(Nashville, TN) September 8, 2006 – On September 11, Sanctus Real, will travel to Marshall, MN on its The Face of Love ONE STOP Tour to bring hope to the city, which has been devastated by tragic teen deaths. Band members will spend time with area families and perform a FREE concert for the whole community at 8:00 p.m. at Marshall Senior High School. Total Axxess radio host Jayar will emcee the concert and host the event live on Total Axxess, heard in more than 100 markets across the country as part of the WAY-FM Media Network.

As one of the top Christian rock bands today, Sanctus Real members are also about being the “face of love” and tangibly expressing their faith in action. Together with Total Axxess, they were looking for a community to serve with The Face of Love ONE STOP Tour. After Total Axxess listeners were encouraged to write in and express a need in their community, and asked how that need could be met, numerous emails came in from all over America.

“There were a lot of people writing in who needed labor or financial resources beyond what we could provide,” says Sanctus Real front man Matt Hammitt. “When we read the e-mail from Marshall, we knew we were capable of providing their foremost need...love.”

“As we began talking to the principal and other leaders in the school and community, we realized that this was where we needed to go,” adds Jayar. “We received more than one email from this community of about 12,000 people, where eight teenagers over a three-month period lost their lives in separate accidents. Seven were from one high school. We want to honor these kids on one special night and invite the whole community out to one special place.”

One specific email received from Marshall came from 14-year-old Katie. It reads:

A Face of Love…
Rachel, 16 years old, died of leukemia.

A Face of Love…
Kelli, 16 years old, died May 6th, 2006 in a car accident.

A Face of Love…
Katrina, 15 years old, died May 6th, 2006 in a car accident.

A Face of Love…
David, 15 years old, died June 2nd, 2006 in a dirt bike accident.

A Face of Love…
Chelsea, 14 years old, died June 4th, 2006 in a car accident.

A Face of Love…
Nick, 18 years old, died July 3rd, 2006 in a car accident.

A Face of Love…
And just today, Jesse, 15 years old, died after being struck while riding bike.

As we return to school in just a few weeks, these “Faces of Love” will be missing from Marshall High School.

Marshall, a small community of 12,000 located in southwestern Minnesota, lost seven of its youth within just a few months. These tragedies hit hard because Marshall is a small community where everyone knows each other.

As teenagers, we continue to struggle with the loss of our friends and classmates and it has been increasingly difficult as the losses continued.

We realize that the hurt won’t go away for some time and this experience is something that we will never forget. Grief counseling, a candlelight vigil, and prayer services have helped, but a concert in their honor would spread God’s love and help us realize that it is all right to be sad, but okay to keep on living.
I’m not alright I’m broken inside, broken inside
And all I go through
It leads me to you, it leads me to you

Katie ends her letter with lyrics from Sanctus Real’s first single and No. 1 radio hit, “I’m Not Alright,” from the band’s current album, The Face of Love. The song was written as an expression from the band members that was inspired by their own real-life heartache and rediscovered joy. In fact, the emotions behind each track on The Face of Love are vulnerable and undisguised, making this album the band’s most accessible project of their career and exhibiting the band’s progression both musically and lyrically. The band’s second single and title track to The Face of Love released this summer and has already become a multi-format hit and climbing on both the R&R AC and CHR charts.

Since Sanctus Real broke on the national scene in 2003, the band has looked for opportunities to partner with helps organizations. In addition to The Face of Love ONE STOP tour, the band is lending support to African Leadership, an organization helping to relieve the plight of that continent.