Driving Notes

Do you remember Switchfoot from back in the day? How could we forget– with songs like This Is Home, Gone, and Dare You To Move, this band has left a mark on Christian music!

Switchfoot are back at it again with a brand new album, Forever Now, set to release this summer on Friday, June 26.

The band has already given us a first look at this project with their brand new single, Wake Up, Mr. Crow.

Switchfoot’s bassist commented on this upcoming release, “Making an album is like climbing a mountain — an intentional step forward for the band and the story we are telling. The time between albums gave us space to rebuild our creative energy. And last year, we knew it was finally time to start climbing again.”

The band is coming back fresh, and ready to bring some new music to listeners after 5 years since their last release!

To learn more about their return and new album Forever Now, click HERE!

Here is Switchfoot’s first song called Wake Up, Mr. Crow, from their new album releasing this summer, June 26!

Rend Collective is back on the road again this Spring, and they’re making a stop in Ohio on their U.S. Tour 2026!

This time around, they’re visiting our Knox County neighbor, Newark, Ohio, in Licking County!

They’ll be at the Midland Theatre, in Newark, Ohio, on Saturday, April 11, starting at 6PM for Early Entry, and 7PM for General Admission.

Hailing from Northern Ireland, they’re bringing your favorite hits like Build Your Kingdom Here, Hallelujah Anyway, and you may even catch some of your new favorites from them as well!

Tickets to see Rend Collective Live can be found HERE!

Rend Collective recently made a sea chanty! Check it out here:

We had a stumper on Song Poetry this week! Here were this week’s lyrics:

He’s not done with me, not done with you
No matter what we’re going through
Our hope is in an empty tomb
And the God that’s still not in it

This week’s Song Poetry is a stumper! That means next week, these same lyrics will be worth two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica. Make sure you tune in at 5:15PM on Tuesday next week on The Afternoon Drive!

Tune in on Wednesday for some Who Knew? fun facts for Who Knew? Wednesday, and another chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica with a game of Who Am I?!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

We’re seeing some new music from NEEDTOBREATHE in their 10th studio album, The Long Surrender. It releases this Friday, March 27 at midnight!

With twelve brand new songs, the band gets personal by pouring real and raw into every lyric.

Listen to the title track to their latest album here:

To learn more about their album, The Long Surrender, click HERE!

NEEDTOBREATHE is also hitting the road this fall with some new songs from this record on their The Long Surrender Tour!

The band will be stopping in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Jacobs Pavilion on Friday, August 28, 2026. The show will start at 7PM.

For ticket information, click HERE!

Phil Wickham has kicked off his Song Of The Saints Tour, and he’s coming to Columbus, Ohio!

He’s taking some of your favorite Phil Wickham classics as well as some new songs from his Song Of The Saints album, with Tauren Wells and Jamie MacDonald joining him!

You can see Phil with the Song Of The Saints Tour at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, April 17th! The show starts at 7PM, so make sure you arrive at least an hour early as doors open earlier!

Ticket information can be found HERE!

Here is Phil’s new song Homesick For Heaven, from his Song Of The Saints album!

Here were this week’s Song Poetry lyrics!

Take my life and let it be
My soul devoted Lord to Thee
Take my moments and all my days
Make them endless praise

These lyrics were from Let It Be A Hallelujah by Lauren Daigle!

Congratulations to Trevor from Saint Louisville for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist! He will be taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday for some Who Knew? Wednesday fun facts, and a game of Who Am I?.

Thank you for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

Do you ever wish there was just a little more an artist would add to a brand new album? Well, sometimes artists will release deluxe versions of their albums, which adds a few new songs and brand new collabs on songs you know and love!

Phil Wickham – Song Of The Saints (Deluxe)

If you’ve loved hearing songs from Phil Wickham’s Song Of The Saints album, like The King Is In The Room, What An Awesome God, and Phil’s latest single Homesick For Heaven, you will love hearing new versions of these songs, along with some other new songs on Phil’s Song Of The Saints (Deluxe) album!

