Dara Maclean
Dara Maclean’s debut album You Got My Attention is earning her the attention of many. Growing up in a ministry focused family, leading worship was something that was almost inevitable for Dara. “I grew up singing, dancing and acting, and it’s been in the church world. Music has always equaled ministry to me. Ministering to the broken, unloved and discouraged and ultimately showing people God’s better way is what’s in my heart. It’s how I’m wired.”
Her first single “Suitcases” is a song about Christ’s unconditional love and displays Dara’s powerhouse vocals as well as her gift as a songwriter. “My parents and I minister together as a family and during one service my dad said, ‘You can’t run when you’re holding suitcases.’ I’ll never forget it. This song is my encouragement to us all to let go of the baggage of the past.”
Maclean’s debut album is a soulful dynamic of 70’s Motown mixed with urban pop, all sounds that influenced Dara growing up. The 25-year-old Texas native, worked with Dove award winning producer Ian Eskelin on the album and together they’ve created a fresh vibe that you can’t help but move to. “I love making music you can move and groove to,” she says, “but at the same time, as Christian artists we have a responsibility to speak the truth of the finished work of Christ in love.”
Her single “Yours Forever” talks about real, pure love in it’s truest form, “The song has a special place in my heart cause it sounds like a love song, and it really kind of is that in a different way,” she says. “My biggest successes and failures, and things that I’ve learned, have had to do with matters of the heart. For me, it’s just about discovering satisfaction and wholeness, and realizing the only thing that will ever be enough is love…the purest form of love.”
Dara Maclean released her album, Wanted (September 24, 2013). For the singer- who partners with International Justice Mission to fight against human trafficking- this record is near and dear to her heart.
“This album is for those broken, the lost and the ones in need of rescue. It’s for me and it’s for them, whether ‘they’ are next door or half way across the world. This record is a reminder that through God’s grace and redemption, He has made us good enough, He sees us as ‘blameless.’ We’ve been forgiven and we can find the peace, satisfaction and rest we’re looking for in Him,” said Dara. “This record is my mouthpiece to raise the volume of the already screaming heartbeat of the Father, crying ‘Set My People Free.’ When life hits in the hardest ways, and you need peace and you need an answer, let’s take Him at His word and together learn about truth, discover sustaining hope and put all of our trust in the only answer, God.”
