Hard rock rolls a little closer to military communities in Europe next month with Christmas Rock Night.

Kutless, Disciple, Blindside and Kids in the Way are among the bands that will perform at the annual Christian music festival. The concerts will be Dec. 2 and 3 in Ennepetal in northern Germany.

“It’s going to be a chaotic, but really amazing, night,” said teen singer Krystal Meyers, who’s also on the bill.

Meyers — known for the hit “The Way to Begin” and hard-hitting “Anticonformity” — said, “Our show is very high-energy. It will be cool blending with all of the harder bands.”

It will be Meyers’ first European concert, so she’s eager to perform for the “really enthusiastic” fans — and to check out the sites and shopping.

It’s also the first European concert for the veteran rockers of Kutless.

The band is now touring to support its exceptional rock worship disc, “Strong Tower.” However, frontman Jon Micah Sumrall said the band hasn’t decided what songs it will play in Germany. If a set at the recent rain-drenched DC Festival is any guide, the band will drive the crowd wild with songs from “Strong Tower” and the hit CD “Sea of Faces.”

Sumrall sail the band often hears from troops who “share with us how our music has blessed them.”

“We get quite a few e-mails from people over in the war in Iraq, sharing with us just how our music really is encouraging them,” Sumrall said. “I think any war anywhere is a difficult thing. And to be in the middle of that, I think you need all types of encouragement that can keep your spirits lifted.”

Kutless will perform Dec. 2 and Meyers on Dec. 3. Other bands and artists include Disciple, Paul Coleman, Kids in the Way, Petra, Blindside, Spoken, House of Heroes and Life in Your Way.

Ennepetal is a small town between Hagen and Wuppertal on Highway B-7. For tickets and information in German check the Web site for the event: www.christmasrocknight.de.

I’d love to hear more about the concert, so drop me a message if you attend.

Renovated hip-hopRocker/rapper tobyMac — aka Toby McKeehan — has remixed his last CD under the title “Renovating Diverse City.”

The original “Welcome to Diverse City” was a multicultural roller- coaster that offered plenty of fun along with its messages of unity, faith and comfort.

The second take offers some interesting new blends — usually with more of a dance beat. Some of the songs — such as “Diverse City” and “Ill-M-I” — get a boost. However, some of the best tracks from the first disc — “Gone,” “The Slam” and “Getaway Car” — lack some of their original punch. It also boasts two new versions of “Burn For You,” whose original version is currently climbing the Billboard charts.

Overall it’s a solid project. However, the changes aren’t great enough to make it a must-buy if you’re pretty satisfied with the original.

On the Web: www.tobymac.com

Today’s Praise is a roundup of news and reviews from the contemporary Christian music industry. It appears on the Religion page.