New Versions
– The King Is In The Room (Live)
– What An Awesome God (Song Session) (with Michael W. Smith)
– Homesick For Heaven (Petey Remix)

Here is that new version of What An Awesome God featuring Michael W. Smith here:

To learn more about Phil’s deluxe album, click HERE!

Phil Wickham is also taking a lot of his songs from his Song Of The Saints album on tour with Tauren Wells and Jamie MacDonald!

You can see Phil with the Song Of The Saints Tour at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, April 17th! The show starts at 7PM, so make sure you arrive at least an hour early as doors open earlier!

Ticket information can be found HERE!

Zach Williams – Jesus Loves (Deluxe)

Zach Williams’ song Jesus Loves, which climbed into The NZ Top 10 for some time, is the title track of his latest album. Zach has added a couple new songs and new versions of his songs on his Jesus Loves (Deluxe) album! Zach’s new song on WNZR, Wait For Me featuring Ben Fuller made its debut on this deluxe album!

New Versions
– Wait For Me (featuring Ben Fuller)
– Say A Prayer (featuring Thomas Rhett)
– If God Lives Here (New Studio Recording)

Here’s that new version of Zach’s song Wait For Me, featuring Ben Fuller! This new song can also be heard throughout the day on 90.9FM WNZR!

To learn more about Zach’s deluxe album, click HERE!

Zach Williams will be Third Day’s very special guest on their 30th Anniversary Tour!

They will be stopping at the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio, on Thursday, May 7, and the concert will start at 7PM. Make sure you arrive at least an hour early as doors open earlier!

Ticket information can be found HERE!

Here were this week’s Song Poetry lyrics:

I’ve gone where the hopeless go, the dead end of a broken road
And I’ve learned there’s a place so low you can’t see your way out
Been stuck in a ditch so deep, thought it might be the end of me
But I’m still here and there could only be one way how

These lyrics are found in the song God Story by Anne Wilson!

Congratulations to Lindsey from Fredericktown for correctly guessing the song title and artist for these Song Poetry lyrics! She’s taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Tune in on Wednesday for some Who Knew? fun facts and another chance to win a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant with a game of Who Am I?.

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan

We covered a lot for Artist News Day on The Afternoon Drive today! Here is this week’s artist news:

Crowder announced his LIVE! concert, and he’s bringing his friends Seph Schlueter and Patrick Mayberry along with him!

You can catch them in Akron Ohio this spring on Sunday, May 3!

You can find ticket information here!

Jamie MacDonald debuted her first, self-titled album last Friday!

This record includes your favorite #1 hits from Jamie, including Desperate and Left It In The River, and has many new ones you’re sure to love. With raw honesty, worship, and humble vulnerability, this album is sure to touch your heart in more ways than one!

Learn more about Jamie MacDonald’s new album here!

Last week, the Ohio State Fair announced For KING & Country as a part of their concert lineup this summer!

The Australian brother duo will stop by the state fair on August 3rd, and will be seen in the Ohio State Fair’s Celeste Center! You can find more information about For KING & COUNTRY on our website here!

Tickets can be purchased online here!

We had a stumper from last week! These Song Poetry lyrics are worth two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Here were this week’s lyrics:

And I don’t need to see it to believe it
For my whole life, You’ve been that all I’ve needed
And I, I’ve felt You in the fire and the rain

This week’s Song Poetry was, once again, a stumper! If you think you know the song title and artist these lyrics are from, tune in next week for a chance to potentially win three $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

On Wednesday, there will be a shortened version of The Afternoon Drive. The show will end at 4:40 to start the MVNU Cougars Women’s Basketball . We’ll see you here at 4pm for a condensed Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

We dug into the weeds a little bit on this week’s Artist News Day. We talked about Jamie MacDonald’s first upcoming studio album, as well as the details regarding MercyMe’s second debut to the silver screen, I Can Only Imagine 2.

