June Highlights Last month 4thFridays was held on a sizzling hot day but inside Studio A it is was real cool.  We had Miranda Stone from Toronto, Tracy Price shared some great poetry by Michael Hildebrandt and Rufus Harris shared some tunes as well. The Poet's Corner - Tracy Price started off the show with the poetry of  Michael Hildebrandt - a gifted local poet.  The first piece was called How Do I know Your Love and was about sharing God's love and accomplishing his will.  Later she shared a piece called Fallen which dealt with being  gripped by evil but how Christ has pulled us from the pit to solid ground.  And the last one entitled - Dawn compared the dawn of day to the light of Christ in a dark world.  Rufus then introduced  to the audience - Michael Hildebrandt. After the Poet's Corner... rufus harris performed.  The band played We Don't Need Another Hero as a song dedicated to Christ and how he is obviously our (the believer's) hero - not politicians or celebrities.  The rest of the tunes were also spiritual, thoughtful and rhythmetically tight.  After the first set, Rufus officially introduced and shared the good news regarding the 501(C)(3) non-profit status of theCamp (Christian Artists and Musicians Project) with the 4thFridays audience and shared the 5 major activities of the organization: 4thFridays Prison Ministry Outreaches/Festivals Media - TV, Radio, Web Artist Resources Miranda... a real treat!!!  If you've ever seen (our Canadian sister) Miranda Stone live, you'll probably agree - you never know quite what to expect.  She never has a problem connecting with her audience.  Whether with her clever songs or humorous antics, she always keeps your attention. She performed with husband Christopher Hale on bass.  (Chris was raised in India by parents who are missionary doctors; speaks Hindi; has a great voice; plays guitar and has a CD of Christian music in the Hindi language - wonderful stuff.) Miranda's performance could be termed  as skilled folk acoustic using alternate tunings splashed with poly -  rhythms.  Miranda also showed skill in talking about heavy subjects in a light way.  She was thrilled that Rufus had a girl drummer in the band and asked Jeannine to sit in on her very first song entitled 20/20 in the Morning.  Jeannine performed effortlessly.  For Miranda, however, remembering the words to this song proved to be a bit of a challenge (most lyricists can relate to this).  Sometimes the memory just fails you.  All was not lost though. One of our 4thFridays crew members, Marvin ran one of her albums up to her on stage.  All she really needed was to see a few words in the CD booklet to jar her memory.  Still another problem though - the lyrics in her CD booklet while written artistically - were difficult to decipher - even for her.  Some of the words were carved into tree bark, written on hands, etc.  Thankfully, she was able to make out some of the words.  Good thing too - it was a great song. Raffle ("them thar's fightin' words") - Miranda helped Rufus with the raffle and the fun began.  Rufus called her "one funky white girl".  She gave him a high-five.  But the conversation became tense (well not really) when Miranda commented on the diversity at 4thFridays and then - not thinking - referred to Rufus' music as being R&B.  The audience gasped,    Rufus paused and said slowly, "MY MUSIC IS R&B!(?)"  Then Miranda knowing she had spoken too quickly began to apologize and said that she said it without thinking.  Rufus jokingly calling her Olive Oil (Popeye's girlfriend) which she took as a compliment and Rufus admitted Olive Oil was one of his favorite characters and kinda cute.  We all laughed.    It was all in fun!!! Here's what's coming up on July 22nd... Kindred Nation - this contemporary Christian group feels a strong calling to share the gospel with the lost and hurting.  Their name is taken from Revelation 5:9, which describes every kindred, every nation before the throne of God -  a theme that seems an appropriate description of their diverse blend of musical styles, which range from original urban and jazz-influenced pop to Latin, African, Caribbean, and Middle Eastern world music. The members of Kindred Nation have shared the stage with national acts including Geoff Moore & The Distance, Whitecross, Smalltown Poets, Jacobs Trouble, Mark Farner of Grand Funk, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Stanley Clarke, Doc Sevrenson, Phil Driscoll, Bryan Duncan & Sweet Comfort, Chubby Checker, Steve Camp, and Maynard Ferguson. They have received airtime regionally, including Detroit stations WLLZ, WRIF, WMUZ, WDET & WJR. Assembled together they are being described as one of the most unique Christian bands ever to hit Detroit.  