Sanctus Real

Sanctus Real has consistently brought audiences closer to God through music since 2002, and its latest song "Lead Me" is no exception. The song is a reflection of lead singer Matt Hammitt's personal challenges with balancing the demands of a musical artist with the role of being a spiritual leader in his family.

"My wife sat me down and she looked me in the eye with tears, and said 'I need you to be a better leader,'" explains Matt. "Sometimes we can have the intention of being great men of God; great husbands, great fathers, but it doesn't mean anything until you put it into action."

The journey of Sanctus Real, however, began almost a decade ago while Matt was in high school and he met guitarist Chris Rohman in their sophomore year at Toledo Christian School in Ohio. After leading youth worship together, they eventually started collaborating on their own material, and a partnership was born.

Not long after drummer Mark Graalman and bassist Steve Goodrum joined the fun, and the band started recording music together in a nearby garage. Because funds were hard to come by for making albums, Matt and Steve were forced to work telemarketing gigs by day to pay for the sessions.

After signing with Sparrow Records, the band's released its debut album, Say It Loud in 2002. It was followed by the band's first official #1 hit, a cover of U2’s “Beautiful Day” from the compilation project, In the Name of Love: Artists United for Africa (2004). From that point on, the band has consistently released new records like clockwork every two years, and rolled out compelling songs such as "The Face of Love," "Whatever You're Doing," "Forgiven," and latest "Lead Me." Sanctus Real’s fresh approach to faith-inspired rock ’n’ roll with open, authentic lyrics have made them one of Christian music’s favorite bands.

"All the songs we write are about the deepest parts of our being and and things that we’re thinking and things that we’re living through,” Matt shares. “We start thinking about all the different pieces of our lives, and it came to us that these songs are pieces of our real heart—the things we’re going through and the things we want to communicate to people as we get better at communicating our hearts.”

Matt and his wife Sarah's lives were changed in September of 2010 with the birth of their third child, Bowen. Early on in the pregnancy, it was found that Bowen had a heart defect, and was operated on shortly after birth. Bowen is still in the hospital recovering and is being assisted with breathing devices. The Hammitts have created a blog detailing Bowen's progress at http://bowensheart.com/.