GRAMMY®-nominated, Dove Award winning Sanctus Real releases its fifth studio album, Pieces Of A Real Heart, on Sparrow Records March 9th. Working with acclaimed producers Chris Stevens (tobyMac, Matthew West), Jason Ingram (Bebo Norman, Tenth Avenue North) and Rusty Varenkamp (Leeland, David Crowder*Band, Mute Math), Pieces of a Real Heart is the result of a band maturing and growing as songwriters, musicians and individuals. The album retains the band’s aggressive edge, while incorporating a more diverse musical palette of instrumentation and themes.

Embracing the band’s updated sound, radio programmers across the country have already made the lead single from Pieces Of A Real Heart, “Forgiven”, a Radio & Records no. 1 CHR, Top 10 AC Monitored and Top 5 AC Indicator radio hit as the song continues to climb the AC charts. Listeners are also responding to the message and hope of the song. When the band began streaming “Forgiven” from their website and asking listeners to share their own stories of forgiveness, literally hundreds of profound stories from all around the world began flowing through the site.

“I underestimated the power of forgiveness,” explains Sanctus Real lead vocalist Matt Hammitt. “I was expecting people to write ‘God is good, I am forgiven,’ which is a true statement of faith, but people began confessing their deepest, darkest secrets on the site, sending letters to people they need forgiveness from or need to forgive. It’s amazing to see how God can use my own insignificant insecurities, failures and fears to spark a song that ministers to so many others needing forgiveness. Praise God that we are forgiven, from the seemingly insignificant things to the biggest of failures.”

Sharing his own need for forgiveness, Hammitt explains that the song “Lead Me”, another standout track on Pieces of a Real Heart, was a musical response following his wife Sarah’s imploring him to be a better spiritual leader in their marriage and for their two young children.

“There’s an epidemic of broken homes today. This is the first generation statistically that really believes that divorce and separation are just a normal part of family life,” says Hammitt. “I want to do whatever I can to strengthen families and help them raise kids that have positive role models in moms and dads. And it starts with me. While I am committed to ‘death do us part,’ Sarah made me realize that I was coasting in our marriage. As God is doing great things in my own marriage, I hope that ‘Lead Me’ can be a tool to open a dialog for struggling families, to help strengthen them in their relationships and enabling them to grow together spiritually.”

Popularly known for its captivating recordings and live performances, Toledo, Ohio-based Sanctus Real is playing “Lead Me”, “Forgiven” and other new songs from Pieces of a Real Heart, as well as fan favourites spanning 13 no. 1 and Top 5 radio hits, on its headline spring tour with special guests Addison Road, Above the Golden State, Me In Motion and Speaker Sammy Adebiyi (See dates below). The tour launches March 3rd in Phoenix and travels coast to coast through April 18th. This leg of its 2010 tour is sponsored by the charity, Mocha Club, an online community of people giving up the cost of two mochas a month ($7) to fund relief and development projects in Africa.

Sanctus Real has also already been booked to play the major Christian festivals this summer, including Crossover Festival, Atlanta Fest, Ichthus, Sonshine, Revelation Generation, and more.

Sanctus Real is all about living out their lives as “real” Christians, not only on the stage and as they interact with fans, but in the quieter moments of their lives as husbands, fathers and fellow believers. The band creates compelling, authentic music that lives up to the meaning of their name: to be Holy (Latin meaning of “Sanctus” ).

Sanctus Real’s 2006 breakthrough album, The Face of Love, landed at no. 2 on the Billboard Top Heetseekers chart and amassed a string of radio hits, including the no. 1 songs “I’m Not Alright” and “Don’t Give Up”. The band’s most recent release, We Need Each Other, garnered the band a GRAMMY® nomination, and the album’s title track became the band’s sixth no. 1 radio single.

For more on Pieces Of A Real Heart and to preview several tracks from the album, please visit the Sanctus Real’s YMZ artist page.

Upcoming Sanctus Real Tour Dates (Dates subject to change):

02/12 Orion, MI [Sanctus Real only]
02/14 Indianapolis, IN [Sanctus Real only]
03/04 Phoenix, AZ
03/05 Las Vegas, NV
03/07 Paso Robles, CA
03/09 Bakersfield, CA
03/12 Kennewick, WA
03/13 Lake Stevens, WA
03/19 Minneapolis, MN
03/20 Waukesha, WI
03/26 Springfield, MO

03/27 Shawnee, KS
03/28 Naperville, IL
04/03 Australia @ Easterfest [Sanctus Real only]
04/08 Waverly, OH
04/09 Lancaster, PA
04/10 Zanesville, OH
04/13 Mansfield, OH
04/15 Rome, GA
04/16 Springfield, GA
04/17 Boca Raton, FL
04/18 Melbourne, FL

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