MTV’s No. 1 undiscovered band, Re:zound performed a special two night concert event free and open to the public in Vietnam this past March during their 2007 Asia tour. This was the first time the Vietnamese government had ever granted permission for a Christian band to play in the country and worship God openly, forever changing cultural history in this nation. And Re:zound not only played for over 10,000 people worshipping God freely, but the concert was televised live nationally to millions more via the government’s television network.

On the day of the first concert, Re:zound was required to audition before Vietnam government officials to receive permission to play its music. After some hesitation, the officials agreed to allow Re:zound to perform that night. During the sound check later that evening, the officials told Re:zound that they were not to play any video that contained the words “God” or “Jesus.” The band responded that they could not take the words out of the videos, but that the officials were welcome to turn off the video feed for those particular songs. When it came time for the videos to air, they ran completely unedited with no interruption and for all to see.

The next day called for rain and a big storm front, which would cancel the outdoor concert. After much prayer, the band played that night in front of thousands under a clear, starry sky.

Re:zound’s Jason Anderson pulls people from the Vietnam audience up on stage to sing “I can still hear them” featured on Abandoned To You. Anderson says, “The song is about people from all of over the world needing God, crying out to him, and although language is a barrier and culture is a barrier, the common thread in all of us to know our Creator unites us.”

“I spoke of God’s love and forgiveness for them and about how it was not an accident that they were there, or that it didn’t rain,” recalls Re:zound frontman Jason Anderson. “Since most of those in attendance had some understanding of English, I spoke slowly and clearly, not wanting to rely on the translator as I invited the people to receive Jesus, to make him Lord and believe that he died and rose from the dead. After I asked ‘Who received the Lord tonight?’ everyone as far as I could see lifted their hands and cheered.

Re:zound’s Jason Anderson leads worship in Vietnam

“Vietnamese history was changed that night. We were told by the people that this is the first time in the nations’ history that people publicly worshipped God, and that the gospel was preached in public and on television,” adds Anderson. Visit www.youtube.com/rezound01 to see live video footage from the concerts in Vietnam and to witness history in the making.

After topping MTV’s undiscovered charts at No. 1 for over four months in 2004 with its independent single, Angel, Re:zound is poised to release its national debut album, Abandoned To You, March 11th, 2008 with Vertical Shift Records. Although this is Re:zound’s first nationally distributed album through EMI CMG Distribution, the band is not naive to recording, the road, or to the service of the gospel.

Re:zound members, Jason Anderson (lead vocalist), Jeff Zubeck (lead guitar), Wes Bender (acoustic/rhythm guitar), Ariel Ortiz (bass guitar) and Jordan Potts (drums), play for crowds reaching 75,000 per event at rock crusades since 2001. Their touring spans six nations, including Communist Vietnam, Thailand, India and Cambodia, as well as US performances with artists such as Jeremy Camp, Michael W. Smith, David Crowder*Band and Tree63. In addition to being MTV’s No. 1 Undiscovered Band, the band has also garnered three top 20 R&R Christian hit singles with Majesty, Great I Am and Hallelujah, all from an independent release in 2004. Re:zound’s Anderson further hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, “Taking a Minute,” which plays weekly in over 300 U.S. cities.

For more information on Re:zound, visit the band’s YMZ artist page. Stay tuned to YMZ as we will be bringing you more on Abandoned To You in the upcoming weeks.

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