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Worship At The Charlie Kirk Memorial!

Let’s get into this week’s artist news!

This past weekend, we saw some familiar artist faces from WNZR worshipping onstage during the Charlie Kirk Memorial service. We got to see Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, Chris Tomlin, Cody Carnes, and Kari Jobe Carnes onstage together, worshipping God with over 90,000 people in attendance, and hundreds of thousands online.

While onstage, Brandon Lake paused in the middle of worship to just take a moment to recognize the thick, real presence of God that was filling the stadium. Hundreds were giving their lives to Christ this past Sunday. We got to see truth come in full swing as God takes everything the enemy meant for evil, and turned it for good!

Listen and watch what Brandon Lake declares during worship at the Charlie Kirk Memorial!

We’re so excited to see Big Daddy Weave coming to Duncan Falls, Ohio this fall! They’re bringing their friends Megan Woods and David Leonard along with them.

These artists know how to worship and put on a spectacular performance, so if you want to see some of your favorite Big Daddy Weave songs live, ticket information is available by clicking HERE!

You can find a list of concerts on our concert page, by going to wnzr.fm!

One of your favorite worship music artists, Chris Tomlin is coming out with a brand new album this Friday, which is titled “The King Is Still The King”.

This album is featuring Tomlin’s new one on WNZR, called “How Good It Is”.

Alongside this release, he’s going on a tour of worship evenings, and he’s stopping in Cincinnati this Friday! You can find ticket information for this concert HERE!

Today, we took some lyrics from a song we listened to this afternoon and turned it into a poem for Song Poetry! Here were this week’s lyrics:

I pray into the atmosphere
Spirit of God, You’re here
You have all authority
I pray over my heart and mind
I am healed by Your stripes
Your blood declares that I am free

Today’s Song Poetry lyrics came from Hope Darst’s song Mighty Name Of Jesus!

Congratulations to Kandee from Mount Vernon for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in on Wednesday for a whole lot of fun facts and more prayer at 5:25 to celebrate Global Prayer Week!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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We’re Looking Forward To Christmas With Natalie Grant!

We had a packed show with artist news from Natalie Grant, Phil Wickham, and more from the 2025 GMA Dove Awards!

Natalie Grant is now signed to record label Captiol CMG, and with this, she’s already announced a brand new Christmas album, with some old-timey classics like Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and Jingle Bells! This will be her first Christmas record in nearly 20 years, and she’s so excited for it!

Did you know there’s only 100 days until Christmas? So alongside this album release, Natalie Grant and Danny Gokey are going on their annual “Celebrate Christmas Tour”, which is on its 10th iteration!

To learn more about this new album and tour, click HERE!

Last week, we talked about Phil Wickham’s brand new album, Song Of The Saints that released last Friday, 9/12/2025! Now this week, Phil is celebrating this album release by going on tour with this record, appropriately called the “Song Of The Saints Tour”!

He’ll also be bringing special guest Jamie MacDonald with him!

To learn more about this tour, click HERE!

Zach Williams’ album “Jesus Loves” is coming out this Friday, 9/19/2025! It’s title track, Jesus Loves, has been climbing The NZ Top 10 for quite a while now!

To learn more about this new record, click HERE!

More GMA Dove Awards Performers and Presenters have been revealed!

We’ll get to see some favorite WNZR artists performing on October 7th, including Tauren Wells, for KING & COUNTRY, CeCe Winans, Josiah Queen, Elevation Worship, ELEVATION RHYTHM, and so many more!

We also see some WNZR artists presenting awards, including Bart Millard, bodie, Chris Tomlin, Crowder, Natalie Grant, and many more great presenters!

There will be even more announced in future weeks! To see the full list of artists and guests performing and presenting, click HERE!

We took some lyrics from a song we heard on The Afternoon Drive today and turned it into a poem! Here were today’s lyrics:

Every heartbroken, lonely soul sitting all alone
And every outcast, stuck in their past, scared of letting go
These are the ones
The ones that Jesus chose

Today’s lyrics came from Zach William’s song Jesus Loves!

Congratulations to Satarah from Howard for calling in and guessing the song title and artist, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for some fun facts for Sonfest 2025 on Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Josiah Queen Is Going On His First Big Headline Tour!!

We got some exciting stuff on Artist News Day this week! Let’s get into all the news:

Josiah Queen is taking his sophomore #1 album, Mt. Zion, on tour this Spring 2026, and you can catch him stopping by in Columbus! He’s bringing his friends Jervis Campbell and Gable Price with, who appear on his Mt. Zion album!

This concert will be taking place in an outdoor venue, KEMBA LIVE!. If you want to be a part of this night of worship, praise, folk, and joyful music, ticket information is available HERE!

We’ve gotten the pleasure to see Zach Williams on the charts with his title track to his new album, Jesus Loves! We’re gonna get to see this full album release next Friday, September 19th!

