Oct 5, 2008
Art Music Justice Tour
This week I had the privilege of attending the Art*Music*Justice Tour, a concert event featuring Derek Webb, Sara Groves, Charlie Peacock, Sandra McCracken, and Brandon Heath.
The vision of the tour is to alert Christians to some of the justice issues going on worldwide, like slavery, poverty, human trafficking, etc. Their hope is for Christians to respond in loving, prayerful action to relieve some of the suffering worldwide, and be part of God’s story around the world.
The music was awesome and the documentary clips were compelling without being manipulative (which was something I was a little nervous about beforehand). My soul was stirred to consider how our family should fit into God’s larger story.
We’ve been pretty locked up with our pain this year, losing a child. And though that’s what God has brought into our life to live with right now, in this season, I had to wonder, what more does he want from us?
Some highlights of the concert for me:
- Watching husband and wife singing and playing together (Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken).
- Hearing Sara Groves. I had never listened to her music before, and she was simply wonderful.
- Sandra McCracken. I have liked her music for so many years, and it was so wonderful to hear her live. Though she has her own sound, of course, think of a Christian Patty Griffin if you need a comparison. I love folk music.
- Being drawn into the stories and experiences presented in the videos they shared.
- Getting to hang out on the tour bus afterward with Sandra McCracken! Yes, that’s right! My dear friend Jenna has been friends with Sandra since childhood, so was able to get us tickets to the show and get us into said tour bus after the show. So fun! We had a blast.
If this tour is coming through your town, I highly recommend it.
Awesome!!! I am jealous. I have always liked Sara Groves’s and Brandon Heath’s music.
Where was this concert and how did I miss it?! I love ALL of those artists. Sounds like a great time.
That sounds so good. I am a huge Sara Groves fan!
I am now officially SO SAD that I didn’t go. It was on my calendar, but it just didn’t happen for us. Sara Groves’ music has been so very very meaningful to me. Molly, you might enjoy the song “Less Like Scars.” Have you heard it yet?
I would love to go see this…. it’s coming to Charleston, SC, in a few weeks, but it’s on a Sunday night, and it’s about a 90-minute drive. Too late for work the next morning :(
I heard Sara Groves for the first time at Christmas, and now I have all of her CDs. I struggled with depression for a long time, and she wrote a song called “It Might Be Hope” for a friend who was struggling the same way. I wept when she played the song, because it just described my struggle so well. From what I know about your last year, it might be meaningful to you – you should listen to it!
Great summary. Go, people, go! Look it up to see if it’s coming to your city. If it wasn’t for Facebook, I wouldn’t have even known it was coming to town!
Molly, I have lots of Sara Groves music to loan you (as does Andie, I think!).
Our church just took a group to see this yesterday just 15 minutes away from us, but it was promoted as a young adult event (and I guess we’re not that young anymore), so we didn’t pay enough attention to the announcement as we should have. It sounds wonderful.
We will have to look up more about it and try to help.
Thanks for posting this information.
Thanks for posting about this, Molly! I am trying to round up a group of friends to go to the concert when it’s here in Dallas later this month. I’ve not heard much of Sandra McCracken’s music but am really looking forward to the concert because Derek Webb is one of my favorites!
We just went with a group of our friends this weekend! It was an amazing concert…I loved it when they all played together.
S. Groves has been a big part of my and two dear friends’ life when we all became moms at the same time and found her music. She has brought us through moves, miscarriages, leukemia and (collectively) 12 children! I highly recommend the Conversations CD to start with…esp. Painting Pictures of Egypt. And “He’s Always Been Faithful” is our family’s Family Song.
LOVE Sara Groves–absolutely love her. And love Sandra McCracken, too–I’ll have to look out for this tour.
Sara Groves is awesome. Justin McCabe first introduced me to her many years ago. She is great in concert. A few weeks ago I noticed this tour was coming near. It sounds enjoyable.
“We’ve been pretty locked up with our pain this year, losing a child. And though that’s what God has brought into our life to live with right now, in this season, I had to wonder, what more does he want from us?”
This is exactly what I have been thinking this past week. I have just been surviving, my head down against the storm, doing what I had to do to get through it. I have been too lax, too self-focussed….it’s time to open my eyes to what needs done.
The concert sounds wonderful…..what a treat!
I went last weekend when they were in Springfield, MO (Sara’s hometown :). It was just exquisite. What an experience.
And I LOVE Derek & Sandra — I’m a little jealous of you for sure! :)
I just went last night out here in Massachusetts. It definitely wasn’t your typically concert…I was really blessed by the music and the focus of the evening. I’ve been spending most of my day still processing everything that they talked about. It was really great!
OHHH!!!! SO fun! BTW-Molly, you look so pretty!
Molly,
My wife Amanda and I go to the North Campus. We read your and Abraham’s blogs from time to time. After reading this post I thought I would turn you guys on to Noisetrade.com. You can get “fair trade” music there. They give it away (you give them 5 e-mail address of your friends) or buy it for the price you name. The album from the Art Music Justice Tour is there as well as a couple other Sandra McCracken albums. Free is always good. Keep writing.
Andy
How did I not know about this?! Sandra Mccracken is one of my favorite singers! But I’m glad you had a good time!
I’m way down here in Australia and unlikely to see this tour, but there was a time when I played SG’s “Add to the Beauty” non-stop. I particularly love the song “Why It Matters” – and she has another song called “What I Thought I Wanted”, which I think is great. Anyway, sounds like a fun night!
What one were you at, Molly?? Rob and I went to the one (only one in MN, I thought?) in Edina last Tuesday. Dang, if you were there we totally should have hooked up! I agree that it was an amazing concert… I wrote about it on my blog too. :) And yeah, I loved seeing Derek and Sandra sing together. I leaned over and told Rob, “in heaven, we’re gonna do that!”
Hey Molly ~ This is totally random, and doesn’t have anything to do with this post. My family and friends happen to be great fans of your father-in-law. One of my friends posted an impersonation of him on YouTube. It’s FABULOUS and really funny. I thought you and your husband might get a kick out of it. Let me know what you think. I’ve embedded it on my own blog. I thought it might be entertaining during some of those late night feedings. :o)
[...] was treated by my dear friend Jenna (lovingly known for her quirky online alterego, jennapants) to a concert by Sara Groves, Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, and others to highlight some ministries doing work [...]
[...] very excited about this particular giveaway. I first heard Sara Groves at a concert I went to back in 2008, right in the early days of fighting through depression and PTSD after losing [...]