SIGNS OF LIFE TOUR STOPS AT SIU FRIDAY

Canadian Christian-pop singer Carolyn Arends' Signs of Life Tour nears the end of an 80-city swing through the U.S. with a stop in Carbondale, Ill., Friday night.

The concert will open at 7:30 p.m. at the SIU Arena with Audio Adrenaline, a Nashville, Tenn., alternative rock-Christian band.

Established Christian-music star Steven Curtis Chapman brings his seven-man group to the stage next. Chapman has collected three Grammy Awards, 28 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards and 22 number-one singles. "Signs Of Life," is Chapman's latest release and his eighth since his debut album, "First Hand," in 1987.

Chapman headlined a tour last year with Arends, but Christian music's rising star supplanted him as the headline act this year.

In 1995, Arends released her first album "I Can Hear You," which won her the Dove Award's Country Song of the Year. She was also nominated for the 1996 Dove Award New Artist of the Year.

Arends is promoting her second album, "Feel Free," on this tour.