With a full 12 songs on this record, Zach Williams strongly believes in these songs, saying, “I’ve always believed in writing songs for real people who are going through real things.” More information about what Zach Williams is saying about his new album is found HERE!

Forrest Frank has come out with the deluxe version of his album Child Of God II! This album features artists we love on WNZR- Crowder, Cory Asbury, even The Figs, who we here on the song Lemonade!

More information about this album can be found HERE!

We’re happy to see that bodie released his debut album called No Skips! This album includes his hit Whisper & The Wind, which, at one point, made it on The NZ Top 10!

More information about this album can be found HERE!

We took some lyrics from a song we listened to during The Afternoon Drive to play Song Poetry! Here were this week’s lyrics:

Every time I call You, Jesus
I call You, I call You Savior
Worthy of glory forever
Something comes out of the grave
Every time I call Your Name

Today’s Song Poetry song was I Know A Name from Elevation Worship and Brandon Lake!

Congratulations to Kari from Newark for calling in and correctly guessing the song title and artist, taking home a $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for some fun facts on Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham’s Summer Worship Nights Recap!

Today we checked out what your WNZR artists have been up to this summer on Artist News Day!

Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham took some time this summer to go coast-to-coast with Josiah Queen on The Summer Worship Nights Tour! With sold-out shows and audiences of over 30,000, the trio brought the worship with them every night. From familiar worship songs like “Trust In God” to their hits like Lake’s Hard Fought Hallelujah, Wickham’s What An Awesome God, and Queen’s Can’t Steal My Joy, every song was sang to lift up and glorify the Name of Jesus!

Not only that, but Lake and Wickham went beyond the coast of the U.S. to wrap up the tour in the UK, worshipping with an audience of 35,000! With the response of this year’s Summer Worship Nights, we’re looking forward to see if Lake and Wickham will continue the tour next summer!

Tasha Layton is bringing listeners a brand new album, featuring songs we love like Worship Through It and Thank You Isn’t Enough! This one is called Life In Me, and she’s released the title track for this album, which features Rachael Lampa!

If you want to read more about this album and Tasha’s thoughts about it, read the JesusFreakHideout article HERE!

We’ve been talking about Josiah Queen’s new album, Mt. Zion, this month, and it just came out last Friday!

If you’re a fan of his songs Can’t Steal My Joy and Dusty Bibles, those songs are featured on this record, among many others! You can read more about this album by checking out the review on JesusFreakHideout by clicking HERE!

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

Three brothers in a fire
Willing to die for their faith
But You were with them in the fire
And they walked out the next day

And Daniel met a lion
Because he chose to pray
But You shut the mouth of that lion
And he walked out the next day

This week’s stumper lyrics are from the song Unashamed by Matthew West!

Congratulations to Brady from Mount Vernon for being the first to call in and guess the song title and artist, taking home two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Terrian’s First Big Headline Tour!

On Artist News Day today, we talked about all that’s happening when it comes to your artists here on WNZR! We went over a life update from Natalie Grant, Anne Wilson appearing on Morgan Wallen’s tour, and Terrian’s first tour where she will be headlining it!

Terrian is coming to Lakewood, Ohio with special guest Aaron Cole along with her!

Terrian has worked so hard with her music career! She got the incredible opportunity to be a part of TobyMac’s Diverse City Band for almost eight years! She went on tour with him as a backup vocalist, and appeared on three of Toby’s past records as a backup vocalist on The Elements, and then featuring as an artist on Life After Death and Heaven On My Mind. After being a part of TobyMac’s Diverse City Band for nearly eight years, she was able to start her career as a solo artist, getting signed to Gotee Records, getting to release beloved songs like Honestly, We Just Need Jesus, He Sees You, and Big God.

She’s worked so hard to the point where she gets to headline her own tour, called The Big God Tour! And if you want to see her headline her concert live with Aaron Cole, you can grab tickets through our website by clicking HERE!

Natalie Grant has been resting from releasing music and touring to be with her children before they graduate from college! As college starts up again this year, Natalie will be bidding farewell to one of her twin daughters as she sends her off to college. She says she appreciates every prayer that has come her family’s way, so be praying for Natalie and her family as they enter this new season of life!

God has done it again, as He uses Christian artists as a vessel for His glory and His Kingdom! Anne Wilson recently got to open up for Grammy-winning artist Morgan Wallen, who, to put it in perspective, is the “Taylor Swift” of country music!

Anne was so excited to share her faith and her Jesus to an audience that filled a football stadium in Seattle Washington on July 26th and 27th. We’re seeing God use artists like Anne to reach people who may have never heard about Jesus before, and you never know all the seeds that may have been planted as Anne worshipped God on those nights at Morgan Wallen’s concerts! She given God the glory for all she has gotten to do to share His message and share His love!

