Group

Petra

American Christian hard rock band

From: United States
Active: 1972–2005
Rating: ★ 4 (5 votes)
Releases: 45

christian rock
rock
hard rock
country rock
alternative rock
aor
classic rock
pop rock

About

Petra is an American music group regarded as a pioneer of the Christian rock and contemporary Christian music genres and was, for many years, regarded as the "world's most popular Christian rock band". Formed in 1972, the band took its name from the Greek word for "rock". Though Petra disbanded formally in 2006, incarnations have played reunion shows in the years since and released two albums in November 2010, and in November 2017. In 2013, the band reformed with a new drummer, Cristian Borneo, and recorded a new song titled "Holy is Your Name", before going back on tour.

With a style initially similar to The Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, Petra's sound evolved into a more energetic, driving rock sound in the early 1980s akin to Foreigner, Styx and Journey. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Petra was one of the world's most popular Christian rock bands. Albums regularly sold in the hundreds of thousands, and regularly placed songs at the top of Christian radio charts while being a busy live act rivaling Amy Grant in audience popularity. With its lyrics, music and style, Petra influenced numerous other artists at a time when Christian rock experienced strong opposition from those Christians who opposed rock music with a spiritual message.
In more than three decades, Petra experienced numerous lineup changes with no members common across every incarnation. They 20 studio albums, as well as two Spanish-language and two live albums. In total Petra sold nearly 10 million records, while being nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning four, and winning 10 Dove Awards. Its biggest hit, "The Coloring Song", reached the top position on three Christian radio charts simultaneously. Petra was the first rock band inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the first Christian band whose memorabilia was included in the Hard Rock Cafe restaurant chain.
Petra announced its retirement in 2005, launching a farewell tour that was recorded for release on CD and DVD. Petra's 33-year career ended with a performance in the early hours of January 1, 2006, in Murphy, North Carolina. However, the band has continued to perform sporadically since then.
In November 2010, an incarnation of the band's mid-1980s lineup performed under the name Classic Petra. They released an album, Back to the Rock, featuring one new song ("Too Big To Fail"), one song taken from Greg X. Volz's 2009 album God Only Knows, ("Back To The Rock"), as well as re-recordings of hits from that era. The band released a companion live CD and DVD in 2011. Back to the Rock II was released in 2017, under the name CPR. In 2023, the band celebrated its 50th anniversary with a US and world tour.
Their album Hope, was released on January 5, 2026, their first full-length studio record in two decades.

From Petra (band) on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.