[Mickey]

(NASHVILLE, TN) March 27, 2002 – Ardent Records’ top rock band Skillet has been honored this week for the second consecutive year at the annual BMI Christian Music Awards. The title track from the band’s critically acclaimed and best-selling recording, Alien Youth, received a Citations of Achievement award for most performed Rock song in 2001. A mainstay on Rock radio, Skillet received the same award last year for its single “Best Kept Secret” from its year 2000 release, Invincible.

BMI, an American performing rights organization, awards Citations of Achievement in recognition of popularity in the field of Christian music, as measured by feature broadcast performances on American radio and television. The 2002 Christian Music Awards eligibility period ran January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2001. This year’s awards were presented this week in Nashville and included awards in six categories, Rock, Adult Contemporary, Christian Hit Radio, Inspirational, Southern Gospel and Urban Gospel. A complete list of the winners from the 2001 BMI Christian Music Awards may be found at www.bmi.com.

As Skillet’s current rock radio single and Top 5 hit, “Earth Invasion,” as well as its CHR top 5 hit, “One Real Thing,” continue to receive widespread radio airplay (R&R), the band is performing its hits throughout the summer at all the major festivals.

Following its Atlanta Fest performance June 20 in front of several thousand fans, Skillet was featured on the cover of the main daily paper in Atlanta, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Fans can still catch a glimpse of the band’s performance with a photo featured on the cover of the paper’s website at http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/todaysimage/friday.html.

“This was one of the festival’s best years, yet,” says Atlanta Fest director Chuck Tilley. “It takes bands like Skillet to bring a large audience to our Six Flags venue. They were a real fan favorite, offering an energetic and captivating live performance.”

Fans can further see Skillet at numerous festivals, fairs and theme parks across the country. Upcoming events include: Creation, Cornerstone, Sonshine, Spirit Fest Midwest, Kingdom Bound, Xtreme and Spirit West Coast festivals, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, TX) and California Mid-State Fair. The band will also be a featured artist at the Youth Explosion U.S.A. in Bradenton, Greg Laurie Harvest Crusade in Los Angeles (Anaheim, CA) and Pro Life Music Festival in Warsaw, IN, as well as at the Christian Booksellers International Music Showcase concert Sunday, July 14. The full tour itinerary is featured at www.skillet.org.

Touring in support of its most successful project to date, Alien Youth, the recording has already earned Skillet two Dove Award nominations and three consecutive No. 1 songs, including the band’s first-ever No. 1 CHR hit and No. 4 overall CHR song of 2001, “You Are My Hope.” The song also became an anthem of peace following the attacks of Sept. 11. Debuting at No. 1 on the SoundScan Rock sales chart and No. 4 on the coveted Billboard’s Heatseekers Album Chart, Alien Youth also made its way onto Billboard Magazine’s Top Internet Album Sales chart.

PHOTO CAPTION, “Skillet – Atlanta Fest”: Skillet member John Cooper is pictured performing in front of several thousand fans at Six Flags Over Georgia’s Southern Star Amphitheatre during Atlanta Fest.

For much more on Skillet, click here