Australia’s Hillsong United is preparing to bring its explosive and passionate brand of modern worship to North America with an extensive tour of the U.S. and Canada and the May release of All of the Above, the band’s eighth CD and first-ever studio recording.

Australia’s top modern worship band will take time away from their home church, Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, to play before an estimated 150,000 people between April and August.

One of the first stops on the North American tour will be Nashville, where Hillsong United have been invited to lead the Sunday night worship service at GMA Music Week, gospel and Christian music’s annual industry convention. The worship night will be hosted by Hillsong United supporter and friend, Michael W. Smith, and held on Sunday, April 22 at the Ryman Theatre in Nashville.

United’s growing North America tour schedule includes:

-April 13 Detroit, Michigan Battle Cry Event, Ford Field
-April 14 Detroit, Michigan Battle Cry Event, Ford Field
-April 15 Virginia Beach, Virginia Wave Church
-April 17 Jacksonville, Florida Celebration Church
-April 18 Dallas, Texas Fellowship Church
-April 20 Springfield, Missouri James River Assembly
-April 21 Kansas City, Missouri Acquire the Fire, Kemper Arena
-April 22 Nashville, Tennessee GMA Worship Night, Ryman Theatre
-May 23 Los Angeles The LA Forum Arena
-May 25 Vancouver, BC Thunderbird Stadium
-May 26 Edmonton, Alberta YC Edmonton, Rexall Place
-May 27 Edmonton, Alberta YC Edmonton, Rexall Place
-May 29 Minneapolis, Minnesota Grace Church
-May 30 Chicago, Illinois Life Changers Church
-June 1 Montreal, Quebec New Life Church (Nouvelle Vie)
-June 2 Toronto, Ontario Molson Amphitheatre
-June 3 St. Johns, New Brunswick Mile One Stadium
-June 5 Jackson, New Jersey TBA
-July 14 Gainesville, Georgia Forward 07 Youth Conference
-July 15 Houston, Texas Lakewood Church
-July 26 Miami, Florida TBA
-August 7 Tacoma, Washington Team Church Conference

Hillsong United’s Creative Director, Joel Houston, who is also one of United’s worship leaders and songwriters, said, “We are really excited about coming back to North America and we’re looking forward to taking songs, which have been specifically written to be sung corporately, to young people across the continent.”

“With the tour and new record, our hope is to stir up a generation both locally and globally to live lives that are sold out for God and His Cause – lives that are committed to being His hands and feet on the planet, and to bringing justice to the hurting and the broken,” Houston added.

The message not only underpins the 12 tracks on the album, but it is also the motivator behind an exciting new movement, The I Heart Revolution (www.theiheartrevolution.com) recently launched by Hillsong United.

“The I Heart Revolution is in its early stages but as we traveled all around the world in the last 12 months – to Asia, South America, Europe, Africa and at home in Australia – it became so clear that God is doing something significant among young people. Regardless of language or geography, whenever they worshipped God, something powerful happened. We captured this on tape and are pulling together a documentary that will share with the world what we had the privilege of seeing and being part of,” Houston explained.

As with every Hillsong United CD, All of the Above, comes out of the very heartbeat of Hillsong Church’s youth ministry.

“The response from our church to these songs tells us they are cross-generational. Our church loves them because they love worshipping Him,” said Houston.

For more information visit: www.hillsongunited.com or www.myspace.com/hillsongunited.