Coming off its most successful JAM tour yet, Winter JAM 2002, Reunion Records artist NewSong kicks off its Summer JAM on July 24. Hosted by NewSong, the 15-plus-city tour will feature Brother’s Keeper, Freddie Colloca, Rachael Lampa, TAIT (on select dates) and True Vibe.

“After this past Winter JAM, we are more confident than ever that God is using this concept to reach people and encourage the church. We’re looking forward to the best Summer JAM ever with Rachael and True Vibe, as we’re all committed to sharing the Good News so that people will come to know Christ,” says Eddie Carswell, one of NewSong’s founding members.

The tour is slated to stop in 15-plus cities including Louisville, Ky., Memphis, Tenn., Asheville, N.C., Little Rock, Ark., Palmetto, Fla., Salem, Va., Savannah, Ga., Elkhart, Ind., and Findley, Ohio.

“The JAM tours have been consistently successful over the past few years and continue to amaze us. Having included artists like the Newsboys, Rebecca St. James and Audio Adrenaline in past years, our bar is set high. This year’s line-up of Rachael Lampa, True Vibe, Brother’s Keeper and Latin pop artist Freddie Colloca creates a lot of momentum with a young, fresh emphasis,” says Troy VanLiere, NewSong’s manager with VanLiere-Wilcox Management.

NewSong’s JAM events have galvanized the Christian music industry, as a diverse lineup of artists such as the Newsboys, Rebecca St. James, Audio Adrenaline, Margaret Becker, Anointed and Michelle Tumes have realized the benefits of a multi-artist bill. The events consistently draw large crowds, some as big as 15,000, to major venues like 1999’s record-setting concert in Greenville, S.C.’s Bi-Lo Center. 2001’s Winter and Summer JAMS drew a collective total of 116,000 people, catching the attention of corporate sponsors like Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Winter JAM 2002 averaged nearly 5,000 people per night in 18 venues across the South and Midwest during January and February.

Traveling the globe since May 1981, NewSong signed with Reunion Records in 2001. Over its span of recording and touring, NewSong has released 12 albums and scored 17 No. 1 songs, including 1997’s record-setting “Miracles,” which stayed at the top of The CCM Update’s AC chart for five weeks. The song was named American Songwriter magazine’s 1997 Christian Song of the Year. That same year, NewSong was voted Group of the Year by industry trade journal Christian Research Report. In January 2001, NewSong got its first No. 1 mainstream radio hit, when “The Christmas Shoes” topped Billboard’s Jan. 6, 2001 AC Singles chart. Among numerous other accolades, NewSong has garnered seven Gospel Music Association Dove Award nominations during its tenure. The band returned to the studio this spring to record a new studio project, slated to release in early 2003.