The Lifesong Tour closed its spring run in May but the relationships built and the lessons learned by young singer discovery Josh Bates have enriched his life forever.
The artist, whose current single, "King Of Glory" is nearing the top of the national music charts in the Inspo category, termed the opportunity of touring with Casting Crowns "a tremendous honor and the opportunity of a lifetime for me spiritually!" Josh's participation in the spring edition of the Lifesong Tour put him onstage before an audience of 209,000 concert goers in the 47 city run that posted 19 sell-outs. More than crowds, Josh appreciated the ministry value of the tour with fellow artists Casting Crowns, Nichole Nordeman, and speaker, Tony Nolan.
"I come from a ministry background. My dad is the senior pastor at the church where I serve as the praise and worship youth leader in my hometown of Independence, Kentucky. I love more than anything to see people being saved and giving their hearts to the Lord, so to be a part of a tour that's ministering so mightily and impacting lives the way the Lifesong Tour did was a major thrill to me," notes Josh.
"I count Mark Hall as not only one of the greatest songwriters of our time, but he's also one of the greatest youth pastors, and leaders of the faith," Josh continues. "He's become a mentor to me because of the tour. We had Bible study every single night and we had prayer every day on the tour. I had people come up to me on the road after the concerts and say, 'we think that it's awesome that you are still the youth leader at your church, and that Mark Hall is still youth pastoring at his church--it's cool that you guys didn't set everything aside for awhile just to concentrate on music.' It reinforced to me the importance of continuing to use my music as a vehicle to get the message out," concludes Josh.
The highpoint of the tour for him personally came on a memorable night during the concert stop in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He recalls: "A young girl with blonde hair came up to me and said 'Josh, I don't know how to tell you how much your music has meant to me. I lost my dad a year ago and at that time I couldn't find any comfort anywhere for the longest time. Then on the radio one day I heard your song 'Perfect Day' and immediately a peace came over me. I knew where my dad was and I was able to praise God.' She thanked me for putting out that song and I remember thinking, 'This is what's it's all about. It's about reaching peoples lives for Jesus."
The 23-year-old Kentucky native is humbled by the acceptance at radio of his second single "King Of Glory. "I think it got great response on the tour, but it was hard for me to tell each night because I was so engulfed in worship singing it, I usually didn't notice anything else that was going on," he noted. "Mark Hall told me it's his favorite song of mine from the album so it's very special to me for that reason as well."
Ahead for Josh is a series of summer festivals and concert appearances. He will also begin the writing process this summer on his second album for Beach Street, to be produced by Mark Miller. This fall Josh is set to headline his first national tour. Billed as the "Sound Of Light: Traveling Road Show," the tour will launch in early September and run in concert through early November with dates and cities to be advised. Featured with Josh on tour will be Jack Eason of Sound of Light, celebrated new artist Joanna Martino, Beach Street's new discovery Kelly Pease, and other artists to be announced.
Immediately on the horizon for Josh Bates is a June 4th television appearance on Hour Of Power, originating from the Crystal Cathedral in California. The program is syndicated to a worldwide audience of an estimated 20 million potential viewers.
Josh is enthused about the opportunity to reach so many with his music from the Crystal Cathedral stage this weekend. "I'm looking forward to getting to perform "King Of Glory" and to sharing a little bit of Kentucky with them," he notes happily.
