Tenth Avenue North Returns After Four-Year Hiatus with New Single, “Invited”

Tenth Avenue North has always been a band of deep conviction. They’ve never shied away from uncomfortable topics. They’ve never stopped asking hard questions.

Yet, after two decades that saw them sell nearly 2 million albums, win multiple Dove Awards, a Platinum- and multiple Gold-certified singles and build a catalog of hit songs, they began to wonder whether God had something else in store.

And He did. But it wasn’t what they expected.

What they thought was the end of Tenth Avenue North in 2020 – with a farewell tour disrupted by the global pandemic – turned into a four-year hiatus that sharpened the band’s focus and cemented the convictions that made them one of the most popular bands in Christian music.

“God has a way of using what we initially perceive as endings to create room for us to experience Him in new ways,” said Mike Donehey, co-founder and lead singer of Tenth Avenue North. “The last four years have been an incredible experience, and I can’t wait to get back out on the road, reconnect with fans, and share more about how He’s been at work.”

Tenth Avenue North started in 2000 when Donehey, Jason Jamison and Bryan Homan met at Palm Beach Atlantic University in Florida. The group needed a name for their band before a local show and figured the name of the street they lived on – 10th Ave. N. – was good enough for the first gig. The rest is history.

Since their acclaimed national debut album, Over and Underneath, Tenth Avenue North’s career has been built one hit song at a time thanks to radio and streaming favorites like “Love is Here,” “By Your Side,” “Worn,” “I Have This Hope,” and “Control (Somehow You Want Me).”

In four independent albums, eight studio albums, three EPs, a live album and countless live shows, Tenth Avenue North has used music to explore the depth and breadth of the human condition and God’s enduring love. Now Tenth Avenue North is returning with a few new faces, the same passion for using music to foster connection, spread joy and share grace, and new music that picks up right where they leA off.

Tenth Avenue North’s newest song, “Invited,” is about the welcoming heart of God. Mike Donehey shares, “When I read scripture, it leaves me with the impression that God has a heart of invitation. Jesus ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and the Pharisees. It’s like He was saying whether you’re feeling screwed up or quite religious, everyone is My kind of people.”

“Our first radio single started out quoting Isaiah 55. The first verse of “Love is Here” rings, ‘come to the water you who thirst, and you’ll thirst no more.’ You see it again and again and again. Come everyone, just as you are, come and find salvation.”

“We wrote “Invited” with our former guitarist Jeff Owens and the new members, Thomas Ewing and Monty Rivera. We started our band journey with the song “Love is Here,” and we’re beginning the next iteration reminding people what we are all about. We’re sell declaring the same thing. The message is simple. Come. Just come. Forgiveness is the only thing that can outweigh it. It’s an invitation to fall into grace and let it set you free.”

Courtesy of Today’s Christian Entertainment