[Mickey]

Nashville, Tenn. (June 24, 2003) - Performing rights organization BMI saluted writers and publishers of the past year’s most performed Christian songs during the BMI Christian Music Awards last night. Jars of Clay earned the BMI Crystal for Most Performed Christian Song of the Year as writers of “I Need You,” while Steven Curtis Chapman, Gerald Crabb and Kirk Franklin shared the title of BMI Christian Songwriter of the Year. Crabb’s company Crabb’s Song Music and Christian Taylor Music tied as BMI Christian Publisher of the Year. Other songwriters receiving BMI Awards were Toby McKeehan, Michael Tait, Marc Byrd, Audio Adrenaline, Dottie Peoples, Chad Chapin, Rodney Griffin and Norman Hutchins, plus a special presentation to songwriter/composer/producer/publisher Greg Nelson.

Onstage at BMI Nashville are (L-R): BMI Vice President Paul Corbin, Greg Nelson, Steven Curtis Chapman, BMI Director Joyce Rice, Gerald Crabb, and Jars of Clay's Stephen Mason, Charlie Lowell, Dan Haseltine and Matt Odmark. (Attached photo by Steve Lowry)

For a complete list of winners, visit www.bmi.com. For further information on Jars of Clay, please visit www.jarsofclay.com or www.essentialrecords.com.

About Jars of Clay:

Initially captivating audiences worldwide with its 1995 hit "Flood," pop-alt band Jars of Clay continues to garner success in the music realm and beyond. Its 2002 release, The Eleventh Hour, claimed multiple accolades, including 2003 Grammy and Gospel Music Association Awards in addition to an American Music Award nomination. Writing all of its own music and recording at Sputnik, Jars of Clay’s home studio, the Nashville-based group consistently impacts mainstream media. The foursome has appeared on numerous national broadcasts, including, “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The CBS Early Show,” CNN’s “Music On the Road” and “Headline News,” as well as National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition.”

This year (2/4), the multi-platinum-selling band unveiled its latest project, Furthermore-From the Studio: From the Stage and embarked on a critically acclaimed “thinking man’s pop tour” with label-mate Caedmon’s Call. Jars of Clay also took strides in its quest to raise awareness of international issues by founding the Blood: Water Mission to educate and empower college students to get personally involved in the HIV/AIDS crisis raging in Third World countries.

The upcoming Jars of Clay project, Who We Are Instead impacts retail Nov. 4. More details on the fall album are forthcoming.

For much more on Jars of Clay, click here