Dove Awards find success for second year under Lipscomb lights

The sound of banging drums, clapping hands and joyful praise filled Lipscomb’s Allen Arena once more as the Dove Awards returned to campus for their 46th ceremony. The event, hosted by Christian hip-hop sensation Lecrae and MercyMe frontman Bard Millard, made its grand return to Nashville last year after spending time in Atlanta and chose Lipscomb as its new nest. University president Randy Lowry addressed the show crowd by sharing a thought he had – that, 123 years ago, Lipscomb once used to be the farm of school founder David Lipscomb. To Lowry, the ground that Lipscomb founded his school on now holds a new purpose. “I don’t know what he had in mind, but he could not have possibly have imagined this evening with this entertainment and this worship and this crowd in this place,” Lowry said. In the audience was Lowry’s 95-year-old father, whose attendance was applauded by the crowd. The Dove Awards being hosted on Lipscomb’s campus holds even more significance because the group that runs the show, the Gospel Music Association, now calls the university their home. With a year of hosting the event under Lipscomb’s belt, the school – including its security team – was better prepared to deal with the ins and outs of hosting such a massive undertaking. Lipscomb’s Assistant Director of Campus Security Patrick Cameron provided some insight into how the security staff was better able to facilitate the ceremony. “[Having already prepared for a Doves show] really helps,” Cameron said. “We were very fortunate to experience it last year, so we kind of worked out a lot of the bugs we...

Lumination’s 2014 Dove Awards preview: Best Artist

In less than a week, the 45th annual Dove Awards will be taking place in Allen Arena. With Lumination’s final installment of our Dove Awards preview series, I will be breaking down the Best Artist category. This year’s nominees for Best Artist are: Casting Crowns 2 Hillsong United 5 Lecrae 4 Mandisa 5 NEEDTOBREATHE 3 Switchfoot 4 The lineup is full of heavy hitters in the world of Christian music. All of the artists up for this award earned nominations in multiple categories. The Casting Crowns notched two nominations, NEEDTOBREATHE earned three, Switchfoot and Lecrae received four each and Mandisa and Hillsong United lead the pack with five. Hillsong United have to be considered the favorite in this category. Their smash hit “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” earned nominations in the categories of Song of the Year, Worship Song of the Year, Contemporary Christian Performance of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, and it is the favorite to take home most of them. “Oceans” and the band in general have been everywhere this year, so I would not be surprised if they ended up going home with a wheelbarrow full of trophies. Switchfoot, NEEDTOBREATHE and Casting Crowns are always formidable foes when it comes to Chrsitian music awards, but I do not think they can stop the momentum Hillsong has built up. Mandisa is another strong opponent. Her song “Overcomer” was nominated for four awards as well. Keep her in mind as a potential dark horse candidate if she begins to pick up awards throughout the show. However, I think the true threat to Hillsong’s night of...

Lumination’s 2014 Dove Awards preview: Song of the Year

As our last Dove Awards preview mentioned, Lipscomb is hosting the 45th Annual Dove Awards for the second year in a row, and there are quite a few stand-out nominees. In this preview, we’ll be looking at the “Song of the Year” category as well as analyzing who should win and who will win. The list of nominees are as follows: “Fix My Eyes” performed by for King and Country, written by Seth Mosley, Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone “Hello My Name Is” performed and written by Matthew West “Hurricane” performed by Natalie Grant, written by Natalie Grant, Matt Bronleewe and Cindy Morgan “I Can Trust Him” performed by The Perrys, written by Wayne Haun and Joel Lindsey “Lord I Need You” performed by Matt Maher, written by Christy Nockels, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Kristian Stanfill and Matt Maher “Oceans (Where My Feet May Fail)” performed by Hillsong United, written by Matt Crocker, Joel Houston and Salomon Ligthelm “Overcomer” performed by Mandisa, written by David Garcia, Christopher Stevens and Ben Glover “Revival” performed by Karen Peck and New River, written by Kenna Turner West, Karen Peck Gooch and Don Poythress “Say Amen” performed by Brian Free & Assurance, written by Jason Cox, Michael Farren and Kenna Turner West “That’s Why” performed by Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, written by Ernie Haase, Wayne Haun and Joel Lindsey With a list full of popular songs, it is hard to choose which one will be the best. However, certain songs do stand out. “Oceans,” as of Sept. 16, was number one on Billboard’s Top 25 Christian songs, while “Fix My Eyes” was...

Another group of performers join Dove lineup

Just when the preforming lineup couldn’t get any bigger for this year’s Dove Awards, it has. Needtobreathe was added to the mix for the awards set for Oct. 15 in Allen Arena.  The South Carolina-based band joins Big Daddy Weave, Kristian Stanfill, Michael W. Smith, TobyMac and other big-name Christian artists as performers in the 44th annual Dove Awards. Needtobreathe is a multiple-Dove Award winner, including a 2012 “Group of the Year” award and won two other awards last year for their song “Slumber” and for their album The Reckoning. Among the added artists, Andy Mineo, Dailey & Vincent, Ernie Haase & Signature Sound, The Isaacs, Karen Peck, KB and Trip Lee are scheduled to preform as well. Bone Hampton was also announced as a presenter. He joins Joyce Meyer, Lecrae, Mandisa, Pastor Rick Warren and others previously announced. The pre-show takes place 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and can be streamed, along with the Dove Cares Red Carpet, at www.hearitfirst.com/live. The awards show will be televised on the UP network on Monday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the show are available at the Allen Arena box...

GMA Dove Awards announce nominations at Allen Arena

Wednesday morning, the Gospel Music Association announced the nominations for the 44th annual Dove Awards in the Hall of Fame room at Allen Arena. The Dove Awards will be hosted on Lipscomb’s campus in Allen Arena for the first time after spending two years in Atlanta. Lipscomb President Randy Lowry welcomed the awards to the university, emphasizing the importance of the event’s ultimate goal of spreading the Gospel. Mayor Karl Dean also offered some opening thoughts, welcoming the award show back to Nashville, its original home. Artists Mandisa, Dailey & Vincent and Jason Crabb were among those present to announce the nominations. Notable nominees included Francesca Battistelli, Lecrae, Tamela Mann, Chris Tomlin, Tasha Cobbs, TobyMac, NEEDTOBREATHE and Matt Redman. Presenters and talent will be announced in the coming weeks leading up to the actual awards show, which will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 15 in Allen Arena at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are currently available on the Dove Awards’ official website. For a full list of nominations, visit the event’s...