The Christian Festival Association, a coalition of nearly two dozen Christian music festivals across the country, announced plans for its 2008 National Talent Search today. The organization is partnering with Provident Label Group, which will provide a development deal for the winner of the nation-wide search for the next wave of Christian music artists.

“The purpose of this exciting new venture is to identify and provide a platform for new artists who can communicate a God-centred world-view in the language of contemporary culture so that the next generation can see, hear and know God,” said CFA President Bob Thompson. “The Christian Festival Association is delighted to partner with Provident Label Group to provide this unique new platform for aspiring Christian artists.”

Regional competitions will take place at 12 CFA-affiliated festivals this summer, and a regional winner will be determined at each festival. Those 12 winners will be invited to Nashville in September to participate in the national finals.

The overall winner will receive a development deal with the Provident Label Group family of labels, which includes Reunion Records, Essential Records and Flicker Records.

“After a long-standing relationship with Bob and CFA, we look forward to partnering in this unique A&R endeavour. We believe there’s a lot of great talent in the markets we’ll be hitting. Many of these individuals simply need an opportunity to demonstrate their talent,” shares Blaine Barcus, VP of A&R, Provident Label Group. “From the label’s standpoint, we’re hoping to find an artist or band that has a heart for communicating the Gospel through great music, and further help them develop a platform on a national level.”

For more information concerning the National Talent Search, including registration information and deadlines, please visit the individual web-sites of the participating festivals. They can be reached by visiting the Christian Festival Association’s web-site at www.christianfestivals.org. Participating Festivals include:

• Spirit West Coast, Del Mar, CA: May 23-25
• Ichthus Festival, Wilmore, KY: June 11-14
• Crossover Festival, Lake of the Ozarks, MO: June 12-14
• Alive Festival, Canal Fulton, OH: June 17-21
• Atlanta Fest, Atlanta, GA: June 19-21
• Lifest, Oshkosh, WI: July 9-13
• Sonshine Festival, Wilmar, MN: July 17-19
• Hills Alive, Rapid City, SD: July 19-20
• Spirit West Coast, Monterey, CA: July 31-August 2
• Kingdom Bound, Darien Lake, NY: August 3-6
• Rock The Desert, Midland, TX: August 8 & 9
• Rock The Light, Kansas City, MO: August 29 & 30
• LifeLight Festival, Sioux Falls, SD: August 29-31

The Christian Festival Association is composed of 22 of the nation’s leading Christian music festivals from coast to coast. Its mission is to help member festivals grow both spiritually and fiscally, so that more lives can be changed for the glory of God. More than 22 million Christian music fans each year attend live events in venues ranging from small church gatherings to huge arena-based shows. Participating CFA member music festivals attract more than 1.4 million of these fans each summer to their multi-day Christian music festivals offered coast to coast. For more information on CFA, including a list of participating festivals, visit www.christianfestivals.org.

Provident Label Group is a division of Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s Provident Music Group, one of the world’s top Christian music companies. Provident Music Group operates under the umbrella of Sony BMG Nashville.