|PIC1|In support of their recently Grammy-nominated Redemption Songs CD, critically acclaimed U.S.-based Christian band Jars of Clay will continue on the road this Spring with another leg of their popular and critically-applauded "Redemption Songs & Stories" tour.

This newly announced set of dates follows two highly successful legs in the Spring and Fall of 2005.Sara Groves will return as a popular addition from the fall leg, as well as longtime friend of the band, Derek Webb.

Jars of Clay guitarist, Stephen Mason commented, “Between Derek’s wake up call to the church, Sara’s artistic vision for how believers can add to the beauty, and our attempt to mine the history of hymns, there’s a real special opportunity to connect with the story of the gospel in ways most of us haven’t yet. These are all different colors of the same voice, provoking us to live a vibrant, interactive Christian life, calling us from isolation into community.”

“We’re finishing up the new record, and with the excitement we have about these new songs, we can’t pass up the opportunity to play a few new tunes for the people, before debuting the whole project on the summer festival tour and its release this Fall.”

The 16-city tour is rumored to provide fans and friends of the band with intimate, acoustic performances and the stories behind some of their biggest hits and favorite hymns. The band will also be previewing several new songs from their forthcoming, untitled new project due in mid 2006. Since debuting at No. 1 on Nielsen SoundScan, Redemption Songs has already produced the No. 1 radio hit “God Will Lift Up Your Head,” while standing at #14 on Apple iTunes’ Top 100 Albums chart.

While celebrated for its music and writing, Jars of Clay is most concerned with the needs in Africa. Compelled to make a difference, members Dan Haseltine, Stephen Mason, Matt Odmark and Charlie Lowell founded the Blood:Water Mission in early 2002. The first effort of this non-profit was the “1000 Wells Project” with a goal of raising funds to build, rebuild and repair 1000 wells in urban and rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. To date, 42 wells have been constructed bringing clean water to more than 34,000 people.

For more information on Jars of Clay, go to http://www.jarsofclay.com/
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