Jars of Clay lending a hand in Nashville recovery

Some of my favorite places to hang out in Nashville are the intimate, unique venues where I've watched bands such as Third Day, Switchfoot and Jars of Clay.

Flooding earlier this month left several feet of water in these places, damaging many buildings in the city and killing more than 30 people. The water has receded; now cleanup and rebuilding begin.

Jars of Clay will join efforts to aid fellow residents of Nashville. The band has released a digital EP featuring five versions of the song Flood for just $1 in hope of raising $100,000 to benefit relief efforts. (It will be administered by MusiCares Nashville Flood Relief.)

Jars of Clay debuted with the multiformat hit Flood in 1995 on an album that sold more than 2 million copies. Since then, it's amassed more than 6 million units in career sales, three Grammys, 17 No. 1 radio hits, and numerous honors for songwriting and performing.

Though Jars of Clay is easily one of the most decorated artists in Christian music, the foundation of who its members are is seen in their work in Africa. Band members founded the Blood:Water Mission in 2002 with its 1,000 Wells Project with a goal of raising funds to build, rebuild and repair 1,000 wells in urban and rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. This year Jars of Clay expects to mark its 1,000th well, providing clean water to more than 150,000 people.

In response to the Nashville flooding, KSBJ is working with Hands On Nashville to help get the word out about how you can help. For information about how you can help, go to www.hon.org.

Kent Matthews hosts Light Force on 89.3 KSBJ-FM on Saturdays, 9 p.m.-midnight. Contact, kmatthews@ksbj.org .

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