Multi-Platinum, 3X GRAMMY award winning artist Michael W. Smith will be coming to Lowell, MA for a Christmas concert with Marc Martel of the Queen Tribute Band, The Queen Extravaganza.

A Michael W Smith Christmas with Special Guest Marc Martel

Presented By Balsam Hill®

This highly anticipated show will feature selections spanning GRAMMY® award winning artist Michael W Smith’s expansive Christmas repertoire. His heavily praised Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmasfeatures collaborations with Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Nettles, Bono, Michael McDonald and Grant.

In addition to the performance, and in support of his longstanding relationship with Compassion International, Michael is exclusively meeting fans each city who sponsor a child through the organization prior to the concerts and through the website www.meetmichaelwsmith.com. This “Compassion Meet & Greet” is an opportunity to learn more about the Compassion International’s child sponsorship experience and will include a photo and Meet & Greet opportunity with the artists.

To learn more about Compassion International, visit www.compassion.com.

About Michael W. Smith: Michael W. Smith has been releasing new music regularly and performing around the world to sold-out crowds for the last 35+ years. During his storied career, he’s written over 35 #1 songs, been honored with three GRAMMY® Awards and 45 Dove Awards, one American Music Award, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and has sold more than 15 million albums. His most recent USA Today, Yahoo! Music and Billboard-acclaimed studio album A Million Lights and Parade, Good Morning America-featured and GRAMMY nominated live worship album Surrounded have together become his 30th and 31st Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, more than any other solo artist in history. He’s also given back to the global community. Smith has raised funds to battle AIDS in Africa; started Rocketown, a safe haven for young people in Tennessee to meet and find hope; and has helped more than 70,000 children through Compassion International. He has also written several bestselling books, including Old Enough To Know and Friends Are Friends Forever. For more information, visit www.michaelwsmith.com.

About Marc Martel:

Long before his YouTube videos went viral, spawning an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and a performance with the surviving members of Queen on “American Idol,” Marc Martel spent 13 years recording and touring the globe with Canadian rockers Downhere. Not only did the rock band visit all 50 American States, but also toured throughout Europe and even Northern Africa, collecting worldwide acclaim and four Juno Awards in their native land.

After paying their dues for more than a decade in a fifteen passenger van and finally graduating to a full-fledged bus, the group wrote what they believed was the very peak of its artistry and expression, but despite the private support of radio programmers, the public never latched onto to what turned out to be Downhere’s swansong effort. Yet right around the time when that writing popped up on the wall, Martel received an email from an industry pal with a link to a contest spearheaded by the actual members of Queen.

At first, the front man almost passed on the opportunity, but with some prodding from his wife and additional friends, he casually cut a version of “Somebody To Love” in 2011, and now 30 million cumulative YouTube and Facebook views later, bolstered by the aforementioned “Ellen” appearance, Martel was declared the victor. Even legendary Queen drummer Roger Taylor remarked to the Daily Record: “That voice. You listen, close your eyes and you think it’s Freddie. It’s really uncanny.” For the last 6 years and over 160+ shows Marc has fronted Queen’s official tribute show, The Queen Extravaganza. Read more…

About Balsam Hill:

YOUR PLACE FOR PREMIUM ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREES, WREATHS AND GARLANDS

“Balsam Hill is Home of the Most Realistic Artificial Christmas Trees and Seasonal Home Décor.” — The Doctors

Balsam Hill’s mission is to create the most realistic artificial Christmas trees, Christmas wreaths and Christmas garlands ever produced. More than just a fake Christmas tree, a Balsam Hill Christmas tree achieves its stunningly realistic effect in two ways. First and foremost is Balsam Hill’s method for creating realistic evergreen foliage, True Needle™ technology. Using individually molded bi-colored plastic needles, the True Needle™ method is simply the finest means available for creating realistic artificial Christmas trees. Second, Balsam Hill’s Signature Collection trees are each based on natural evergreen species, providing a gorgeous, true-to-life texture, silhouette and coloring. Your artificial tree becomes the perfect canvas for your favorite Christmas ornaments and Christmas lights.

To make our trees as luxuriously convenient as possible, Balsam Hill offers premium pre-strung lights in clear, multicolored, and our innovative Color+Clear™ which allows the owner to choose clear or multicolored lights with the touch of a remote. Finally, an artificial Christmas tree from Balsam Hill has cleverly designed hinged branches and sits atop a lightweight, collapsible stand, making setup and takedown simpler than ever. A tree from Balsam Hill is a perfect complement to your Christmas decorations.

And with over 50 different styles of pre-lit Christmas trees, pre-lit Christmas wreaths, and pre-lit Christmas garlands, Balsam Hill strives to offer a high quality product to satisfy any holiday style

About Compassion International:

Founded in 1952, Compassion International is a Christian child development organization that works to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 7,500 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2 million babies, children and young adults. Its child sponsorship program has been validated through independent, empirical research.