Charleston Southern University welcomes national recording artist NewSong to the Lightsey Chapel Auditorium on Sunday, October 3.

The show starts at 6:00pm. Doors open at 5:30pm. Tickets are $5 at the door. CSU students get in FREE with a student I.D.

NewSong is on tour in support of their new release, Give Yourself Away, their first new music in five years.

“Give Yourself Away is true to who we are, but it’s new and exciting,” says lead singer Russ Lee. “It’s authentic, sonically relevant and fresh. In a word, modern.”

Give Yourself Away marks the celebrated return of former frontman Russ Lee, and it’s a move that just feels right for everyone. “Russ was front and center during the years we began cultivating a more diverse live show,” says founding member Eddie Carswell. “Having him back is a real blessing. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”

After his initial tenure with NewSong ended in 2000, Russ released three acclaimed studio albums and recorded the evergreen Christian radio hits “Live What I Believe” and “I Smile.” His solo adventure was both rewarding and challenging. He made mission trips to Iraq, Japan and Germany with the military, and he and his family spent six months serving in developing countries.

“From there, I became worship pastor at my church, appeared at men’s conferences, and continued to develop relationships in the songwriting community.” Russ pauses thoughtfully before quietly adding, “Most importantly, I was able to be at home with my wife, Mary, while she was fighting cancer, which included nine months of chemotherapy.”

As Russ contemplates this latest offering—NewSong’s first release since 2005′s Rescue: Live Worship (Integrity), and its first studio album since 2003’s More Life — he sees it in a historical perspective. “Give Yourself Away reminds me of when we recorded the Love Revolution album,” he says. “Musically, and in every other way, it was a new day. We gained a lot of new fans with that record because we broadened the palette of songwriting and production. And that’s what we did with Give Yourself Away.”

From the second the music kicks in, there’s no doubt this fresh world of sound is coming to you courtesy of the same band that logged 20 #1 radio hits. Russ’s signature voice propels the hook-heavy, joy-filled debut single, “That’s What Mercy Is.” The equally addictive standout, “Too Wonderful,” takes delight in a magnificent Savior as Russ’s voice flows emotively over Charlie’s artful piano stylings and an inviting rhythm track. The song “Hope,” perhaps more than any other, tips the band’s adventurous hand as NewSong gleefully embraces European modern rock influences.

The band soon moves into emotionally vulnerable territory while assuring “God Hears,” as Russ lovingly reflects on a sovereign, ever-personal God and his wife’s victory over cancer. Later, the band puts the spotlight on the world’s orphans when Billy, who sings lead on signature classics “Arise My Love” and “The Christmas Shoes,” delivers the endearing “Every Child (Deserves a Home).”

NewSong’s ministry mindset resonates when you know that communicating the Gospel message and giving listeners the chance to respond to Christ has been the very heart of what the band has done since its inception. Naturally, that realization begs the question: Is NewSong, who’s set to perform for nearly 400,000 people in 2010, an evangelism ministry or a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning recording act? Answer: Yes to both.

“At the end of the day, the goal for NewSong has always been to share the Gospel and to make sure everyone knows that Christianity is a relationship of Hope that’s for anyone,” says Russ. “Everything that drives NewSong is about that message. And that’s all it’s ever been about. I think that’s the reason God has blessed NewSong and has allowed it to become what it is.”