Passion

The Passion saga began in 1997 when pastor Louie Giglio held their inaugural conference in Austin, Texas, with the goal of creating an event that would use contemporary praise & worship to awaken the faith of university-age youth. Giglio certainly succeeded; Passion have since evolved into a multitiered organisation. In addition to holding conferences around the globe (with many of them turned into top-selling live albums), they oversee their own record label, sixstepsrecords, and maintain a world headquarters, Passion City Church, in Atlanta. Passion aren’t your traditional praise & worship band, and that’s a big part of their success. Their core artists—which have included over the years Kristian Stanfill, Chris Tomlin, Christy Nockels, Crowder and Matt Redman—may perform and record together, yet they also maintain their respective individual musical identities. It’s a loosely collective approach that enables the project to cover a lot of ground in terms of sound. When Stanfill takes lead on 2017’s “Glorious Day”, Passion in turn take on his love of big, driving alt-rock. “Forgiven”, by contrast, spotlights Crowder’s unique fusion of electronic music and pounding heartland rock. “God of This City”, the title track to a 2008 live set, offers up another approach, one that is vintage Tomlin: fragile yet passionate harmonies set gently atop gleaming piano chords. Passion also cycle in new talent, like Sean Curran, whose gift for electro-pop became a regular feature in 2017. And then there’s the steady flow of guest collaborators, such as Christian hip-hop superstar Lecrae and the R&B-inspired Tauren Wells. The importance of Passion’s ability to refresh their style cannot be overstated: young Christians in the 21st century crave praise & worship that’s energetic and inclusive, and Passion deliver both.