Shane, Wickham, Dillon in Austin = Worship & Fun!
Talk about refreshing! I love leading worship and have done it for many years now, but I always enjoy getting to just be in the crowd and not be responsible for organizing, playing, leading, etc. Last night I got the chance and it was awesome! Shane Barnard is a guy who had a huge influence on my earlier playing style and I still use some of the percussive techniques I learned during that period. More than playing style, though, is the guy’s heart. I’ve gotten to hang with him (and jam with him) a couple of times over the years and I also know people who have close contact with him. My experiences and theirs vouch for the fact that this guy really believes what he says and sings. This authenticity always comes through in his music and last night was no exception. It was genuine and worshipful and God’s presence was moving through that place in a unique way. I am thankful that I got to encounter Him that way. I have definitely been challenged in a spiritual and musical way that I hope you will see come through at Origins in coming weeks.
EDIT (adding something I just remembered and wanted to talk about): One of the greatest parts of last night was seeing and hearing a multitude of people worshiping through song. There was a large diversity of people both in age/demographic and in style of worship. The most memorable part for me was a guy sitting in front of us who was so old he could barely stand on his own. He had to get help from the people around him just to stand up, but the guy was determined to be on his feet to worship. You could tell that while he knew it was perfectly acceptable to sit down, he wasn’t satisfied with that option. At one point he put all his weight and support on his cane with his right hand so he could lift his left arm high in the air, complete with his old-man top hat in-hand! Seriously, the dude was like 90+ with a cane and at a Shane Barnard and Phil Wickham concert worshiping his heart out…not the typical concert-goer in my experience. If I live that old (which I hope I don’t), I hope that is me…rockin at a concert and putting every bit of energy I have into worshiping!
Along with Shane was, well, the other Shane since the band name is Shane and Shane, but also there was Phil Wickham who played right before the Shanes and Bethany Dillon who opened the show. I had never heard Bethany before, but she was quite good, though a tad awkward from the stage. And she married Shane, so I assume she’s got solid beliefs…and it might explain where she picked up some of the on-stage awkwardness. Phil is the guy who wrote that Cannons song that we sing pretty often and he’s got a few on that first album that I want to introduce at Origins soon. The sampling we got last night from his new album seemed pretty good, but I haven’t listened to the whole thing yet. I have been listening to Shane and Shane’s new album a bunch lately and really enjoy it.
Anyway, if you haven’t checked out any of these artists, you really should. All three have brand new albums and are definitely worth buying.
Click the images below to preview and/or buy the album on iTunes.
