Francesca Battistelli

NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Known for one of the most beloved holiday hits of all time, “The Christmas Shoes,” GRAMMY®-nominated NewSong is slated to bring their annual “Very Merry Christmas Tour” to multiple cities this season. Sponsored by World Vision and featuring GRAMMY®-nominated singer/songwriter Francesca Battistelli, chart-toppers Building 429 and special guest singer/songwriter Jonny Diaz, the popular tour will kick-off November 29 in Atlanta.

A holiday highlight for fans and artists alike, “NewSong’s Very Merry Christmas Tour” will also make multiple stops throughout the Midwest and Southeast, before concluding December 16.

Christian music mainstay NewSong will perform selections from their best-selling recordings The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Hope, including the group’s emotion-packed #1 mainstream radio hit, “The Christmas Shoes,” which has become the biggest song of their career and one of America’s most beloved Christmas standards. “The Christmas Shoes” also spawned a series of New York Times best-selling novels by Donna VanLiere and two top-rated CBS television movies based on the books and featuring music from NewSong.

NewSong has recorded 17 albums, garnering 20 #1 Christian radio singles and a GRAMMY® Award nomination, in addition to being inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, among numerous other achievements. Founders of The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, Christian music’s biggest tour and the #1 tour in the world for the first quarters of 2011 and 2012, NewSong’s unparalleled 30-year ministry has been highlighted by such defining songs as “Arise, My Love” and "Rescue," as well as the group’s recent hit single, “The Same God.”

Since her debut in 2008, Francesca Battistelli has earned a GRAMMY® nomination (Best Gospel Performance), six Dove Awards including 2011 “Artist of the Year” and 18 Dove Award nominations. Both her debut album, My Paper Heart, and her 2011 sophomore release, Hundred More Years, took the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Christian Album chart. With over 700,000 in album sales to date, she is the best-selling new artist in the genre in the past eight years. Her music has also been featured on TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8, ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, NBC’s The Biggest Loser, Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance, and several other television and movie outlets. For more information on Francesca Battistelli, please visit www.francescamusic.com.

Building 429 first broke through with its 2004 No. 1 hit “Glory Defined,” which was named BMI’s Christian Song of the Year in 2005, the same year the band was Named GMA's New Artist of the Year. On May 10, 2011, Building 429 released its fifth studio project, Listen to the Sound. The album debuted at the top of iTunes’ Christian & Gospel Albums chart, while its title track hit No. 1 on the CHR chart and Top 5 on Billboard’s National Christian Audience Chart. It's follow up single, “Made For You,” reached Top 5 on the Christian CHR charts, and most recently “Where I Belong” maintained its No. 1 spot on Billboard’s National Christian Audience chart for 15 consecutive weeks and AC Monitored charts for 11 weeks. The occasion sets precedent as the longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard Christian Audience chart to date. For more information on Building 429, visit www.Building429.com or www.facebook.com/building429.

From the very beginning of his music career, Jonny Diaz’ desire has always been to write songs that encourage and entertain, yet challenge fellow believers. His current CD, Jonny Diaz, is a collection of songs that accomplishes that mission, as is his 2009 release, More Beautiful You, which produced the No. 1 radio single “More Beautiful You” and led Diaz to a 2010 Dove Award nomination for New Artist of the Year. "More Beautiful You" also hit Top 25 on the mainstream AC/pop charts and claimed the No. 6 spot on Billboard's AC charts. For further information on Jonny Diaz, visit www.jonnydiaz.com.