The Apprentice Tour

Johnny Parks Band will be leading worship on the Apprentice Tour with Steve Chalke and Diane Louise Jordan when it comes to Belfast on November 18th 2009. The Apprentice encourages us to ask our most probing questions, to embrace our greatest doubts and live courageously. The event will be held in carnmoney Presbyterian Church, Belfast. For more info go to www.carmoney.org or for tickets call 0207 921 4600.

Year of Grace

Robin Mark's latest album 'Year of Grace' was released last month. The live album recorded in North Syracuse Baptist Church, New York State features 12 tracks including a live version of 'All is well' and also 'There is None Like You' co-written with Johnny. Check it out!!

Engage

Head to ENGAGE : Party in the Park this Saturday 20th June 2009. We will be leading worship from 7pm in the Spectrum Centre. This is part of a day of events including a Community Fun Day at Woodvale Park & BBQ at Woodvale Presbyterian Church at 5pm. Admission is free. Spectrum Centre is at 331 Shankhill Road. Hope to see you there.

JohnnyParksBand - Gig to raise funds for Romania

The JohnnyParksBand will be playing a gig tonight (Saturday 25th April) at The Jethro Centre, Lurgan. The event has been organised to promote the work of a team of young people in Lurgan who will be travelling to Salau in Romania this July. The team hope to bring hope, encouragement, love and practical help to a well-deserving orphanage in the Hungarian speaking town of Salau. Both David and Claire (from the band) have visited this orphanage over the years and now Paul (bass player) is leading an Exodus team there this summer. Tonight's gig is an opportunity to worship God, pray for and hear about the work of the team. There's an entry fee of £5 at the door and the team will welcome further donations. The band are excited to have the opportunity to support such a worthwhile cause so please come out and support the team.

'All is Well' FREE download

The new song 'All is Well' is currently available as a FREE download. Please visit www.johnnyparksband.com/alliswell to download both the song and chord sheet. To read the story behind the song visit the band blog. We hope you enjoy the song.

Justice

'Justice Be My Light' is a new song by the JohnnyParksBand and it has just been released in Survivor's Singles album 'God of Hope'. This song is a great "Where are you God?" roar set amongst songs by Nick Herbert, James Gregory and Martin Cooper. The songs have been birthed in local churches in Ireland, Scotland and England and declare God's hope and justice across the nations. To buy the album visit the Kingsway/Survivor website. http://www.kingsway.co.uk/Shop/Sections/Items/Item.aspx?item_id=104181

Canada December Tour

The band have just returned from a short tour in Canada. For a brief update on this trip please check out the band blog.

Nashville

The band have arrived in Nashville, Tennesse and will be playing at the Youth Specialties Convention on Thursday evening. For more information check out the JohnnyParksBand Tour Dates, their facebook fan page and the band blog. The band will also make a trip to Grace Fellowship Church in Atlanta.

California

For updates on the band's latest trip to California please visit the band blog or make your way to our band page on Facebook by pasting in the following link: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Johnny-Parks-Band/14039416754

Canadian Tour w/ Starfield

For updates on how the band are doing on their Canadian Tour with Starfield please check out the band blog.

Brand New Day

Brand New Day is available as a free download when you visit www.survivor.co.uk Plus, if you join the mailing list you can download the sheet music too.

Worship Musician Magazine Review

Worship Musician Magazine's Shawn McLaughlin has reviewed 'Break the Silence'. Here's what he had to say: "Hailing from Belfast, Johnny Parks Band kicks off their latest rock/worship record with the thumping drums and soaring guitars of "Brand New Day" - a modern worship anthem that features a gigantic chorus and synth figure that would sound natural on any song by The Killers or The Bravery. With occasional nods to Arcade Fire and Death Cab for Cutie, the band fills the project with sing-a-long songs that are often somewhat trite, but easy to relate to. Thankfully, they are far more innovative musically, and are driven by Parks' great voice, as well as the sterling backing vocals of Claire Hamilton. With an eye firmly planted in his homeland, Parks explores the impact of decades of strife and struggle for Northern Ireland and it's inhabitants, placing special focus on their longing for peace and reform, reflected in the tunes "The Troubles Are Over" (featuring keen use of Uillean pipes) and "Walls". The album closes on a majestic note on the soaring, epic "Walk Beside Me Jesus", featuring the type of incidental noise-scapes that populate many post "Kid A" (Radiohead) songs. With musicianship and songs that match or exceed virtually anything coming out in America these days, it would be a shame if 'Break the Silence' stayed a secret outside of the U.K.

Starfield Canadian Tour 2008

Things in the JPB camp have been warming up nicely over the summer and we can confirm that we will be supporting Starfield in their Canadian Tour this Autumn! After supporting Starfield at FUEL in Ballymena last night the band are really excited to be part of this tour! The band fly out on 4th Sept and return on 17th - check out our 'dates' link for more info or go to www.starfieldonline.com. Hope to see those of you from Canada there!

Community Relations Week

The JPB are honoured and excited to have been asked to play for the Community Relations week in Northern Ireland....

'Rescuer' is Kingsway Song Of The Month

'Resucuer' is Kingsway Music's 'Song of the Month' this month and should go out today to around 15,000 people. The sheet music and chords can be downloaded free of charge for one month along with the story behind the song! Follow the link Rescuer Free Download and enjoy!

JP Interview with Mike RImmer

Johnny was recently interviewed by the prestigious and inquisitive Mike Rimmer about many many things! In a very informative and insightful interview, Johnny explains...

'Break The Silence' songbook released!

The 'Break The Silence' songbook has just been officially released and is available through Kingsway. You can get a copy by following the link below, enjoy! http://shop.kingswaysongs.com/product_info.php?cPath=104&products_id=1916

Megalife U+2

The JP Band have been confirmed to play at the Megalife U+2 festival in Moira this summer. We've played there before and had a thoroughly enjoyable day! The date is set this year for 7th June in the Moira Demesne Park from 12 noon - 10pm....

24-7 Teams Up With Johnny Parks Band

24-7 Prayer has teamed up with the Johnny Parks Band in using tracks from their albums 'Break The Silence' and 'Almighty Sound' for their prayer podcasts available on itunes! Oh yes. 24-7 Prayer has become a worldwide, non-stop prayer movement. They have prayer rooms and 'Boiler Rooms' all over the world where people pray non-stop for change in their communities....

Recent Gigs

We've been playing a few local dates recently throughout the country and been enjoying getting the songs from the new album out to a new audience. There have been a few great nights - High Kirk in Ballymena, Ahorey, Knock and yesterday in our own church (Christian Fellowship Church)....

Alternative Ulster Magazine Review Break The Silence

Belfast's Alternative Ulster magazine have reviewed 'Break The Silence' giving it 8/10. The full review has been posted on the blog...

Stocki Reviews Break The Silence

Stocki uses the new album by the Johnny Parks Band to write a short essay on modern worship music...stating, "The Parks Band is attempting, against the grain, to bring art back into the art of praise"...and..."have created something unique in spite of the pressures of the monotonous regime of the industry". We've posted the full review on the blog, just go to the 'blog' link to check it out!

Break The Silence has now been officially launched!

The band would like to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who came to the album launch at Willowfield on Friday 4th January. We had an amazing time! Thanks also to our friends Bluetree and Tre Sheppard for their support. Photos will be posted in the 'photos' section as soon as we get them. For those of you who weren't able to make it due to the snow don't worry as the band are about to kick-start the Ireland & UK tour...exciting times!