“We’ll do fairs and festivals in the summer,” Camp continued. “Those are usually bigger crowds. We’ll bring out a few more new songs. It’s fun to have a new album and suddenly jump into fairs and festivals. Then we’ll do a big fall tour called ‘Deeper Waters’ after that. We’ll definitely be doing the whole country starting this fall through next fall, trying to hit every city we can.”
Making records
Camp’s debut album, “Burden Me,” was released in 2000. Other albums include “Stay” (2002), “Beyond Measure” (2006), “Reckless” (2013), “The Answer” (2017) and “When You Speak” (2021). He has won five GMA Dove Awards and four ASCAP Songwriter of the Year Awards and has been nominated for one Grammy Award and three American Music Awards.
Camp’s latest single, “These Days,” dropped in January. It’s the lead cut from his 14th studio album, “Deeper Waters,” coming out on May 17.
“The album is out in May, and it can’t come fast enough,” Camp said. “I’ve been working on it for a while now. We took a long year to do it. Of course, the process is longer than that, but I really dug in for a year and worked on the album. Then you’re like, ‘OK, we did it. Let’s give it to the world.’ ‘Nope, you’ve got to wait four months,’ but the first single, ‘These Days’ is out.
“The meaning behind that song is I believe you and I are in the right place at the right time,” Camp continued. “God called us by name, and He doesn’t make mistakes. It’s like, ‘Hey, let’s all come together and encourage one another and be the light in a dark world.’ I hope this tour will be a catalyst and catapult for some people to do that.”
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Deeper connections
Jordan Sapp, who produced Camp’s album, “The Story’s Not Over” (2019), was at the helm again for “Deeper Waters.” The previous collaboration yielded two number one Christian singles, “Keep Me in the Moment” and “Out of My Hands.”
“It’s huge to find people like Jordan you connect with creatively, musically and of course, spiritually,” Camp said. “When you’re producing a song, you want to work with somebody who gets three elements. You can get somebody who is great and creative but doesn’t understand your heart behind it or somebody who understands your heart but is not as creative. Jordan has all those elements and that’s why it works so well.”
Making the album in Nashville was an emotional experience but one Camp relished.
“It was perfect,” he said. “Everything about it was perfect. We had times where I’d sit there and try to work on a song, and I’d try to write something, but I had nothing to offer. Then, I’d be on the couch, literally, with tears in my eyes saying, ‘I don’t know what to do or what to say?’ Jordan and the other writer I was with that day were so patient. They just let me chill and not be rushed.
“They didn’t want to rush it,” Camp continued. “Finally, a few more songs came out from the pain of thinking about the past few years of life, the different things that happened and hardships and you start writing songs that relate to that. That’s why I say perfect because it was beautiful and complex. It was emotional and it was raw and real.”
Lasting impact
Camp, the son of a pastor, grew up in Lafayette, Ind. He earned a degree in theology from Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, Calif. In addition to music, Camp does outreach work in other countries through his Speaking Louder Ministries.
“Of course, I’m playing music but in India we built a village for this community,” he said. “We finally finished all their homes and we’re building a community center right now. We’ve been able to build a hospital in Entebbe, Uganda. That was incredible. We built a well in a leper colony in India. We do these outreaches and I share the gospel message, but we make sure we give long-lasting help to people.
“We’re going to the Philippines in December and doing a big outreach there,” Camp continued. “We had a little hiatus because of COVID since we couldn’t go a lot of places around the world. Some places actually took a little while to get going again but now everyone is open and ready for us. I love doing outreach. It’s a door God has opened. It’s something outside of what I do to use my platform to further His kingdom.”
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or donthrasher100@gmail.com.
How to go
Who: Jeremy Camp with special guests Caleb & John
Where: Victoria Theatre, 138 N. Main St., Dayton
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 22
Cost: $39-$59
More info: 937-228-3630 or daytonlive.org
Artist info: jeremycamp.com
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