Christian Music News

California’s Saddleback Church worship leader Travis Ryan released his debut album, Fearless, through Integrity Music on April 10. Featuring songs co-written with Matt Redman, Jason Ingram, Brenton Brown, Ben Cantelon, All Sons & Daughters, Dan Bailey and others, the album is receiving wide critical acclaim. “Best album I’ve heard this year! Unbelievable!” tweets New York Times No. 1 best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren to his 592,000 followers as Worship Leader Magazine says, “…Travis Ryan comes out guns blazing… This is spiritual battle music, from both sonic and songwriting perspectives.”

With consumers weighing in with 5-star reviews on iTunes, here is what the critics are saying about Fearless:

“Fearless is immediately off to a great start with the hard-hitting ‘Love That Has Won’ and ‘Battle Song.’ The production value here is especially high…As a studio recorded worship effort, the innate musical power of the album never feels forced or canned…the album has an epic feel…” – JesusFreakHideout.com

“If you’re a worship leader looking for some new songs that will light a fire in the hearts of your people, Travis Ryan’s “Fearless” is a great start. Each song is full of truth and praise to a God who loves and expects His children to live out what they believe, which in essence is true worship.” – NewReleaseTuesday.com

“With these worshipful outpouring lyrics and heartfelt melodies, this album is a must for people who love to lift their hands up in the air and just embrace God's love…Travis Ryan has produced a very elegant album…” – Louder Than The Music

“…Travis Ryan has captivated me with every song… a breath of fresh air that is revitalizing and enjoyable to listen to.” – ChristianMusicZine.com

“…a project full of the love and power of God that casts out fear and torment…. Travis writes in such a way that it is impossible to listen to this project without considering God’s love in a way you have never considered it before.” – JaysMusikBlog.com

“Travis’s new release will touch the hearts of many…Fearless is designed to take the listener through a journey…” – Examiner.com

“Because these songs remind me of all that I lose sight of when I am letting my fears take the foothold, the album becomes more than just another praise record in my collection. Fearless is strong and bold; a collection of songs that resonates deeply and inspires greatly.” – Relate Magazine

“Fearless is a topnotch album with amazing everything: vocals, lyrics, instrumentals, production, engineering, etc… one of the top worship albums of the year, and one I would recommend checking out.” – Christian Music Review Blog

Sharing the message and music of his new album, Ryan launched the new project with a special Fearless release event at Saddleback Church April 15. At the event, Redman joined Ryan to sing the song they wrote together for the album, “Chase,” and pastor Warren, who endorsed Ryan at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyXnNEmoZHE, delivered a message.

Ryan was also featured at the National Day of Prayer event held May 3 in Washington, DC, leading six worship songs between speakers like Dr. David Jeremiah, Dr. and Mrs. James C. Dobson, Bishop Harry Jackson, Mrs. Vonette Bright and others. “What an honor!” exclaims Ryan, who will be featured at the National Worship Leaders Conference being held in Leawood, KS (Kansas City) July 16-19 and San Diego October 9-11 (www.nationalworshipleaderconference.com).

Ryan will further be joining Phil Wickham at four “Singalong Tour 2012” events beginning this week in Chandler, AZ (5/8), and traveling to Glendale, AZ (5/9), Tucson, AZ (5/10) and Las Vegas, NV (5/11).

Produced by Ryan’s band mate, Josh Auer (PAX217), additional band members Dan Bailey (Fiction Family, Phil Wickham) and Brandon Collins join in to create the resulting melodic, dynamic rock influenced worship on Fearless. GRAMMY Award winners Adam Hawkins (Switchfoot, Natasha Bedingfield, 50 Cent) and Chris Testa (Jimmy Eat World, Mat Kearney, The Goo Goo Dolls) mixed and engineered respectively as Kevin Bartley (Red Hot Chili Peppers, B.B. King, Queensrÿche) mastered the album. OneRepublic’s Brent Kutzle also added his talents to “Awaken Us.” The resulting original music from Ryan is meant to inspire people to press on past fear, becoming courageous and marked by God’s boldness.

In addition to Saddleback Church, Ryan has led worship for such organizations as Campus Crusade for Christ, Student Venture, The Purpose Driven Life Worship Conference and at numerous universities. He has spent time as an associate producer for Marantha Music and was born into a musical family - Ryan’s father wrote songs for Maranatha during the Jesus movement. Married with two young sons, Ryan engages need across the world with his church’s P.E.A.C.E. Plan (http://thepeaceplan.com/).