Excitement On the Rise for Winter Jam 2012

By Ben York
Posted: Oct. 22, 2012

According to a recent article in the L.A. Times, Christian rock music is on the rise - both in the charts and on arena tours throughout the country.

In fact, TobyMac (one of the headlining artists coming to Phoenix as part of Winter Jam 2012 on November 10) just landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200.

From the L.A. Times:

"For three weeks in a row last month, the Billboard 200 included a Christian album debuting in the Top 10. Lecrae's 'Gravity' entered at No. 3, and TobyMac's 'Eye on It' did even better, soaring straight to No. 1 in its first week of release. Until TobyMac, a Christian album hadn't debuted at No. 1 since 1997."

Perhaps even more amazing, from a touring perspective, last year's Winter Jam 2011 Tour Spectacular outpaced attendance for all other tours in the first quarter, including Bon Jovi, U2, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, according to Pollstar’s 2011 Worldwide First Quarter Ticket Sales “Top 100 Tours” chart.

The trend appears to be continuing in 2012.

"Superstar acts like Justin Bieber and Adele still dominate the music business, but Christian rock has carved out a solid and increasingly lucrative niche. Three Christian rock tours — Winter Jam, Casting Crowns and the Rock & Worship Roadshow — were in the top 100 grossing music tours of the first half of 2012..."

Created and hosted by GRAMMY®-nominated Christian music mainstay NewSong, the tour’s Western dates will also feature RED, Sidewalk Prophets, Jamie Grace, Chris August, Group 1 Crew, Jason Castro, Dara Maclean and Capital Kings, along with a message from evangelist Nick Hall.

Check out the star-studded lineup for Winter Jam 2012 in the video above. What artist(s) are you most excited to see on November 10 in Phoenix? Let us know in the comment section below.