Midwestern singer/songwriter Jason Gray bridges the gap between inward-thinking contemporary folk and hook-minded pop, adding his own spiritual perspective to the mix. Growing up in Minneapolis, music played a prominent role in his early years, be it listening to artists from Simon & Garfunkel to U2, or traveling with his musician mother and the band. In the early 80s, Grays parents split and his mother became a Christian, moving from rock clubs to the revival circuit. This proved to be a family affair as he joined the youth ministry and entered the music ministry full-time by 1998, independently releasing a string of contemporary Christian records between 1997 and 2005. (After fans reported that internet content filters restricted access to his early releases due to his given surname, "Gay", he began performing as Gray.) Moved by the straightforward honesty and devotional nature of his songs, Centricity Music signed Gray in 2006, where the following year he offered the heartfelt All the Lovely Losers. The live recording Acoustic Storytime and Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue followed in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Grays singable soul-searching reached its largest audience with the release of 2011s A Way to See in the Dark, which landed on the Billboard Top Christian Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts. In addition to his work as a musician, Gray is a devoted advocate for youths facing hardships, especially African orphans of AIDS, through World Vision Internationals Hope Initiative. The following year saw Gray release his first collection of holiday music, the Cason Cooley-produced Christmas Stories: Repeat the Sounding Joy, and in 2014 he issued a new studio album, the chart-topping Love Will Have the Final Word. 2016's Where the Light Gets In, his fifth long-player, debuted at number five on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, and at 165 on the Billboard Top 200. ~ Chrysta Cherrie