Early this morning, a Press Release was issued from delirious? which announced "The End of An Era".  At the end of 2009, the folks in delirious? will discontinue touring and recording as a band.  There is no information given of when or if the band will get back together and continue their journey as one of Christian music's most legendary bands.  The band has officially been in existence since 1996, but released a couple mini-albums of worship music in the three years before their official formation.  delirious?, over the last 12 years, have continued taking the message of Christ all over the world, both in churches and to the unchurched.  The full text of the press release is below:

Third Day at the Music Builds launch partyWhile in Nashville for Gospel Music Week in April, Third Day spoke at interviews and performed at showcases in anticipation of their July release. You might be surprised at one of the media outlets that spoke with the band that week.

Revelation has already proved to be replete with newness. New musical guests. New artist management. New producer. And now there is a new cover on Billboard magazine. Apparently the June 7th edition reached a new height - first time a Christian band made it onto the front cover.

The cover reads, "Third Day Christian Crossover? Daughtry's producer. Dave Matthews' management. An inside look at longtime rockers on the verge," The issue can be purchased at larger magazine outlets, or you can read the article here. It is full with interesting discussions about the past, present, and more importantly the future of this long-time band with new beginnings.

A must read about the potential outlook of Christian music, even if you are not a Third Day fan.

About an hour before Switchfoot hit the stage in Ocean City, New Jersey on May 1st, they first heard the news that "This is Home" is going to be performed on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 13th. While announcing the song during their set, Jon Foreman told the crowd this "hot off the press" news.

"This is Home" was written for the upcoming Disney movie Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. A video for "This is Home" premiered on May 2nd on the Disney website. Jon Foreman shared the following on Switchfoot's website:

The Gospel Music Association held their 39th Annual Dove Awards Wednesday night at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn.

Chris Tomlin won for "Male vocalist of the year"

The two have an eight-year history together that dates to a performance McCracken made at a Nashville coffee shop, according to Webb's e-mail newsletter. Webb was on a coffee run that day and became enamored of McCracken's voice and songwriting, the newsletter states. McCracken was eventually asked to join Webb's then-bandmates in Caedmon's Call on tour, and the seeds for a deeper relationship were sown.

Make it three in a row.

P.O.D.'s new album finds them in familiar territory on the Billboard charts. When Angels and Serpents Dance, the band's first effort with Columbia and INO Records, debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 - exactly the peak position of their previous two albums, which were forged for Atlantic Records. When Angels... is also the most-downloaded rock album on iTunes and holds the top position on SoundScan's Contemporary Christian chart this week.

"After 16 years of being in P.O.D., the loyalty of The Warriors [P.O.D.'s fanbase] continue to make us look good," said lead singer Sonny Sandoval in a press release posted on inorecords.com. "We are truly grateful and blown away to see another Top 10 debut."

The new album marks the return of guitarist Marcos Curiel, whose work was featured on the band's breakthrough effort, Satellite (2001).

Rumors and factual information about a tour brewing with Switchfoot, Third Day and Robert Randolph and the Family Band have been floating around the 'net for a few weeks now. These three bands are scheduled to play a launch party (aka showcase) for the tour at this years GMA week in Nashville.

Addison RoadThe path to overnight success is rarely a short or easy one, and the members of recent INO Records signees Addison Road can attest to it. Formed hastily in 2001 when promised $500 for a gig, the Dallas-based pop-rock outfitted waited six years before landing a record deal.

Their indie efforts landed them airplay across the pond in the U.K., but their big break was still around the corner, and probably still is. The group has certainly generated a buzz of late, however. When iTunes offered their single "All That Matters" as a free download in mid-February, more than 167,000 customers picked it up over the course of a week.

RadioU reports that The Rocket Summer is among those appearing on the cover of Alternative Press magazine's April issue. TRS is included in AP's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know..." feature, along with fellow cover boys The Matches, Sonny and pop/punk outfit All Time Low.

The magazine's official website offers little insight into its profile of sole TRS member Bryce Avary, save for this teaser: "... Avary has no problem helping your grandma cross the interstate, but he'd rather steer clear of anything that keeps him away from music - whether it's his or anyone else's."

Not exactly Cloverfield-esque, we admit, but Avary is definitely an interesting cat. Chances are at least one iR staffer will be reading the article.

Third Day guitarist Brad Avery is leaving the band after 13 years in order to pursue solo projects, according to CCMmagazine.com and the band's official blog. Avery's former bandmates left a brief statement on the blog this week, calling the decision to part with Avery "difficult."

"We appreciate Brad's many contributions to the band's career to date, including his work on our forthcoming album, but the time has come for us to follow our separate paths," the blog states.