Sanctus Real is an American

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

band formed in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, in 1996. The group is composed of Chris Rohman (lead guitar), Mark Graalman (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

), and Dustin Lolli (lead vocals). The band is best known for their number one singles "Lead Me", " Forgiven", "Whatever You're Doing", " I'm Not Alright", " Don't Give Up", " We Need Each Other", " Everything About You", and " The Fight Song". Since 2002, they have released five albums through the

Sparrow Records Sparrow Records is a Christian music record label and a division of Universal Music Group. History Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then artists and repertoire (A&R) director at Myrrh Records. Barry McGuire was the fi ...

label, an independent EP '' This Is Love'', and "Changed" (April 27, 2018) on Framework Records. On July 1, 2015, lead singer and co-founder,

Matt Hammitt Matt Hammitt (born October 19, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, speaker and author. He was the lead singer for Sanctus Real, which has released seven studio albums with Sparrow Records, toured internationally and released 14 top five ...

, announced that he was leaving the band, which would take effect by the end of 2015. Dustin Lolli joined the band as lead singer shortly thereafter. Sanctus Real was formed in 1996, and the band released three independent albums over five years. After signing with Sparrow Records in 2002, the group released their major label debut, '' Say It Loud'', at the end of the year. In June 2004 it was followed by '' Fight the Tide'', which garnered a

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

win in 2005, and two singles that charted at number 1 on Christian radio, according to ''R&R'' magazine. The band's third album, '' The Face of Love'', was released in April 2006. The single " I'm Not Alright" received a GMA Dove Award nomination in 2007. Their fourth album, '' We Need Each Other'' (2008), was recorded in late 2007 and released in February. It received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination and spawned the single " We Need Each Other". Sanctus Real released their fifth studio album in March 2010, titled ''

Pieces of a Real Heart ''Pieces of a Real Heart'' is the fifth studio album from Christian rock band Sanctus Real. It was released on March 9, 2010, via Sparrow Records. The first single released was the song " Forgiven", which reached No. 6 on ''Billboards Christia ...

'' also receiving a Grammy nomination with Christian Billboard chart topping hits "Lead Me" and " Forgiven". The band's music incorporates a modern

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

style, and has evolved from

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

to a more melodic and guitar-driven sound.

History

In 1996, lead singer and guitarist Matt Hammitt met guitarist Chris Rohman when they were both tenth graders attending Toledo Christian School in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. They led youth worship at their school and church, and began writing their own music that year. Drummer Mark Graalman and bassist Matt Kollar soon joined, forming the band's original line-up. The group performed their first concert for several friends in the back of a warehouse in December 1996. They released a six-track demo tape in August 1997, and a five-track EP titled ''All This Talk of Aliens'' in January 1998. Sanctus Real's full-length studio album ''Message for the Masses'' was released on June 18, 1999, and shortly afterward, bassist Matt Kollar was replaced by Steve Goodrum. Following ''Message for the Masses'', which was recorded in a garage, the band made plans to record tracks at a major studio. To earn money for the endeavor, Hammitt and Goodrum took

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products, subscriptions or services, either over the phone or throu ...

jobs for a few months, which were difficult and described by Hammitt as "the most dreadful obsever". They recorded three songs with producer

Skidd Mills Skidd Mills is a songwriter/producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Skidd began his career at Ardent Studios in 1991. There he learned from the likes of John Hampton, Joe Hardy, Jim Dickinson, and Paul Ebersold. In 2001, Skidd left Ardent and sta ...

in Memphis, Tennessee, and after winning a local radio contest, decided to record an entire

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

album with Mills. It was completed in 2000 under the title '' Nothing to Lose'', and the band attended 2001's Gospel Music Week in Nashville to distribute copies of the project. From 1996 to 2001, Sanctus Real toured areas of the United States, and also sent demos to several Christian and mainstream record labels. After they received multiple recording contract offers in 2001, the band decided to sign with

. Matt Hammitt said, "At that point, we really had to do some soul searching and figure out where it was we were supposed to be ... Ultimately, we knew we could relate to kids in the church. We are passionate about our faith ... ndfrom our personal experience, we felt this was the place we were supposed to be."