Jamie MacDonald, recently signed onto Capitol CMG, announced her first ever album that will be coming out early next year! This self-titled album is scheduled to release on January 23rd, 2026 and will feature well-known favorites heard on WNZR like Desperate and Left It In The River.

You can expect this album to be full of honesty, faith, and healing as we see the story it tells. Jamie is telling listeners, “For over a decade, I’ve held onto God’s promise that I would one day write songs that would first heal me, and then bring healing to others. That time is now.”

You can find her taking some of the songs on her new record while she’s on the road this fall and upcoming spring! She’ll be coming to Ohio with:

• Benjamin William Hastings on his At The Heart Of It Tour in Pickerington, Ohio on Friday, November 14th
• Chris Tomlin on his Christmas With Chris Tomlin tour in Grove City, Ohio on Friday, December 19th
• Phil Wickham on his Song Of The Saints Tour in Columbus, Ohio on Friday, April 17th

If you want to see Jamie live at any of these events, you can get tickets by going to the Concerts page on our website here!

We talked about MercyMe’s sequel to their box office hit, I Can Only Imagine last week, and earlier last week we got to take a look at their movie as they released the first trailer to I Can Only Imagine 2.

In this trailer, we see some of the struggles Bart goes through as he becomes a father. We also get a look at Bart’s new mentor, Tim Timmons, some struggles that he deals with, and how God uses him to help Bart as he learns how to be a good dad to his son Sam.

The full synopsis is found on their website here!

All of that and more is seen on their new trailer!

Here were this week’s lyrics for Song Poetry!

The truth of its nature
It’s always give and never take
It flows with that freedom
Surrendering itself away
Carves canyons through stone
Tells the rivers to run home

This week’s Song Poetry was a stumper! If you think you know the song title and artist of these lyrics, tune in next week for a chance to win two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

Today on Artist Newsday we talked about where you can see some of your favorite artists on tour. If you love seeing and hearing your favorite WNZR artists live, you can go to wnzr.fm/concerts and see all the places where you can catch your favorite artists hitting the road!

After coming out with a new record, Wonder + Awe, last August, MercyMe are going out on the road this Spring to bring you some of their new favorites from this album on The Wonder + Awe Tour! Of course, they’ll be performing some of your favorites from previous albums!

Joining the band on the road will be their friends Big Daddy Weave, alongside Sam Wesley and Tim Timmons, who play a huge role in MercyMe’s upcoming movie! If you want to learn more about the heart behind this tour and what to expect from it, click here!

The band will be arriving at Toledo, Ohio on Thursday, March 19th! Ticket Information can be found here!

MercyMe’s Wonder + Awe tour will be connected with their upcoming theatrical release of I Can Only Imagine 2, which you can see in theatres February 20!

Returning to the silver screen with a sequel, this movie will dive deep into Bart’s life after MercyMe’s breakout hit, I Can Only Imagine, skyrocketed the band’s popularity. You’ll see Bart face as his past as he tries to be a father to his son, Sam. A big mentor in Bart’s life, Tim Timmons (played by Milo Ventimiglia from This Is Us), enters Bart’s life as the band goes on their biggest tour to date!

To read the full synopsis and stay updated for this upcoming movie, click here!

Anne Wilson’s third studio album, Stars, is out now! This record features 12 new songs, with one we hear on WNZR called God Story! You can learn more about this new album here!

This new release is being supported by her upcoming headline tour, called The Stars Tour, which is stopping in Akron, Ohio! It’s 90% sold out, so if you want to grab tickets, you still have some time!

Anne will be at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio on Friday, November 21! You can get tickets here!

Here were this week’s lyrics for Song Poetry:

Well, I find myself daydreamin’
Like never before
There’s joy and pain, like sun and rain
Through every open door

Rene from Mount Vernon came sliding in at the last second during today’s show and snagged a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! She correctly guessed the song title and artist, which were Heaven On My Mind by TobyMac.

Tune in on Wednesday for fun facts and a game of Who Am I? on Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you for listening!
– Joe and Ethan