Photo's of my recent trip to India and Bangladesh with Compassion have been added. Have a look!

Hi Everyone,Happy New Year! I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas and
are enjoying 2009 so far.This is just a quick update to let you all know
about an exciting trip I am about to undertake to India and Bangladesh with Compassion
Australia. As some of you would be aware, I am a 'partner artist' for Compassion
Australia. What this means is, as I travel performing my music and preaching in
various venues across Australia, I highlight the work of Compassion and what they
are achieving in third world communities across the world. I also seek to get children
sponsored at my events as their are literally hundreds of thousands of children
world wide who live each day in extreme poverty.This coming Wednesday (28
January) I am taking a trip with some of the Staff from Compassion Australia to
see first hand the work of Compassion in India and Bangladesh. I am very excited
(and quitely nervous) about this trip. I am not entirely sure of what to expect
or what emotions this trip will raise in me, however I am praying for God to use
this incredible opportunity to soften my heart even further to the plight of families
who live in extreme poverty on this planet we all call home. I would
appreciate your prayers for safety as I travel. I can't wait to get back and share
with you some of the amazing stories of lives I encounter as I travel through out
India and Bangladesh.Once again I would like to thank you for your ongoing
support of my music and ministry. Peace.  -Matt
Lucas

Hi Everyone.

Well it feels like it was just last week that I sat down to write the June/July newsletter for you, and yet here we are already in the middle of August. It has been a busy few months, with lots of exciting news to fill you in on.

 

HILLSONG CONFERENCE

In July the band and I had an opportunity to play two shows on the outside stage at Hillsong Conference. It was a lot of fun to entertain the sea of people lining up for the evening sessions at Acer Arena. I also spoke at an input session on 'The Music Industry' for the Gospel Music Association - ANZ (www.gma-anz.org). I shared from my experiences on the reality of life on the road and working in full time Christian music and ministry.

It was really great to be able to be involved with this years conference and I would like to thank my new friends at Hillsong Church for inviting me to be involved.

 

WYD 08

The week following Hillsong Conference the band and I began a busy schedule of shows for World Youth Day. First we made a trip over the Blue Mountains to Bathurst where we played 3 shows in under 15 hours to more than 2,000 pilgrims.

On 'Super Thursday' we travelled into Darling Harbour where event organisers tell me 5,000 people gathered to here us play our show. The atmosphere was electric as we took to the stage. It was amazing to experience so many people gathered together from all over the world having such a good time. There was even a couple of German camera crews filming our show ... look out Germany here I come!

Earlier that day as I walked around Darling Harbour, I was struck by how strange it felt to be strolling around some of Sydney's most famous land marks listening to Christian songs playing over the P.A System. God appears to be on peoples minds and lips right now in a way that we haven't experienced in a very long time (if ever) ... it would seem to me we have a great window of opportunity to engage with people on issues of faith right now.

    

 

HISTORY MAKERS

Q. What do Guys Sebastian, Darlene Zschech, Casting Crowns, Rebecca St James and Matt Lucas have in common?

A. We all appear in a new book called History Makers In Music.

History Makers In Music is a book by  Matt Prater. Matt is the host of a radio program called History Makers. He has compiled radio transcripts of interviews he has conducted with some of Christian Music's leading names. Also in the book are interviews with James Morrison, Colin Buchanan, Randy Stonehill and Nathan Tasker to name a few. History Makers In Music makes for a very inspiring and entertaining read. To buy your copy or to purchase one as a great gift idea simply visit www.mattlucas.net

 

 

AIRWAVES

Once again I am humbled by the fact that my new single The Long Way Home is receiving national radio play. The single is at number 17 on The Rock Across Australia national Christian radio charts for the week of 18 August. Radio play is never guarenteed, so I always appreciate it when radio stations support my music by adding it to their play list. You can hear The Long Way Home by  listening to your local Christian radio station or by clicking on the 'play songs' link on this email.

 

MUSIC OZ AWARDS

The Long Way Home has been entered into the 2008 MusicOz Awards. The MusicOz Awards is the 'ARIA' Awards for independant artists in Australia. Please click on the link below and vote for The Long Way Home ... You could win a guitar!

 

LOOKING AHEAD

I am looking forward to taking some much needed time out from touring for the rest of August. Quality time at home with my family is precious with soccer games and swimming lessons to watch; school runs to make and bed time stories to read - not to mention pleanty of nappies to change! In September I will be hitting the road again for some speaking engagements, high school seminars/concerts and various other bookings.

 

Well that is it for this newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to share in the journey with me.  Until next time ... BE GOOD TO OTHERS!

-Matt Lucas
www.reverbnation.com/mattlucas

www.mattlucas.net

Click here to put my songs on your Facebook profile.

....

.... Matt Lucas.net

.... Koorong Bookstor

Welcome to the first online newsletter for 2008. I am really excited to tell you about some of the great things that have been happening so far this year.

New addition to the family

On Monday March 3, Melinda and I welcomed our third son Jacob James Lucas to the family. Jacob’s older brothers Zac (5) and Samuel (2) were actually hoping for a girl, but they have now come to terms with the fact that they can’t "send Jacob back and swap him for a sister". Zac also had another milestone this year attending school for the first time.



2008 off to a great start

The past three months have been incredible. Just a few days ago the band and I had the opportunity to open for newsboys and old band mates Alabaster Box at Thebarton Theatre in Adelaide. I gotta tell ya it was a killer show with newsboys putting on what they regard as one of their top 10 performances of all time. It was truly spectacular.



A few days earlier the band and I played four shows at Easterfest, Australia’s largest drug-free and alcohol-free festival.The performances included a set on the metro stage with Sydney band Planet of the Stereos and an acoustic set on the Compassion Artists Showcase alongside US singer Geoff Moore. One of the most moving experiences I had at Toowoomba was leading more than 500 worshippers in celebrating Easter on Easter Sunday. One of the personal highlights for me was having the chance to spend some time with Jars of Clay. See pic below.



Airwaves

I am humbled by the success of my latest song Mercy Lights My Way (I Am Free) on The Rock Across Australia radio charts. The song is number 14 this week meaning it’s the 14th most played song on 25 of the key Christian radio stations around Australia. To show you how significant this is, the chart reports down to more than 300 places.

SPECIAL OFFER! For a limited time you can download ’Mercy Lights My Way (I Am Free) ’ by clicking here.

Looking ahead

This month I am playing some acoustic shows at:
April 5 - Rhema FM, Newcastle - Rhemathon on air from 2:00pm
April 6 - Menai Anglican Church
April 27 - Lakes Baptist Church Newcastle

In June we’ll be back in Toowoomba for a weekend of performances and in July I’m looking forward to being part of the World Youth Day youth festival. Looking ahead we are now accepting bookings for Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Townsville, Ballarat, Geelong, Wollongong, Newcastle and Port Macquarie. More detail of these bookings are available at www.mattlucas.net

Finally this Friday April 4 we are announcing the winner of the Easterfest Some Days Are Better iPod competition at www.mattlucas.net

Thanks for your time reading the newsletter, in the weeks to come we will give you special offers and advanced information you won’t get anywhere else. Have a great month.

Matt

This past week Matt was featured on the History Makers radio program which is broadcast to 40+ radio stations across Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Phillipines. Visit www.historymakersradio.com and click on 'Listen Now' to hear the interview.

We can reveal to you that another song on the new album is a remake of 'I Believe', a song Matt wrote and recorded on his 2006 'Unplugged' album. We have re-worked and rocked the track up - It has never been given full production attention. This is the ONLY sneak peak you will get of any audio from the new album - SO ENJOY!