A roughly recorded demo was entered into an on-campus contest, which eventually led them to meetings with record executives and large-scale performances. With Frey on lead vocals and McDonald on guitar, the group was filled out with bassist Cal Joslin, drummer Justin Nace, and guitarist Chris Jordan, who was later replaced by Shaun Tomczak. They completed a self-titled and independently released album in 2003, which they followed with 2007's You Love Me Anyway EP, also independently released. These strong self-released sounds scored Sidewalk Prophets opening slots on tours with bigger acts Audio Adrenaline and Jeremy Camp and they eventually signed to Word Records, which released 2009's These Simple Truths and 2012's Live Like That. Sidewalk Prophets toured constantly, their records charted with every release, and they were granted the Dove Award for Best New Artist in 2009. By the time of 2013's holiday-themed album Merry Christmas to You, the band was frequently playing to arena-sized crowds. The more energetic and rock-tinged Something Different followed in 2015. ~ Fred Thomas