By Doug Carroll
GCU News Bureau
Photos by Jak Keyser and Ruth Nsubuga
For someone planning to build a music career at a deliberate pace, things are moving swiftly this week for GCU freshman Moriah Peters.
After her CD-release party late Tuesday night on the lower level of Thunder Alley, Peters was off to Nashville for a Wednesday afternoon rehearsal and a late-night bus to Florida, where she will be an opening act for MercyMe this weekend.
If Peters, 19, was feeling any stress about all of the above, it didn't show before her fellow students as she and a five-piece band worked through a seven-song set culled from her new album, "I Choose Jesus." A crowd of about 200 received the songs warmly in a dark, nightclub-like setting that had been dubbed "The Thunderground" for the occasion.
Don't let Peters' carefree, flower-child vibe fool you. Her strong, soulful voice has hints of R&B, country, folk and pop, similar to what Christian-music audiences have heard for years from Amy Grant.
She certainly has a shot at a career doing this, and her manager, Scott Brickell of Nashville, wants to bring her along carefully.
"If you lay the groundwork the right way, you can have a nice, long career," Brickell said after Peters' set. "Every decision needs to be a long-term decision.
"She's got everything you need to make it, starting with a solid family and a vision for her ministry."
Ultimately, that ministry will include something called WAS (White As Snow), which will call young girls to a life of purity that includes -- but isn't limited to -- chastity.
"You need a platform in order to introduce people to that," Brickell said, "and we're starting there."
Already, Peters' album has made it into the top 10 on the Christian adult-contemporary chart. The title song is at No. 23 this week.
"Every song on this record comes from a personal place," Peters told the audience. "They're stories of mine or those close to me."
After performing a moving, "unplugged" version of the title song, Peters encouraged those on hand to "be bold in your faith, and be bold in the things of the Lord."
Brickell said boldness won't be a problem for Peters.
"She's engaging and comfortable in her own skin," he said. "She's going to do (ministry) regardless of whether she has a record deal. In this day and age, not too many (performing artists) are trying to build it slow."
For more about Moriah Peters, go to www.moriahpeters.com.
Contact Doug Carroll at 639.8011 or [email protected].