''Say It Loud''

Toward the end of 2002, before releasing their first non-independent album, Sanctus Real performed as an opening act on the Festival Con Dios tour. The band was also a guest on

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

's first headlining tour, the ''We Are Tomorrow'' tour, in December 2002. Sanctus Real's major label debut, '' Say It Loud'', was then released in December 2002, through Sparrow Records. The album was produced by former

Grammatrain Grammatrain is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in 1994. The band was active in the Christian rock industry during the 1990s. Grammatrain disbanded in 1998 and reunited in 2009. According to drummer Paul Joseph Rorabac ...

lead vocalist

Pete Stewart Pete Stewart is a singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer from Seattle, Washington. He is the lead singer and guitarist of Grammatrain, was the lead singer for The Accident Experiment, and is the former guitarist of Tait. Stewart released ...

. Sanctus Real began touring again in February 2003 as a guest band on the See Spot Rock Tour, with

Relient K Relient K () is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman during their third year in high school and time at Malone University in Canton. The band is named after guitarist ...

, the O.C. Supertones,

Pillar A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

and

John Reuben John Reuben (born John Reuben Zappin; January 14, 1979) is an American Christian hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums.Breimeier, Russ (May 2002)"John Reuben - ''Hinds ...

''Fight the Tide''

The band recorded a cover of U2's song, "

Beautiful Day "Beautiful Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the first track on their tenth studio album, '' All That You Can't Leave Behind'' (2000), and was released as the album's lead single on 9 October 2000. The song was a commercial success, ...

", for the compilation album '' In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa'', which was released at the beginning of 2004. The track reached number 1 on ''R&R'' magazine's Christian rock chart in 2004, becoming their first chart-topping single. "Beautiful Day" also received a

nomination for Modern Rock Song of the Year in 2004. The band also did a cover of the song "Promised Land" for the 2004 album ''Veggie Rocks''. In February 2004, the band went back in studio to record their second album; almost all of its tracks were written the previous month. It was recorded in six weeks with producer

Tedd T Tedd T., born Tedd Andrew Tjornhom (CHURN-home), is a music producer, songwriter, arranger, programmer, and engineer. He launched the independent record label Teleprompt Records in 2003 as a joint venture with Word/Warner Music Group. His interest ...

, and soon released under the title '' Fight the Tide'' in June 2004. The lead single " Everything About You" was released in mid-2004, and by September it had stayed at number 1 on ''R&R''s Christian rock chart for six consecutive weeks. The song was later featured on the '' X 2006'' compilation album in 2005. In September 2004, Sanctus Real launched their first headlining tour, the ''Fight the Tide'' Tour. The tour featured guest bands

Hawk Nelson Hawk Nelson was a Canadian Christian pop-punk band from Peterborough, Ontario. Formed in 2000, the band has released eight studio albums. Bassist/backing vocalist Daniel Biro was the band's only founding member to remain throughout their entire ...

Seven Places Seven Places was a Christian rock band founded in 2000. Seth Gilbert was the main songwriter and vocalist for Seven Places which was signed to BEC Recordings. The group amiably disbanded in 2005 to pursue other projects. The band members were ...

and Ever Stays Red, and traveled through more than 25 cities. After being nominated in late 2004, ''Fight the Tide'' won the GMA Dove Award for "Modern Rock Album of the Year" in early 2005. Released near the beginning of the year, " The Fight Song" was Sanctus Real's next single, and in May 2005 it reached the top of ''R&R''s Christian rock chart, becoming the band's third number 1 song. In April 2005, bass player Steve Goodrum left the band and was replaced by Dan Gartley, a previous touring member of

. Gartley played his first concert with Sanctus Real at the Agape Festival in May 2005.

''The Face of Love''

Sanctus Real's third main studio album, '' The Face of Love'', was released in April 2006. The album's first single was " I'm Not Alright" became a number 1 song on Christian

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

(CHR), as reported by ''R&R'' magazine. It was also the third most played song of 2006 on Christian radio formats. In early 2007, the band received two

nominations: "Rock Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year" for "I'm Not Alright" and "Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year" for ''The Face of Love''. Following the album's release, Pete Prevost became the fifth member of Sanctus Real as an additional guitarist. The album's second single, " Don't Give Up", was released in the beginning of 2007, and by May it became the band's fifth number 1 track by placing at the top of ''R&R''s Christian CHR chart. At the end of 2006 they were named the most-played artist of the year on ''R&R'''s Christian CHR chart. The title track "The Face of Love" was also a radio single. Sanctus Real launched another headlining tour in April 2007, ''The Face of Love'' tour, featuring

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...

and

This Beautiful Republic This Beautiful Republic was an American Christian rock band signed to ForeFront Records in November 2006. The band is best known for its song "Right Now". The group appeared on the Christian television show '' The Logan Show'' on December 9, 2006 ...

