One of our most special concerts was the time we spent recently with Audrey Assad. It's not often that we can get someone from Arizona to come and play our house for a house concert, but that's just what happened on January 14th. Audrey, a New Jersey to Florida to Phoenix transplant, brought her beautiful piano and voice to our home for a night of worship with songs that aren't necessarily what you think --- that is, they aren't about religious topics all the time but rest more in the mundane ordinariness of life. According to Audrey, that too is worship.
What I think many of us appreciated about the evening was the ease with which Audrey shared her life with us, both the challenges of growing up, dealing with family issues, love, and faith. She developed an easy rapport with the audience, finishing with a spirited sing-a-long on "Restless" with a nice segue into "Come Thou Fount, a beautiful end to an amazing night. I hope we can always hear Audrey in house concerts, but I have a feeling that her growing number of fans may make that difficult!
When I first heard Assad's debut record, The House You're Building, I wasn't going to give it much time. I thought it was just another pop Christian album, cut from the same mold as countless others. I was surprised to find it lyrically rich, full of literary influences, and musically diverse. I've met musicians who rarely read books. This artist is a voracious reader. Surely good must come of that. And it does.
In a recent article in Relevant Magazine, the writer relates how Assad is "chronologically working her way through the books of C.S. Lewis, losing herself in his philosophies and phrasing in hopes they'll naturally resurface when she approaches her own art." She's informing her perspective by reading a great thinker and writer. This well is indeed deep. And at the young age of 27, she already has a maturity that will only grow as she reads and wrestles with life's challenges with faith
And that's what I hope for in a house concert: depth. A rich evening of thoughtful music. Worship in the broadest sense. Being informed by an artist's perspective. And then talking with and enjoying being with each other.
So, if you came for the concert, thank you for being a part of a special evening and making our house a place of joy. I told a friend after the concert that when everyone leaves and everything is cleaned up and back to normal, it's like the last day of camp, a little sad, as in "Where did everyone go?" So, I'm inviting you back for the next one. . . as soon as I figure that out. And even if you haven't heard of the artist, come anyway. I promise you'll enjoy yourself.
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