The group will share their new released "Believe Like A Child" this Friday. The Poet's Corner - Tracy Price will share more poetry by gifted writer and poet - Michael Hildebrandt. rufus harris - will share tunes as well with band members Sidney Howard (keys) Jeannine Gardner (drums) and Charles Weldon (bass). Dustin Coleman - expresses his faith verbally and with beautiful works of art.  His Van Gogh influences paired with spiritual themes make his art creative and thought-provoking.  His work will be on display this Friday and will be available for purchase.  He'll also do portraits that night.     Robert E. Norwood - will also perform.  He describes his music as Gospel praise and worship with swaying R&B rhythms and the curvy lines of soul.  This Mississippi native was reared in the church by his parents and took an early liking to music.  He sang in his church choir at an early age and continued to do so throughout his formative years. He studied music at Jackson State University.  His forte was jazz, big band and Broadway music. Robert attends Straight Gate Church International where he leads "The Timothy Ministry," a ministry dedicated to the mentoring of men.  He has traveled both in and outside of the United States. He continues to sing and believes that "your gift will make room for you and bring you before great men."  He'll share songs from his self-titled release on July 22nd. OTHER NEWS & Events... Looking for a non-profit you can believe in and get behind?  Well, now you can donate to theCamp and get a Federal tax write off! Hey, if you like what we're doing at 4thFridays and you would like to support it financially, send your donation to the address below.  Proceeds will support 4thFridays shows, prison ministry, Christian music festivals, JustRadio.Net and more... All donations are tax-deductible and you will receive a statement of your donation from theCamp.   Please make checks payable to theCamp and mail them to: The C.A.M.P. 5119 Highland Road #207 Waterford, MI 48327 We thank you in advance for supporting Christian Artists and Musicians Project A 501(C)(3) Non-profit Organization JustRadio.Net - Check out JustRadio.NET - an Internet radio station.  You can listen to great Christian music while your work or play 24/7 by logging on to:  www.justradio.net. You'll hear the music of 4thFridays' artists and more.  Also coming soon - interviews with artists, radio plays and documentaries.     JustRadio - Reaching the World With Music that is Just.   Faithfest - July 29-31 This free Christian Music Festival features a host of independent artists and is held in Brownstown Michigan.  Rufus and band will play on Sat. July 30, from 5-5:30pm.  Check out the complete Faithfest lineup at www.faithfest.net Divine Caffe which is located on Cass Lake in Keego Harbor offers entertainment by independent artists every weekend.  They're great folks too and the coffee is "divine". Stop in and say hi to John and Norann and visit www.divinecaffe.com The Upper Room features many Jazz and R&B acts as well as comedy on the weekends.  They're located on Grandriver just east of Telegraph in Detroit.  Artists such as Paul Dozier perform there regularly.  Visit www.theupperroomcec.com Party on the Rooftop...  @Woodward Crossing WC introduces two special concerts this summer on the rooftop of Central United Methodist Church in Downtown Detroit.  Enjoy live music atop this beautiful historic church situated in the heart of Downtown next to Comerica Park.  The next show is scheduled for July 29th and will feature Singer and Songwriter - Carl Thomas Gladstone, Folk Artist - Jamie Fiss and Live music by DJ N-tangibolz. Rufus will be the headliner at the August 12th show and will share stage with a girl duo called Halfway to Here.  Bring yourself... bring your youth groups, family and friends.  Suggested donation is $5.  For more info visit: www.woodwardcrossing.org   We hope to see you there. www.woodwardcrossing.org Eye Candy from Woodcrossing (July 1st), Colon Festival (July 4th) and  Muskegon Summer Festival (July 10th) DJ N-tangibolz and Crisi Trip Angel Rivers, Rufus and band All performance photographs by Denise Strong 4thFridays is presented by The C.A.M.P. and Red Letter Records   (Christian Artists & Musicians Project): Come check it out This month in Studio A The Ford Community & Performing Arts Ctr. 15801 Michigan Ave.  Dearborn, MI between Southfield & Greenfield Rds. Doors open at 8pm/Show starts at 8:30pm Admission: $10 Info: 248-886-0881 information@redletterrecords.com Send all correspondence to this address: theCamp 5119 Highland Road #207 Waterford, MI  48327 -----------------------------   The Ford Community & Performing Arts Center and Studio A Entrance ----------------------------- If you choose not to receive future 4thFridays e-mails simply click below to unsubscribed.