''We Need Each Other''

In August 2007, Sanctus Real returned to the studio to record a fourth album, which was complete by the end of the year. In November 2007, the album was originally slated for release under the title ''Turn on the Lights'', the name of a track on the album. It was later changed to '' We Need Each Other'', and was released in February 2008, through Sparrow Records. The title track " We Need Each Other" was released earlier as the album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

in November 2007. The song stayed number 1 on ''R&R'''s Christian CHR chart for five consecutive weeks by February 2008, and it was 2008's eighth most-played song of the year in the same format. During early to mid 2008, Sanctus Real guest starred on

Third Day Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia in 1991. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. The band's name is a reference to the ...

's headlining tour, and also appeared on an episode of '' Extreme Makeover: Home Edition''. Two more singles from ''We Need Each Other'' were additionally released: "Whatever You're Doing (Something Heavenly)" in early 2008, and "Turn On the Lights" in August 2008. Later in the year, the band launched their own two-month ''We Need Each Other Tour'' in the United States, passing through 16 states and over 30 cities. The tour featured guest appearances from

VOTA VOTA (formerly known as Casting Pearls) is a Christian rock band from Lincoln, Nebraska, featuring Bryan Olesen, a former guitarist with Christian rock band Newsboys. Several of the band's songs have been featured on rotation with national radi ...

Tenth Avenue North Tenth Avenue North is an American contemporary Christian music band from West Palm Beach, Florida. The band released a total of fifteen original music projects, including eight full-length studio albums (six of which reached the Billboard 200, i ...

and speaker Sammy Adebiyi. In 2009, ''We Need Each Other'' received a

nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album.

''Pieces of a Real Heart''

In mid November 2009, Matt Hammitt announced on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that Sanctus Real had finished recording their fifth album. The first radio single was titled " Forgiven", and peaked at No. 6 on the

Hot Christian Songs Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...

chart. On December 2, 2009, the band announced on Twitter and

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that they narrowed the final album name down to two options: ''A Million Hearts'' and ''Pieces of a Real Heart'', and held a public vote for one hour. Shortly after, it was confirmed that the title ''

'' would be chosen. The album was released on March 9, 2010, via Sparrow Records.

''Run''

The sixth studio album by the band was released on February 5, 2013, which was called ''

Run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

'', with the lead single "

Promises A promise is a transaction whereby a person makes a vow or the suggestion of a guarantee. Promise(s) may also refer to: Places *Promise, Oregon *Promise, South Dakota *Promise City, Iowa *Promise Land, Tennessee or Promise Film and TV * Promise ...

". Shortly after the album's release, both Dan Gartley and Pete Prevost departed the band.

''The Dream''

Soon after Jake Rye and Seth Huff replaced Gartley and Prevost. The seventh studio album by the band, ''The Dream'', was released on September 16, 2014. The first video from the album, "Lay It Down", was released to YouTube June 24, 2014. The second lyric video, titled 'Same God', was released by the band on YouTube on October 21, 2014. On July 1, 2015, it was made clear that Matt Hammitt, who founded the band, was leaving in December after 19 years with the group.

''Greatest Hits: Best of Sanctus Real''

The ''Best of Sanctus Real'' was released on October 9, 2015, via the Capitol Christian record label. It includes a selection of fourteen songs spanning the band's previous seven albums and one new song written specifically for the release. It was announced earlier in year that this would be the final project with the band for lead singer, Matt Hammitt.

Dustin Lolli: A new era

The band changed their lead vocalist to Dustin Lolli on 26 January 2016, with the first release being an

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, '' This Is Love'', that was released on February 5, 2016, by the band themselves. On June 16, 2017, they released their first radio single with Lolli, "Safe In My Father's Arms". ''Changed'' was released April 27, 2018 on Framework Records, in partnership with Provident Distribution and Essential Music Publishing. The album was met with positive reviews. In August 2018 they signed with

Fair Trade Services Fair Trade Services, formerly known as INO Records, is an American record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, specializing in Contemporary Christian music (CCM). History The label was founded in 1999 as INO Records, a division of M2 Communic ...

. The third single from ''Changed'', "

Confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...

", cracked the top 10 on the Nielsen AC Monitored charts at radio, and was as high as No. 2 on AC indicator.

