Chad Gentry Brings Back the Legacy of 90s Worship with New Album, Docuseries and Live Events

Break Through the Stars, the new studio album from Nineties Worship Night's NWN Records, has released through Integrated Music Rights, part of the Integrity Music family.

The gorgeous new album reimagines a curated collection of some of the most powerful worship songs from the 1990s, performed by well-known artists, including original SONICFLOOd lead singer Jeff Deyo, Lenny LeBlanc, Brenton Brown, Lindell Cooley, Charlie Hall (with backing vocals from Christy Nockels), and Lisa Nicole (Out of Eden's Lisa Kimmey Winans), along with critically acclaimed newcomer Kim Gentry Meyer (Mrs. Massachusetts 2020), and more.

We are honored to catch up with Chad Gentry, Break Through The Stars executive producer and president of Nineties Worship Night Productions, LLC, and NWN Record, for this exclusive interview. 

Q: Chad, thank you for doing this interview. You recently recorded an album of 90s worship songs, Break Through the Stars. What inspired this project? 

Break Through the Stars marks the public kick-off of our Nineties Worship Night-branded movement and is also a precursor to the upcoming launch of the Nineties Worship Night Docuseries. The goal with this album was to create a true multicultural worship album, reimagining some of the most powerful 1990s era worship songs and featuring a mix of both well-known and grassroots worship leaders. There is great synergy between the docuseries and the album, as many of the artists and songs featured in Break Through the Stars are also involved with the series. 

Q: Many of the worship songs from the 1990s were memorable for those old enough to remember them. What do you think makes some of the songs on Break Through the Stars timeless?

Having interviewed over 100 people for the upcoming docuseries, all of whom were deeply entrenched with creating and producing 90s worship music, two things stand out to me. One is that there was a purity to the content creation. No one was setting out to create a genre of music. They were just looking to write songs that people could easily sing along with and worship God too. They obviously succeeded, because many of these songs still stand up! Also, by and large all the songs were written by one person, or at most two people. There seems to have been a divine download of inspiration to the writers. You'll hear so many stories about this in the docuseries. 

Q: Were you leading worship in the 90s? What were some of your go-to worship tunes?

Yes, I was actively involved with worship in the 90s and had the privilege of cutting my teeth on some of the greatest songs of the era. Some of my favorites were Danny Chambers' "Let the Rain of Your Presence," Lindell Cooley's "I Need You More" from The Brownsville Revival, and Darlene Zschech's "Shout to the Lord." A couple more to cap things off would be Scott Underwood's "Take My Life" and Paul Baloche's "Open the Eyes of My Heart."

Q: What inspired you to create the Nineties Worship Night brand?

The sudden passing of Danny Chambers in September 2020 set the wheels in motion for us to create the Nineties Worship Night brand to honor his legacy and the legacy of other gifted worship leaders of that era. Danny was so special to my wife and me both personally and through his ministry, and the Lord impressed upon me to create NWN all the while we were deeply grieving his loss. The docuseries goes into much greater depth about how Danny inspired the NWN movement and the miracles we have seen unfold during its creation.

Q: I see that your sister, Kim Gentry Meyer, is singing the song, "Breathe." We talked to her in the Fall about her release, Herald, and it's nice to see the two of you collaborating. Tell us how that came about.

Kim has been an integral part of NWN since the beginning. In addition to singing "Breathe" on the Break Through the Stars album, she is a producer on the docuseries and is an NWN Records artist, having released her debut solo album, Herald, last Fall, as you mention here. It's particularly meaningful to collaborate with Kim on NWN since my introduction to music was hearing her play the piano and sing when I was very young. When I was old enough to pick up the guitar we collaborated quite frequently, often playing 90s worship songs at our church. NWN is a continuation of that lifelong musical bond.

Q: What else can people expect from Nineties Worship Night in 2024?

In addition to Break Through the Stars and the Nineties Worship Night Docuseries launch that I've already mentioned, we are actively doing Nineties Worship Night Live events all over the country. We partner with local churches and their worship teams to provide these live events, featuring 90s worship songs and the stories behind them using corresponding video clips from the upcoming docuseries. It's truly a unique experience, and we have already seen God move so powerfully. Anyone interested in booking an event with us can reach out on our website at https://www.ninetiesworshipnight.com. 

For more information about Nineties Worship Night, NWN Records and Break Through the Stars, visit ninetiesworshipnight.com, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Tags : Chad Gentry Chad Gentry interview "Break Through the Stars" Kim Gentry Meyer 90s Worship Darlene Zschech Lenny LeBlanc Paul Baloche charlie hall Lindell Cooley Brenton Brown