Bluetree is a Northern Irish

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 contemporary Christian

Contemporary Christian music

Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...

 band. The band is best known for its song "God of This City", which received international exposure when it was covered by Chris Tomlin

Chris Tomlin

Christopher Dwayne "Chris" Tomlin is an American Christian Contemporary Music artist, worship leader, and songwriter from Grand Saline, Texas, United States. He is a former staff member at Austin Stone Community Church and is signed to EMI's sixstepsrecords. Tomlin also leads worship at many...

 on the Passion: God of This City and Hello Love

Hello Love (Chris Tomlin album)

Hello Love is the fifth studio album by Chris Tomlin, released on September 2, 2008. It debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 52,000 units, his best sales and charting week to date. The album also debuted at No. 2 on the Christian album charts. It was Grammy-nominated for Best Pop/Contemporary...

albums. As an independent artist, Bluetree signed distribution agreements with Lucid Entertainment in the USA and Kingsway in the UK & Europe for their album, God of this City.

History

Bluetree originated in Strandtown Christian Fellowship church in 2004. According to lead singer, Aaron Boyd, Bluetree was born out of frustration. "I was frustrated with the idea that worship is only to do with your heart. I don't really agree with that. It's bigger than just your heart attitude towards something. Like the idea that music can be secondary and as long as you love Jesus, that's fine! I don't think that's right." Bluetree originally consisted of five members, with Pete Kernoghan joining later. While the band was travelling on a missions trip to Pattaya, Thailand, the poor conditions of the city became the inspiration for their song, "God of this City". Band members report the song came from divine inspiration when the band was playing in a bar. As an independent band, they recorded their debut album, Greater Things, at the Windmill Lane Studios (U2's preferred studio). The record was initially released in September 2007, but on January 24, 2008, their album was picked up by Fierce! Records for UK Distribution. In May 2009 the band launched their charity "Stand Out International", a charity that indirectly rescues kids out of the sex industry.

The story behind the song "God of this City" (Video)

Aaron Boyd (lead singer) is part of the leadership team Exchange Church Belfast http://www.exchangechurchbelfast.com where he regularly leads worship. In January 2010 he recorded Bluetree's first live CD featuring worship from the church. The CD is distributed through Exchange Media, a new company established by Exchange Church to create and distribute various types of media.

Bluetree's second studio album began production in Liverpool's Parr Street Studios in April 2011, and is currently scheduled for release in February 2012 through Exchange Church Media. It is expected to be titled "Kingdom".

Members

• Aaron Boyd - Lead Singer, Guitar
• Peter Nickell - Bass
• Peter Burton - Guitar
• Matt Weir - Drums

Past members

• Ian Jordan - Keys
• Andy McCann - Bass
• Ricky Bleakley - Guitar
• Pete Kernoghan - DJ, Loops
• Peter Comfort – drums
• Jonny Hobson - drums
• Connor McCrory - electric guitar

Discography

Year	Album details	Peak positions
		US 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	US Christ	US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...	US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
2007	Greater Things Released: 2007 Label: Independent	-	-	-	-
2009	God of This City God of This City (Bluetree album) God of This City is an album by contemporary Christian band Bluetree. It was released on March 3, 2009 and charted at #103 on the Billboard 200... Released: March 3, 2009 Label: Lucid	103	1	8	7
2010	Bluetree Live at Exchange Church Belfast Released: June 2010 Label: Exchange Church Media	-	-	-	-
2011	Kingdom Released: TBA Label: Exchange Church Media	-	-	-	--
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Awards and accolades

• “Break out Artist of the Year” 2009 Worship Leader Magazine Readers Choice Awards USA
• "Song of the Year" 2009 Worship Leader Magazine Readers Choice awards USA
• Nominated as ‘Best New Artist’ - GMA Dove Awards 2010
• Greater Things - Cross Rhythms' 20 Best Albums of 2007
• "God of this City" - Cross Rhythms' 20 Best Songs of 2007

External links

• Official Site
• Official Myspace
• God of This City album review
• God of This City album review
• God of This City #1 album announcement/review
• BlueTree Design Official US BlueTree Company - a consulting firm for Music & Arts Venues