We took some lyrics from a song we listened to on The Afternoon Drive today! Here were the lyrics:

Three brothers in a fire
Willing to die for their faith
But You were with them in the fire
And they walked out the next day

And Daniel met a lion
Because he chose to pray
But You shut the mouth of that lion
And he walked out the next day

Today’s lyrics were a stumper! Tune in next week and be the first caller to guess what song this is from and who sings this song! If you do, you’ll win two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Xander and Ethan

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Happy Birthday Katy Nichole!

Today on Artist Newsday we celebrated Katy Nichole’s birthday, and with that we went over all that she has accomplished in this past year! We also got updated with what’s happening with Forrest Frank and his back injury.

Katy Nichole was born today, July 29, 2000, making her 25 years of age this year. Since her last birthday in 2024, Katy Nichole has appeared on the NZ Top 10 with her song When I Fall, speaking to listeners far and wide with her deeply honest song which emphasized her desperation for God through very painful moments in her life. This song is set to appear on her brand new full-length album coming out on August 15th, which is called Honest Conversations!

Forrest Frank has been recovering in bed since his injury a week-and-a-half ago when he fell off his skateboard at his home, breaking his back. He fractured his L3 and his L4, and this is what he has been up to since then.

Forrest says on his Instagram account, “Following God is kind of hilarious because I’m feeling thankful for my back breaking???????” He goes on to declare, “Drugs don’t do this, money can’t do this, nothing else…. only JESUS”. Forrest is finding joy in every circumstance he finds himself in… even in the midst of recovering from a broken back. What an example he is leading to a generations young and old on social media– To rejoice always, glorifying God no matter what situation he finds himself in!

Today we pulled some lyrics from a song we heard on The Afternoon Drive and played Song Poetry! Here were the lyrics we picked today:

Come see all the captives run free
He’s tearing down the walls
He’s tearing down the walls
There’s grace shaking power when we sing
The Name above them all
Your Name above them all

Today’s Song Poetry was a stumper! If you think you know which song these lyrics are from, and who sings this song, listen in next week during The Afternoon Drive and give us the answer! If you can guess this stumper, you will get two $5 gift cards to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for some fun facts for Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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We’re “Counting Our Blessings”, Listening To Seph Schlueter’s New Full-Length Album!

We’re absolutely loving the music Seph Schlueter has been putting out! We get to see some of our favorites from him, and some brand new ones, in a full-length, 11-song album called “Counting My Blessings”, including the title track which was his first big hit!

On Artist Newsday today, we went more in depth with Seph’s new album that is out now, Josiah Queen’s new album, and something new coming from a band from the vault we hear on WNZR, called Kutless!

Seph Schlueter blows us away with his style of music that the Lord has spoken through to so many people, touching so many lives. This album reminds us of God’s grace and that His grace is always sufficient for us and never runs out. It’s an album full of worship and gratitude towards God. We’ve been so blessed to hear songs like Running Back To You and the title track, Counting My Blessings, on WNZR, which you can find on this new album!

With this new release, Seph will be taking his these new songs with him on his Counting My Blessings Tour this Fall alongside a favorite new artist, bodie! They’ll be stopping at The George in Cincinnati, Ohio on Thursday, October 2nd! You can find more details and ticket information on the Concert page on our website by clicking HERE!

What can you look forward to next with new album releases? You can keep an eye out for Josiah Queen, who’s releasing a new, full-length album titled MT. ZION. This new album includes the new one from Josiah and Brandon Lake, Can’t Steal My Joy, alongside some songs of his that have been blowing up on social media! God is once again using artists like Josiah to spread the love of God to areas like social media, and spread the Good News of the Gospel to people who may not have heard that much about Jesus or what He did to pay for each and every one of all our sins!

Josiah Queen be here in Ohio soon, joining the stage with Tauren Wells at the Ohio State Fair on Monday, July 28th! Keep listening in for ticket giveaways for this concert! We’re doing Tauren Wells and Josiah Queen trivia questions, and whoever calls in first with the correct answer takes home two tickets to the concert! Don’t miss your chance and tune into The Morning Thing, 6am – 9am, and The Afternoon Drive, 4pm – 6pm! More details about this concert and the Ohio State Fair can be found HERE on our website!

With their unique and hard rock style, the band Kutless creates a Revelation-inspired 6-song EP which is called The Seventh Seal. You can find this new EP on their YouTube channel, by clicking HERE and find it where they stream music!

Today we played Song Poetry! We took a segment of lyrics from one of the songs we heard during The Afternoon Drive. Here were the lyrics we had for Song Poetry today:

I don’t know who I’d be if I didn’t know You,
I’d probably fall off the edge.
I don’t know where I’d go if You ever let go,
So keep me held in Your hands.

