After a successful first Love Come Alive Festival, which kicked off the 40 Days for Life campaign in Nashville, Tenn., last fall, Mysterium Records has released a live album CD just in time for the spring 40 Days campaign. The CD is set for a Feb. 28 release in partnership with 40 Days for Life, which will receive 10% of the proceeds from the sales.

Co-produced by Jimmy Mitchell, founder of Mysterium Records and member of the group Marian Grace, the CD is a collection of 12 songs performed at the festival by singer/songwriters from around the country who want their music to reflect the mysteries of their faith and a deeper meaning in life than what is found in mainstream music.

“All of the artists on the CD are young, faithful and dynamic Catholics who have a talent for writing about life, love and what it means to be human, particularly in light of the Gospel,” said Mitchell.

Colleen Nixon, lead singer of Marian Grace, has two songs on the CD. Perfect is a love song about the truth in the phrase “opposites attract,” and You Wouldn’t Mind is about the desire for complete and authentic love.

“You Wouldn’t Mind is a song about my husband and how his love for me, body and soul, was a reflection of God’s love for me. Through his love, God brought healing to the lies I had believed about not being beautiful,” said Nixon.

Nashville native Luke Bellet, the son of Americana singer Marie Bellet, performs Color of Blue, a reflective ballad about his life growing up. Bellet wants his music to reflect his Christian upbringing and send a positive message about life. Color of Blue was the first song he wrote.

Bellet, 22, is a senior mechanical-engineering major at Vanderbilt University. “I’m definitely planning on pursuing music, but will be balancing that with a full-time engineering job. If it seems that (music) has a place beyond just a hobby, hopefully that will be clear. I’ve written 12 songs, and I have a ton of ideas for new ones. I recently finished a four-song LP, so I made that first step into being a legitimate artist.”

Burke Ingraffia is a southern singer/songwriter of jazz, funk and Americana music who has released five albums. A graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, his lyrics are influenced by such notables as C.S. Lewis, Flannery O’Connor and St. Augustine. His jazzy song Checks and Balances is featured on the CD.

Chris Cole is another southern singer/songwriter who is influenced by blues, soul, classic country and pop rock. Both of his songs, Traffic Light and Irish Girl, I’ll Fly Away, are about falling in love.

"It was an honor to play a show with such fantastic people, who also happen to be great musicians and songwriters, for the cause of life," Cole said. "The album is a great opportunity for us to share our songs that in their own way reveal the joy, beauty and mystery of life, so that others may understand its purpose and intrinsic value."

Three songs by Kevin Heider, a singer/songwriter from Baltimore, Md., and a graduate of Franciscan University, are featured on the CD. One is a title track that is a prayer for love to come alive, written specifically for the festival. Another is the title track of his album The Salzburg Revolution, which was inspired by a college semester spent studying in Austria. The third, Little Child Don’t Cry, is an encouraging song for young people about the Father’s love and his understanding of their growing-up struggles.

Haylee Mitchell performs the other title track, Love Come Alive, a prayer about dying to self and Christ living within us. She also performs Silly Little Boy, a toe-tapping song about having to move on from a relationship.

Meg Murray, who has toured extensively from New York to Baltimore, contributed the song Share Some Love, a pop-rock song about bringing more love to the world.

“The Love Come Alive album fits what Mysterium is all about — how can we invite people into a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ? I think we can most effectively engage people by asking the questions of: Where did we come from, where are we going, and what is the aim of human existence?” said Mitchell. “A really good song that captures the mystery of our humanity, the human condition, what it means to be fully alive, can do that. I think this music accomplishes that.”

Barb Ernster writes from Fridley, Minnesota.

INFORMATION

LoveComeAlive.com