Stars Go Dim

Stars Go Dim originated in 2007 when three members of the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Christian rock outfit Pillar launched the endeavor as a side project. During sessions for Pillar’s fifth album, bassist Michael Wittig and drummer Lester Estelle II started developing material outside that group, eventually bringing in touring guitarist Joey Avalos along with local vocalist Chris Cleveland to complete the initial roster. Wittig, Estelle, and Avalos departed Pillar the year after formation, allowing Stars Go Dim to issue their first studio recording—an eponymous EP—in October of that same year. Remaining anchored in Tulsa, the musicians kept composing and followed up in 2009 with the full-length Love Gone Mad. In subsequent years the original configuration gradually dissolved, shifting Stars Go Dim into a primary outlet for frontman Chris Cleveland. He released Between Here and Now in 2011 and shortly thereafter secured a contract with CCM imprint Fervent Records, prompting a 2015 band relaunch via the self-titled label debut. Following the standalone 2016 holiday track “How Glorious the Love of Heaven,” the project stayed largely inactive until 2018, when Cleveland unveiled the singles “Heaven on Earth,” “Pieces,” and “I Look to You”—the last of which included Christian hip-hop duo Social Club Misfits—before compiling them on the 2019 album Better.