This week’s song was… “Thank God I Do” from Lauren Daigle! Congratulations to Janell from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing both the song title and artist correctly, taking home the $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for a game of Who Am I? and some fun facts on Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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Lauren Daigle From The Super Bowl To The U.S. Capitol!

Lauren Daigle has been taking audiences by storm, performing in some of the U.S.’s most well-known areas! Today is Artist Newsday, and we’re highlighting how incredible it is to be getting artists like Lauren Daigle to perform in all these areas where she gets the opportunity to let Jesus shine through her!

You may remember when Lauren sang live at this past year’s Super Bowl, wowing the stadium with her rendition of America The Beautiful with singer and trombone specialist Trombone Shorty. That train continues as she got the opportunity to sing at the U.S. Capitol for the 45th Anniversary of PBS’s Capitol Fourth Concert, singing live in front of thousands. She brought her special rendition of America The Beautiful with her once again, along with her version of Walking On Sunshine, and one of her biggest hits Rescue for her performance in D.C.

Lauren Daigle performing Rescue at “2025 A Capitol Fourth”, courtesy of PBS and Capital Concerts

Seeing this is so incredible to see, as artists like Lauren will get to reach other audiences on these platforms and spread the Gospel of Jesus through music, that of which she is unashamed of! We’re excited to see how the LORD uses Lauren and other artists to spread His Word and build His Kingdom next!

Matthew West is going on tour with a new Christian artist! On his Don’t Stop Praying 2025 Tour, Matthew is bringing Peter Burton along with him, of which we got to learn a little about him during Momentum 2025. We got to see one of the songs he has been working on, called Where Would I Be, and he will be bringing these songs with him as he goes with Matthew West on this tour!

Peter Burton’s Where Would I Be Lyric Video

Matthew West will be bringing his Don’t Stop Praying 2025 Tour to the Genoa Baptist Church in Westerville, OH on November 6th! If you want to be a part of this prayer, worship-filled night, and hear more from Peter Burton, click the link HERE to find more information and purchase tickets! Matthew has been so passionate about prayer, and strongly believes that prayer makes a difference, and that’s what he wants to bring to Ohio, and this entire tour.

So much artist news this week! If you want to join CeCe Winans on her More Than This tour with Charity Gale, make sure to find ticket information on our website, wnzr.fm. She will be in Kettering, OH on July 23rd!

Today we played Song Poetry! Here were today’s lyrics that we took from a song played during the Afternoon Drive:

Wide awake while the world is sound asleep, and
Too afraid of what might show up while you’re dreamin’
Nobody, nobody, nobody sees you
Nobody, nobody would believe you…

Today’s song was God Only Knows, from for King & Country! Congratulations to Jennifer from Centerburg for calling in and guessing the song title and artist correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for a game of Who Am I? and Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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TobyMac is bringing a very special tour to Ohio!

Today is a very special Artist News Day! We’ve got news from TobyMac, a unique tour from him, Seph Schlueter, releasing his first full length album and announcing a full tour along with it, and news from Stars Go Dim as well!

Last week, TobyMac announced the Heaven On My Mind Start To Finish Tour, and it’s a little different from other tours he has taken. He’s stopping at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, OH on November 6th, which is one of five states he will be visiting on this tour! This is an intimate, more personal concert, where TobyMac will be performing his entire latest record live from start to finish, as the name suggests! Not only that, he’ll also be performing other great hits from his earlier records as well!

Ticket sales go live tomorrow, Wednesday, July 2nd and if you want to buy tickets, click HERE! The concert is on November 6th, at 7PM!

TobyMac’s latest record is called “Heaven on My Mind”, where TobyMac is on the other side of grieving the tragic loss of his son, Truett. This record is deeply honest, and as the record title says, after everything TobyMac has gone through, he has Heaven on his mind, keeping his “eye on the prize”, so to speak. He is counting on God, and he’s diving in even deeper into his trust in God!

Seph Schlueter is coming out with a his first ever full-length album on July 11th! It will have a whole 17 songs on it, and includes collabs with the likes of Matt Maher and Essential Worship. Alongside this album release, he’s going on tour with this record and all of his other songs, so you’ll get to hear songs like “Counting My Blessings”, “Running Back To You”, and many more! He’s coming to Cincinnati, OH with bodie to bring you a fun, worship-filled night! If you want to order tickets for this concert, click HERE!

Stars Go Dim is releasing a full length album called Roses on July 11th! Check it out HERE!

Today we played Song Poetry! Here were the lyrics we took from a song we’ve heard during today’s show:

I will not be afraid
In the end, you will lose
I will dance on your grace
With the one who buried you.

Today’s song was “Oh Death” from MercyMe! Congratulations to Kelly from Mount Vernon for calling in and guessing the song and artist correctly, taking home that $5 gift card to Watts Restaurant in Utica! Tune in tomorrow for Who Knew Wednesday!

Thank you so much for listening!
– Ethan Hershberger

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