Back to News 
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (October 7, 2002) – Christian recording artist Bebo Norman will be in concert at Milligan College on Saturday, October 26, as part of the college’s annual Homecoming festivities. Special guests include performances by Ten Shekel Shirt and Sarah Sadler. Tickets are available at area Christian bookstores and the Milligan College bookstore.
In Norman’s six-year career as a singer/songwriter, he has been featured on the covers of CCM, Release, Christian Single, and Premier magazines. His previous two national releases have seen critical acclaim, with Big Blue Sky named the No.1 Christian CD of 2001 by Amazon.com. He’s headlined his own nationwide tours and shared the stage with Third Day, Jennifer Knapp and Caedmon’s Call.
In the first half of 2002 alone Norman has wrapped a 53-city tour with Third Day, enjoyed his first multi-format Top 10 radio hit (“Holy Is Your Name”), spent the summer performing at festivals around the country and secured the August cover of CCM Magazine.Building on the momentum of two prior records (Big Blue Sky and Ten Thousand Days) and a substantial touring history, Norman is in the midst of a 42-city fall tour featuring his latest album, Myself When I Am Real, released from Essential Records September 10.
A collaboration with his longtime friend and consistent producer, Ed Cash (Caedmon’s Call, Big Blue Sky), Myself When I Am Real gathers guitars, cello and simple percussion into a flawless backdrop for Norman’s raw, melting vocals.
Facing some sobering realities in the past year, including his father’s heart attack and new growth in his career which pulled him away from home more often, Norman found strength in the strands that hold his life together: his family, a handful of intimate friendships, the community of his church, a world of unwritten songs, and most importantly, the way that God shows up in those things.
“This record is a statement of who I think I am in light of who God is,” Norman explains. “The bigness of God from Big Blue Sky has settled in, and I’m able to live in the reality of it on a daily basis.”
Joining Norman on tour are Ten Shekel Shirt and Sarah Sadler.
Based out of New England, Ten Shekel Shirt band members met while serving at the Tyler, Texas, base of Youth With A Mission, an international missions organization. In the past year, Ten Shekel Shirt’s first release, Much, has garnered critical acclaim as well as commercial success. Launching its debut record with a No. 1 radio single, “Ocean,” and ending with a 2001 Dove Award nomination, the band has opened for artists including Caedmon’s Call, Over The Rhine and Delirious. They are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their February 2003 follow-up project, tentatively titled Beauty.
Sarah Sadler, who released her self-titled debut on September 10, is often compared stylistically to Sarah McLachlan, Amy Grant and Sheryl Crow, with self-penned poetic lyrics and ethereal melodies. Not new to Christian music, Sadler wrote her first song at the age of nine. Two years later her song, “I Will Pray,” landed on an Integrity Music children’s record. Most recently, Sadler lent her voice to three popular compilation projects: The Prayer of Jabez: Music . . . A Worship Experience, Your Love Broke Through: The Worship Songs of Keith Green, and Our God Of Wonders.
The picture of Myself When I Am Real is best described as a comfortably rustic image of home. It’s built from the experiences and people that have kept Norman on a grounded path, helping to hammer his songs into beautiful images all can relate to.
“I’ve spent six years singing songs, living life in different places, and I’m realizing that the things that really fill me up are much more simple and consistent than I ever imagined,” Norman explains. “All that I truly love in my life is waiting for me at home.”
Bebo Norman will be in concert Saturday, October 26, at 8 p.m. in Seeger Memorial Chapel on the Milligan College campus. Tickets are $15.50 for general admission, $13.50 for groups of 10 or more, and $17.50 at the door. Tickets are available at area Christian bookstores and the Milligan College Bookstore. To charge by phone, call 800-965-9324.