KJOL-AM (Grand Junction, CO)

KJOL has been busy with two web development projects behind the scenes…a lot of it is honestly above and beyond my understand. As manager of KJOL, I have one of those Jack-Of-All-Trades, Master-Of-None type jobs. I get to work with the on-air talent, music directors, the FCC, engineers, employees, fundraising, and also have to go to the bank get the payroll done. The list goes on and on. But one thing I REALLY don’t know anything about, is web development.

We have received a slew of great new songs at KJOL in the last two weeks. Many of them are guaranteed to get your feet tapping and soul singing! Here’s a sample of new songs, which you can hear daily on KJOL.

A host of young new female artists are making an impact on Christian music right now. Here are “thumbnail sketches” for nine of them. Franni Cash --Franni Cash was one of the lead singers of We The Kingdom until she left in 2023 to pursue a solo career.

Canadian Vineyard worship leader Brian Doerksen died this week after a brief battle with stage 4 cancer. He was 60. Doerksen wrote "Come Now is the Time to Worship, plus Refiner’s Fire and Light the Fire Again among others. Doerksen grew up in British Columbia and joined the staff of Langley Vineyard Christian Fellowship during his early 20s, writing songs for Vineyard Music and later Integrity Music. He wrote his first hit, Come Now Is The Time To Worship, in 1997 after he moved to England.

New music on KJOL explores themes of failure, redemption, revival, and asking God to shed His grace on thee. America The Beautiful Steven Curtis Chapman Chapman has teamed with Christian country musician Chris Janson for this patriotic classic embellished with Chapman’s original lyrics. Chapman says the song "offers a thoughtful commentary on the state of our nation, and calls for listeners to see beyond the lines that separate us, to listen more, and remember that we’re stronger together.

Nightvision 2026 features a host of first-time artists. Returning artists include Katy Nichole (2022), while Blessing Offor and Jeremy Camp were here last year but their performances were lost due to the massive hailstorm which hit Friday afternoon. Here’s a quick look at each of this year’s lineup. Friday, June 5 Caleb & John Caleb Crino & John Secker Caleb studied piano at Belmont University in Nashville. John is a self-taught guitarist.

Anne Wilson says being a rebel means choosing God over social pressure. She has just released a book called Rebel: Following Jesus When the World Walks the Other Way. It comes on the heels of her 2024 album, also called Rebel. Wilson burst on the music scene in 2021 with the song “My Jesus,” inspired by the death of her 23 year old brother Jacob, who died in a car accident when Anne was just 15.

Well, there goes May…and welcome to the month of June! We are looking forward to how God works through this ministry of KJOL this month. Last month, we spent a lot of time planning and working on various projects to see very little actually come to fruition. Perhaps this month! We finally received a very important computer back from the shop to hopefully finally kick off the transition to our new automation equipment that a listener provided for us about a year ago.

KJOL has two new songs right now that address aspects of our failures, using admonition and compassion and humility. Dusty Bibles Josiah Queen Josiah Queen’s song is about the realization that he had been neglecting his own personal time in the Word. He laments that we neglect our Bibles and “wonder why we feel this way.” It begins with an intriguing verse that may have multiple meanings: Hey, how you been?

If you go by charts and awards, Lauren Daigle is the queen of Christian music. After appearing on American Idol, she joined Andy Stanley’s North Point Worship. She was named New Artist of the Year at the 2015 Dove Awards with her song “How Can It Be.” Four years and six singles later, she released “You Say,” the 2019 Song of the Year. It also made history as the first song to spend 100 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on any of Billboard’s “Hot 100” charts. It is still No. 1 after 139 weeks.