Anthem Ave.

Fresh off the heels of their debut CD, WHEN ANGELS COME, new vocal trio Anthem Avenue has already added some significant FIRSTS and ONLYS to their achievements. The group is the first and only artist to be exclusively sponsored by the mega-giant Gospel Communications International (GCI). And within that framework, Anthem Avenue is the first and only artist to participate in the "Gospel Response to AIDS" (GRAIDS), a 10-year initiative to educate the people of sub-Saharan Africa about HIV/AIDS through the use of film and accompanying curriculum. The second GRAIDS film currently in pre-production is designed to educate African women on the use of a vaccine that can prevent mother-to- child transmission of the HIV/AIDS virus during birth .
Additionally, Anthem Avenue has already opened for their first tours, working with David Phelps over the last two years, as well as opening for the Timeless tour this fall featuring Russ Taff, Bonnie Keen and Allen Asbury. And the group’s first radio single, "Nature Of Love," garnered their first top 20 Inspirational chart hit. But it is certainly their involvement with the GRAIDS project that excites Katie Seaton, Ryan Greenawalt and Carly Fair the most.
"Last May, I had the life-changing opportunity to travel with Gospel Communications International to both Ghana and Nigeria to see the work that they have been doing there," says Carly. "While in Nigeria we had lunch with a group of people who are living with HIV/AIDS. The woman I was sitting next to was three months pregnant. We shared with her about the vaccine that is available to possibly prevent her u nborn child from being born with HIV/AIDS. Her baby will be one of 600,000 born this year that will contract the AIDS virus from its mother. To think that the GRAIDS project could reverse that trend and save literally hundreds of thousands of innocent babies is so very humbling."
Katie concurs. "The longer I am in Anthem Avenue, the more clearly I understand that this ministry has nothing to do with us. The Lord isn’t looking for the best singer. He is looking for willing hearts. After every concert we do, we want to leave something behind. We want to put something of lasting value in the music minister’s hands or the youth leader’s hands that bears fruit long after we leave. That’s always our goal."
But making good music is also on their agenda. WHEN ANGELS COME highlights the group’s tight harmonies, but also displays their versatility. From passionate power ballads to acoustic pop, WHEN ANGELS COME offers listeners solid musical standards and well-defined lyrics that convey deep-rooted convictions.
The title cut is easily a group favorite. "We are reminded every time we sing this song that Jesus is alive and one day His story will be fulfilled," says Katie. "I can just start to envision that moment and I become overwhelmed at the fact that nothing I can say…or sing…or do…could be enough to praise my King."
The song "Sometimes" has become important to Carly. "There are times in my life that I seem to think God is big enough to handle everything in my life except for my questions," she says. "This song became one of my favorite songs when I got back from Africa. After seeing such suffering up close, I came back with so many questions—most of them beginning with ‘Why?’ Three days after I returned from my trip, we were in a church singing this song, and the lyrics struck me so strongly. I realized that God is not only big enough for all of my questions and doubts, but that He is waiting for me to come to Him with all of them. I am still, a year later, dealing with some of the same questions, but knowing that I serve a God who is big enough to not only handle these questions, but to walk through them with me gives me extraordinary hope."
The cd’s first top 20 single, "Nature Of Love," is a song that the three agree is a mission statement for Anthem Avenue.
"We want people to understand that they are loved deeply," says Ryan. "We want people to realize that this all-accepting Love is not just the love that God offers, but also the love that the Church has been called to mirror. I think there are so many people inside and outside of the Church that feel unloved and even unlovable. We want them to know that God's love comes without condition and His grace is without limits."
"I admit that as a pastor’s kid, I learned how to play church early in my life," says Katie, "but that didn’t necessarily translate to a life of obedience. I want people to be reminded that church is not the only place they should feel free to worship. Worship is a daily, on-purpose act. The Lord wants me…He wants everyone… to take time everyday and devote it just to Him. And I have found, in my own life, He will make Himself real and available during those moments."
Another seed that Anthem Avenue plants in churches comes from their exclusive partnership with Mission Encounter, a ministry that provides mission trips for youth groups of all denom