GMA Still Alive and Kicking

When the Gospel Music Association hosted the “Concert of the Decade” last month at $1,000 a ticket, the goal was to keep its yearly programming afloat and sink some much needed revenue into the bank. Now the organization has announced that a modified GMA Dove Week will take place in Nashville April 19-21, which will include the ASCAP Christian Music Awards, the BMI Christian Music Awards, a symposium-styled Artist Summit and the Dove ceremony.

The organization also announced the return of its recently launched IMMERSE conference at Belmont University July 28-31, 2010. The event features artists, songwriters, musicians, worship leaders, and music business students to network and create. For more info, click here.

Skillet goes gold

Three years after its release, Skillet’s 2006 album, Comatose, has been certified gold (500,000 sales) by the Recording Industry Association of America. The band’s latest release Awake reached 200,000 sales in just 12 weeks—many of those sales fueled by their radio single “Monster” landing in the mainstream top ten, plus play on “Sunday Night Football,” “NFL Weekend Kickoff,” and the “25th Anniversary of WrestleMania.”

Keaggy for the holidays

Though most of this year’s Christmas CDs have already hit streets, Phil Keaggy is set to release Welcome Inn: A Phil Keaggy Christmas exclusively to fans on his web store. The set includes originals like “Village Bells” and “Best Christmas Morn,” along with the instrumental “Shades of Red & Green,” merging together snippets of seasonal standards.

Daughtry gives back at halftime

American Idol favorite turned band leader Daughtry has the halftime slot for the Thanksgiving Day halftime game between the Dallas Cowboys and Oakland Raiders. The event also marks the official kick off for The Salvation Army’s 2009 Red Kettle Christmas campaign, raising funds and toys for people in need.

Joy (Williams) to the world

Singer/songwriter Joy Williams‘ string of prominent soundtrack placements have included Grey’s Anatomy, 90210, and Melrose Place, and she starts off 2010 with Sunny Day” supporting the ending credits of Jessica Alba’s feature film An Invisible Sign of My Own, which hits theatres sometime in 2010.

Crabb’s Christmas comes to PBS

Kemper Crabb’s Christmas concept collection Downe in Yon Forrest comes to the stage for a PBS broadcast starting Nov. 26 (click here for local listings). The medieval and classically inspired collection tells the story of Christ’s birth in an unconventional way. The show drew 106 million viewers last year.

Next year’s Winter Jam unveiled

The touring dynasty known as Winter Jam is back for 2010, hosted for the 15th consecutive year by NewSong. The bill also includes Third Day, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, and speaker Tony Nolan. A special Pre-Jam Party includes relative newcomers Sidewalk Prophets, Robert Pierre, and Revive. Tickets for all shows are at the economically-friendly price of $10, with a list of dates here.