The “Give This Christmas Away Tour,” West’s first Christmas tour, will visit 10+ cities through Dec. 19 and feature Christmas classics, new Christmas songs as well as career favorites. The tour will additionally include a special pre-show screening of the brand new VeggieTales Christmas movie, Saint Nicholas – A Story Of Joyful Giving, for which West wrote and recorded “Give This Christmas Away.” VeggieTales’ signature characters Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber will also be on hand to greet attendees. A tentative tour itinerary follows this release.

In the true spirit of giving, the “Give This Christmas Away Tour” will help to raise funds for Operation Christmas Child, a division of the international relief organization Samaritan's Purse. The tour will donate to Operation Christmas Child’s “beyond-the-box” discipleship program, seeking to provide children in developing countries with a New Testament Bible in their local language.

“I am so excited to begin the ‘Give This Christmas Away Tour,” says West. “So many amazing doors have opened this season for me to share the message of what I believe Christmas is about: Giving! True joy is found at Christmas when we choose not to get caught up in the chaos, and instead look beyond our own needs to see the needs of others. That is why we are teaming up again with Operation Christmas Child, and a portion of every ticket purchased will be donated to help OCC purchase bibles for children.”

In conjunction with the tour and radio single, “most added” this week at Christian radio, West will perform “Give This Christmas Away” live with Amy Grant on the Fox News Channel’s “Huckabee” Saturday, Dec. 5, re-airing Sunday, Dec. 6. West and Grant will give an encore performance of the song Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 25 on the network’s “Fox and Friends” Christmas special additionally featuring Andrea Bocelli and Kristin Chenoweth. Check your local listings for air times.

In keeping with the “Give This Christmas Away” theme, West released a gift book this holiday through Tyndale Publishers, aptly titled 101 Ways to Give This Christmas Away. The book, along with the Something to Say Christmas Edition album featuring “Give This Christmas Away” and three new acoustic recordings, are now available in stores.

West catapulted onto the Christian music scene in 2003 with his debut single, “More,” which was the most played Christian AC song of 2003. The multi-Dove Award nominee and sought-after songwriter released two critically-acclaimed recordings, Happy (2003) and History (2005); has been a mainstay at Christian radio with memorable hits like “Only Grace,” “History” and “Next Thing You Know”; and has toured with such artists as tobyMac and Jeremy Camp on the wildly popular 2008 “Boomin’ Beyond Measure” tour. In addition, West has penned songs for Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Natalie Grant and Mandisa, among others. West’s third studio recording, Something To Say, released January 15, 2008 and produced the No. 1 AC radio hit “You Are Everything,” which was also the most played Christian song of 2008, as well as “Something to Say,” which climbed to No. 7 at AC radio. His most recent single, Grammy Award nominated “The Motions,” was No. 1 on Radio & Records’ Christian AC Monitored chart and the Billboard Christian chart for 14 weeks as well as the most downloaded Christian digital track 15 weeks running, according to SoundScan. For more information on Matthew West, visit www.matthewwest.com or www.myspace.com/matthewwest.

About EMI CMG Label Group:
Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG Label Group is comprised of Sparrow Records, Forefront Records, and Credential Recordings, in addition to providing A&R and marketing support for sixstepsrecords via a joint venture and licensing partnership. Balancing freedom, discipline, creativity, profitability and ministry, EMI CMG Label Group strives for excellence in artist development. The Label Group is a division of EMI Christian Music Group. For further information, please visit www.emicmg.com.

“Give This Christmas Away Tour” Itinerary
DATE CITY
12/4/09 Indianapolis, IN
12/5/09 Madison, WI
12/6/09 Oak Brook, IL
12/7/09 Warsaw, IN
12/10/09 Omaha, NE
12/11/09 Wichita, KS
12/12/09 Greenwood Village, CO
12/13/09 Oklahoma City, OK
12/17/09 Lawrenceville, GA
12/18/09 Kingsport, TN
12/19/09 Asheville, NC
*dates subject to change

For more info on Matthew West, visit the JFH Artists Database.