Tenth Avenue North’s Mike Donehey previews Winter Jam, testimony and inspirations for ‘Followers’
Winter Jam 2017 kicked off in Charleston, then headed to Louisville and Grand Rapids. Tenth Avenue North is one of the big names on the biggest Christian Music tour in the country as the Jam Tour heads to Florida.
Dispatch Radio’s Brandon Jones got an exclusive talk with Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North to preview the show.
“Things are looking good,” Donehey says, adding that “Crowder sounds awesome. I’m stoked, it’s going to be a fun tour.”
Winter Jam draws massive audiences and Mike makes no bones about the differences to a standalone show: “There’s really cool things about it and then challenges about it….there’s a whole lot of people who aren’t really interested in listening to you (LAUGHS) so you have to take that into consideration, but it’s also really cool because you got a lot of people who will be ‘accidentally’ listening to you…”
Donehey recounted a story about a guy from Teen Challenge, struggling with drug addiction, doing drugs during Winter Jam in the bathroom, but heard their song “You Are More” and checked himself into rehab the next day.
“That’s less likely to happen at one of our own shows,” he says, acknowledging how Winter Jam has become “an event” drawing people from all walks of life into the arenas.
In addition to Tenth Avenue North is Crowder, Britt Nicole, Thousand Foot Krutch, Colton Dixon, Newsong and Sadie Robertson with Andy Mineo, OBB, Sarah Reeves and Steven Malcolm.
Tenth Avenue North’s new album, Followers, will feature songs to the Winter Jam set, as well as the popular songs fans know and love. Mike jokingly called this a “well-rounded meal of Tenth Avenue North delicacies.”
Mike shared the amazing testimony of guitarist Jeff Owen’s sister-in-law, who was battling stage 4 cancer, as the inspiration of using Isaiah 43 to write a song in her honor. She came into the studio when they were recording the song and during the session “she received a call from the doctor telling her that her cancer was in remission. It was a divine intervention and reminder for us of God’s interaction in our lives.
Tenth Avenue North is Mike Donehey (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Owen (guitar, vocals), Brendon Shirley (keys,
vocals), Ruben Juarez (bass, vocals) and Jason Jamison (drums)
Winter Jam arrives in Florida with a show in Jacksonville on Friday, Jan. 13, followed by Tampa on Saturday and then Sunrise on Sunday, before heading back north to Pennsylvania for the next weekend on the three month tour.
Visit the official site for Tenth Avenue North: tenthavenuenorth.com
Get tickets or more show information on the Jam Tour website HERE
Check back for the full audio online. Listen to previous interviews with Tenth:
Mike Donehey Jan 2014 (pre-Winter Jam Tampa) Jan 2014 (post-Winter Jam Tampa)
Jason Jamison Nov 2013 Tenth Avenue North at Fl State Fairgrounds
Tenth Avenue North, Winter Jam 2014 photo/Brandon Jones, The Dispatch
Get tickets or more show information on the Jam Tour website HERE
Praise and worship during Tenth Avenue North’s set in Charleston, West Virginia photo via instagram @braidenmaddox
