Warren Barfield, the first artist signing from Creative Trust Workshop, debuted this week at #25 on R&R's Christian Adult Contemporary Singles chart, a rare debut event for a new artist. After just two weeks at radio, "My Heart Goes Out" is already being played on 23 stations around the country.

The radio chart debut follows a week-long promotional tour conducted by Creative Trust Workshop to begin introducing Barfield to radio and retail in key markets. Barfield visited Houston, Dallas, Portland, Los Angeles, Chicago and Tulsa where he made on-air radio visits and other appearances.

As the August 5th street date of his self-titled debut album nears, Barfield will be visiting other markets as well. He will also make several key appearances during the upcoming CBA International Convention in Orlando in July. Barfield has been invited to perform at the Gospel Music Association's Praise in the Rockies Sunday night concert on July 29, and he will also perform at several summer festivals (among them: Alive Fest, Kings Island, Fish Festival) and at the fall Youth Specialties conferences.

"The response to Warren and his music has been phenomenal, unlike anything I've experienced in my career so far," said Gabriel Vasquez, director of marketing for Creative Trust Workshop. 

"I've appreciated the warm and enthusiastic welcome I have received onthe road. I've been working on my record for quite awhile now, so it's very gratifying to be able to finally bring my music to the public and to have a positive reaction," said Barfield. "I have hoped my music would connect with people, and so far it looks like that is happening."

Barfield's first stop was Houston where he visited KSBJ. John Hull, program director of the station said of Barfield's first single, "If you've ever been in a situation where you knew you should say something about God to someone else...but you didn't, then "My Heart Goes Out" will hit you right between the eyes. This is a song that resonates with where so many of us (and our listeners) live."

An on-air visit to KLTY's morning show in Dallas followed Houston. "Meet Warren Barfield and you'll find a humble, polite, 'aw-shucks' nice guy. But when you see and hear him play, watch out! He is a bundle of explosive energy and energetic movement. And he's an incredible songwriter and an awesome singer. I was blown away," said Chuck Finney, director of programming for KLTY and national program director for Salem's Fish Music Stations.

Barfield made additional stops at KFIS and Christian Supply in Portland, KFSH in Southern California and WZFS in Chicago. In Tulsa, Barfield visited the morning show at KXOJ and then performed at the Rooster Days, a festival in nearby Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with more than 12,000 people in attendance. "We will all remember the day we first hear Warren Barfield," said KXOJ's Program Director Bob Thornton.

Barfield is currently in the studio finishing his debut album, which will be distributed by Provident Music Group. Three-time Dove Award Producer of the Year Brown Bannister (Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant) and Mark Hammond (Nichole Nordeman, Janna Long) will share producing duties for Barfield's debut. Barfield's music is an energetic blend of acoustic rock and aggressive pop that could be compared to artists like John Mayer or Dave Matthews. 

While the album on Creative Trust Workshop will be Barfield's first with major distribution, Barfield has been working on his craft as a singer, songwriter and musician for several years. He has performed hundreds of self-booked dates a year at churches and youth camps across the country and has become a regular at many national, regional, state and local youth conferences, schools, and colleges. Barfield has also opened for a number of Christian music artists including Clear, Russ Lee, Scott Krippayne, Anointed and Crystal Lewis.

Creative Trust Workshop was created in 2001 as an independent record label. The label's first project was the Dove-nominated Traveling Light: Songs from the 23rd Psalm (a stand-alone companion to Max Lucado's best-selling book Traveling Light), featuring music by Amy Grant, Bryan White, dc talk's Michael Tait, Jaci Velasquez and Third Day's Mac Powell. This fall, CTW will release the music companion to Lucado's upcoming new book Next Door Savior which will feature top artists performing hymns and contemporary worship songs personally selected by Lucado.