "to go out and do something -- not to just give money to those in need, but our time and energy. That idea gives a worship song a different agenda. 'I Will Go' is a difficult song to sing and not act on. Ultimately, we hope to provide perspective on how comfortable and convenient our lives have become."

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Article One

According to its website, Article One "refuses to acknowledge the rift between art and faith. Neither do they succumb to the myth that intellectual honesty must be dumbed down to appeal to a mass audience."

Based in London, Ontario, the quartet spent more than half a year working on the 14 songs that comprise its Juno-nominated Colors and Sounds. "Looking back, it was an awesome, though at times very frustrating, experience," said Nathan Piche, the chief songwriter.

Colors and Sounds, he said, "is not a concept album, but it does seem to revolve around the theme of purpose." The album "was really birthed from personal experience -- and while the message is very clear, I think it is as accessible to non-believers as it is to believers. That was important to us."

Life Support

The music of this band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia has echoes of Switchfoot, Delirious? and Hillsong United. Life Support's history has been an ongoing mission of inspired worship arts.

Beginning with a group of friends at St. Francis Xavier University, who were seeking to transform the atmosphere at their school through worship, have gone on to a much bigger platform. Their album, Roar of Heaven, was nominated for a Juno award.

Their website includes a devotional, with insights by vocalist Rob Reid. One of them, a meditation on "the vastness and endlessness of God," states: "Think about how each person's life is so complicated with different needs, situations, and predicaments; multiply these by the earth's population. My life is complicated enough. Now think that God said he can meet and will meet all our needs. His character and supply has to be big enough for all of our unique situations."

Life Support's summer this year will include festivals and a cross-Canada tour.

Newworldson

Newworldson, from Niagara Falls, Ontario, has been recognized by Christianity Today -- which listed the band's Juno-nominated CD, Salvation Station, as its #3 album of 2008. It also won the Gospel Music Association's Covenant Award for Folk/Roots album of the year.

According to its website, Newworldson "are rescuing soul music from being a mere genre or label and returning the art form to its sacred roots."

"There's a lack of community in people's lives today," says singer Joel Parisien. "If you trace back the roots of 'roots' music, of 'soul' music, of 'folk' music, it's about folks; it's social music. We hope our fans become our friends. We hope they leave our shows feeling inspired. Our community is about uplifting people."

Under 'Influences' on their MySpace page, they cite: "The One who comforts the poor, the sick, the widow and the orphan."

April 16/2009