John Schlitt Garners 2020 Grizzly Awards Nomination For Clean Rock Vocalist Of The Year

Grammy and Dove Award-winning recording artist and Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame member John Schlitt has capped off his 2020 year with a Grizzly Awards nomination for Clean Vocalist of the Year.

The Grizzly Awards, now in its 2nd year, exist to honor and invest in the passion and craftsmanship of faith-based rock and metal. Because there can be a marked difference between metal and classic rock vocal stylings, The Grizzly Awards has recognized excellence in both arenas by creating categories for "Scream Vocalist" and "Clean Vocalist," respectively.

The nomination closes out one of the most challenging years on record for performing artists around the world as the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered performance venues and left many artists questioning how they could continue their calling. "Yet," Schlitt notes, "God is faithful even when the world seems out of control." Grammy and Dove Award winning recording artist John Schlitt has added a Grizzly Award nomination to his plethora of achievements during his remarkable five-decade career. 

Just before the pandemic hit the United States, Schlitt unveiled GO, his first solo album of original material in seven years. The ten-song collection of sanctified rock 'n' roll released digitally on December 23, 2019, with the physical CD following on February 28, 2020. The project met with immediate critical acclaim and was tapped as one of the Top 10 Albums of 2019 by Classic Christian Rock Magazine, which extols the project's sweet melodies, direct lyrics, and Schlitt's seemingly ageless vocal prowess. Schlitt also released a special edition limited vinyl version of GO from Girder Music on August 7, 2020, under the Limited Run Vinyl series.

"I'm incredibly anxious to tour GO," says Schlitt. "But wisdom dictates we bide our time as this pandemic runs its course."

While the pandemic has created issues for recording artists, creative people find a way to stay productive, and Schlitt is no exception.

In February 2020, just prior to the pandemic lockdown in the U.S., Schlitt celebrated the release of his new project, GO, at the National Religious Broadcaster's NRB 2020 Christian Media Convention, the world's largest gathering of Christian communicators and ministry professionals, which was held in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he met with and was interviewed by numerous influential media outlets, including CCM Magazine, nationally syndicated radio show Bill Martinez Live!, Faith Radio's The Meeting House, World Christian Broadcasting, and more.

During the pandemic, Schlitt carved out time to record and perform. Along with fellow Petra alum John Lawry, he joined recording artist Dan Vasc virtually to record the popular Brazilian YouTube sensation's upcoming single, a cover of the classic Petra song, "Beyond Belief." The Gospel Music Hall-of-Famer, who is also the former lead singer of classic '70s mainstream rock band Head East, joined former Kansas lead singer John Elefante on stage for the Legends of Rock concert, and he joined his fellow Jay Sekulow Band members virtually to record eight tunes, with each band member recording their parts separately. To cap off 2020, Schlitt joined Petra bandmates Bob Hartman, John Lawry, Greg Bailey, and Cristian Borneo to to perform the Grammy winning band's first live shows in four years. "It was an amazing time," Schlitt declared. "We had a ball!"

 

 

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