Noah Henson

Pillar is an American Christian rock band from Tulsa, consisting of members Rob Beckley, Noah Henson, Michael "Kalel" Wittig, and Lester Estelle II.

The band has released nine studio albums, three EPs, and 24 singles since its formation in 1998.

Pillar started in Hays, Kansas in 1998, when Fort Hays State University roommates Brad Noone and Rob Beckley got together with friends Travis Jenkins, Dustin Adams, and Michael Wittig, known as Kalel.

In 1999, Pillar released their first album, Metamorphosis, on their own independent label, Shadrach Records.

After some more touring in Kansas, they released their second independent album, Original Superman, in 2000.

Around this time they relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to try to find a larger fan base.

Soon after the release of Original Superman, Pillar became noticed by Flicker Records, who signed them in mid 2000.

After the signing, Pillar re-cut many of the tracks from Original Superman as well as a few new tracks for release on Above, their first major label album.

The album had medium success, selling almost 60,000 copies.

The song "Open Your Eyes" won a Dove Award in 2001 for Hard Music Song of the Year.

Also, the songs "Original Superman" and "Live for Him" helped in Pillar's success.

In 2002, Noah Henson took over guitar duties and Pillar released their breakthrough album, Fireproof.

Fireproof sold over 300,000 copies, and launched national tours.

It also won two Dove Awards.

A year later Pillar went back into the studio with Fireproof and released a newer, richer sounding version with little tweaks in songs, including a Bonus DVD; this resulted in two versions of Fireproof on the market.

Soon after the release of Fireproof, drummer Lester Estelle, Jr. joined the band.

In 2004, Pillar released their next album Where Do We Go from Here capturing No. 1 on sales in the Christian charts for weeks.

The album featured multiple hits, including "Bring Me Down", and, "Frontline" which topped the charts for months, and was also one of their most popular songs.

Not only did Christian shows and stations play "Bring Me Down", it was requested heavily on secular stations as well.

"Bring Me Down" was also featured on the sound track for Mx vs ATV: Unleashed.

Pillar released an EP called Nothing Comes for Free in June 2006.

It featured 3 new songs (including "Everything") and 4 live tracks.

The other two new songs, "Our Escape" and "Dangerous", are not available on their following album, The Reckoning.

The EP was only available at live shows and at their webstore.

A limited number of copies (10,000) were created.

Pillar then recorded their fourth album, The Reckoning, in late 2006.

Travis Wyrick (P.O.D., We as Human, 10 Years, Disciple) produced the new album, as he produced all of their previous albums, and it was released on October 3, 2006.

In support of The Reckoning, Pillar embarked on "The Days of the Reckoning Tour" throughout October and November 2006.

Other Christian bands on the tour included Day of Fire, the Showdown, and Decyfer Down.

The Reckoning received a Grammy Award nomination December 6, 2007 for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album, a first for the band.

Pillar has played at both Cornerstone Festival and Creation Festival.

ESPN used the new Pillar song, "For the Love of the Game," during montages highlighting the 2007 World Series on its program, Baseball Tonight.

For the Love of the Game is the last Pillar record produced by Travis Wyrick.

Pillar helped Eowyn record her album "Silent Screams" with Beckley contributing vocals to the title track and Henson and Estelle also playing on the album.

Pillar toured on the SHOUTfest tour with After Edmund and various other artists from September to November 2007.

It was revealed at Soulfest 2007 that the name of their next album would be For the Love of the Game, which was eventually released on February 26, 2008.

They brought back the Pillar logo from "Where Do We Go from Here" and "Fireproof" for it.

They also had a tour for For the Love of the Game from February to April 2008, with Brooke Barrettsmith, Wavorly, and Building 429.

In the fall of 2008, Pillar embarked on the For The Love of The Fan Tour, which enabled the fans to decide their own ticket price for the show.

Thanks to its success on digital platforms, "Frontline" went on to be certified gold by the RIAA in July 2020.