The best lesser-known Christian bands

Some of the best Christian artists aren’t as popular as they should be. The artists on this list are definitely on par with mainstream Christian artists and in my opinion, better. For me, it’s pretty difficult to find good “Christian Music” and my short list below reflects that. Each of the artists I’ve chosen are incredibly talented; you’re bound to love them. So here are the best lesser-known Christian bands.

1. Citizens

This band originated from Mars Hill Church but branched off and is now working with another music label. There sound is hard to describe, but they sound great. Zach Bolen, Citizens’ frontman is an amazing lyricist. In my opinion, he’s the most talented Christian lyricist there is today.

Here’s a new song from Citizens and Saints, it’s similar to some of the songs on their most recent record, but it it’s pretty unique and beautiful. But I encourage you to listen to some of their older songs because they’re great as well.

2. Kings Kaleidoscope

Kings Kaleidoscope is probably my all around favorite. They’re so good. They too came from the now dissolved Mars Hill Church. My favorite songs of theirs are the hymns that they remake and breathe a beautiful new life into.

If you think hymns are all they do, you should really listen to some of their other music, because it’s far from hymns. Their most recent album was actually a “mixtape” where Kings’ frontman Chad Gardner rapped with several other artists including Andy Mineo, Propaganda, and Derek Minor.

And if rap isn’t for you, don’t worry, they have two other wonder full length albums that aren’t rap. So go check them out.

3. Loud Harp

Loud Harp is one of the most amazing Christian bands I know of right now. They have some of the best lyrics of any group out there, and they sound great. They’ve meant a lot to me throughout the years. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

4. All Sons & Daughters

This is another semi-popular band and may not really belong in this list, but they are definitely less popular than Chris Tomlin, Hillsong, and Phil Wickham.

5. John Mark McMillan

McMillan has a very unique sound and you’ll probably either love or hate his sound. I happen to love it.

6. River Valley Youth

River Valley Youth is part of the River Valley Church. They have some pretty good songs available.

All of their music is very obviously geared towards youth, as their name suggests. Here’s one of their songs, called #Partyinthepresence.

If this stuff has a little too much youth vibe for your liking, try listening to River Valley Worship.

7. The Dust of Men

I may have shared this band before, but they definitely deserve another spotlight. This group is seriously good.

I highly recommend listening through their whole album, but this is a good song to start with:

Sadly this band seems to have been inactive for awhile. The most recent update that I could find is almost a year old. So all we can do is hope and pray that The Dust of Men makes another album sometime soon. One good sign is that the official twitter account for the band has been active recently.

8. Urban Rescue

I’ve been listening to this group a lot lately. Their sound is definitely more modern than most Christian artists, but they’re still tasteful. My favorite song as of late from them has been Song of My Father, which you can listen to below.

Man, wasn’t that just a good song? I do like their newer album a lot more than their older stuff. I like some of their older songs–like Provider–but who knows, you may love their older songs. Go give them a listen!

9. Ryan Ellis

While I love a lot of the songs Ryan Ellis has created, I think the recording quality of all his songs could be a lot better.

Obviously recording music professionally is ridiculously expensive, so I can’t bash too much. Regardless, Ryan is certainly talented and a lot of his songs are really good! You should listen to his stuff!

There are many more great artists that could go on this list, and that’s why I decided to publish a sequel article titled The Best Lesser Known Christian Bands (revisited). If this list made you want more bands to listen to, check out my second article.