Touring

In April and May 2010, Sanctus Real debuted the complete new album ''Pieces of a Real Heart'' while headlining the UNITED Spring 2010 Tour. Joining them on this 25-city nationwide tour was visionary and speaker David Nasser along with fellow artists

Jonny Diaz Jonathan Adam "Jonny" Diaz ( ) (born March 30, 1984) is an American contemporary Christian pop artist originally from Lakeland, Florida. His song "More Beautiful You" has charted on American Christian music charts. His major record label debut ...

and

MIKESCHAIR Mikeschair (stylized as MIKESCHAIR) was an American contemporary Christian music band signed to Curb Records. The group has charted on the American contemporary Christian music charts with the song "Can't Take Away", which was the seventh most ...

. Sanctus Real announced they would be touring with Winter Jam 2012 on the eastern side of the United States. During their 2012 tour, their tour bus burned to the ground. Sanctus posted a photo on their Facebook page on June 3, adding all people got off the bus, but their personal belongings were lost. Sanctus Real began The Run Tour in September 2013 and finished in November 2013.

Musical style

Sanctus Real's main genre is typically labeled as

and alternative CCM. Their first three independent albums were described by Allmusic as

. '' Say It Loud'' was characterized by increased guitars and a powerful modern rock style. Their second release, '' Fight the Tide'', was described as "melodic power rock" with similarities to

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

Switchfoot Switchfoot is an American rock music, rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass guitar, backing vocals), Chad Butler (drum kit, drums, percussion), and Jerome Fontamillas (g ...

, U2, and PFR. The band's music on '' The Face of Love'' blended the styles from their previous two albums, evolving into less of a heavier rock sound. With '' We Need Each Other'', lead singer Matt Hammitt noted that he "just pushed the limits of what I can do vocally" during some songs, "whether it be on a soft, kind of rustic sounding vocal or whether it be this overdriven, rock high-range kind of vocal."

Members

Current members

* Mark Graalman – drums (1996–present) * Chris Rohman – guitar (1996–present) * Dustin Lolli – lead vocalist, keyboard, acoustic guitar (2016–present)

Former members

* Matt Kollar – bass (1996-1999) * Steve Goodrum – bass (1999–2005) * Michael Gee – guitar (1996–1997) * Dan Gartley – bass and bells (2005–2013) * Pete Prevost – guitar, banjo, piano (2006–2013) *

– lead vocalist, guitar (1996–2015) * Jake Rye – bass (2013–2016) * Seth Huff – keyboards, guitar (2014–2017) On July 1, 2015,

announced that he was leaving the band, effective December 31, 2015. On January 25, 2016, Dustin Lolli was announced as the new lead singer and a music video was released for the song "This Is Love".

Awards and nominations

GMA Dove Awards

* 2004: Modern Rock Song of the Year ("Beautiful Day") – nominated * 2005: Modern Rock Album of the Year ('' Fight the Tide'') – won *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year ('' The Face of Love'') – nominated * 2007: Rock/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year (" I'm Not Alright") – nominated *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

: Song of the Year ("Lead Me") – nominated * 2011: Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year ("Lead Me") – nominated * 2011: Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year (''

'') – nominated

Grammy Awards

* 2009:

nomination for Best Rock Gospel Album ('' We Need Each Other'') – nominated * 2010: Grammy Award nomination for Best Contemporary/Pop Gospel Album (''

'') – nominated

Discography

* 1998: ''All This Talk of Aliens'' –

* 1999: '' Message for the Masses'' – independent * 2001: '' Nothing to Lose'' – independent * 2002: '' Say It Loud'' – Sparrow * 2004: '' Fight the Tide'' – Sparrow * 2006: '' The Face of Love'' – Sparrow * 2008: '' We Need Each Other'' – Sparrow * 2010: ''

'' – Sparrow * 2010: '' Pieces of Our Past: The Sanctus Real Anthology'' – Sparrow * 2013: ''

'' – Sparrow * 2014: '' The Dream'' – Sparrow * 2016: '' This Is Love (EP)'' – independent * 2018: ''Changed'' – Framework * 2019: ''Unstoppable God'' – Framework/ Fair Trade * 2024: ''

All Along All Along (7 April 1979 – 23 February 2005) was a champion Thoroughbred mare that was foaled and trained in France. She was one of the top European fillies since World War II. While she mostly raced in Europe, the filly also won top-le ...

–'' Framework/The Fuel Music

References

External links

*
Article about Matt Hammitt's son and Sanctus Real in USA today
{{Authority control American power pop groups Christian rock groups from Ohio Musical groups established in 1996 Sparrow Records artists Musical groups from Ohio Alternative rock groups from Ohio