The Concert Season is Over

For many, summer brings festivals and concerts from their favorite artists. But for me, the concert season ends tonight. For the past nine months I have had season tickets to concerts by my kids. Between private piano lessons, school concerts, jazz band, solo festivals and community band, my kids have showcased their musical talents.

I am so grateful that the musical gene has been passed to the kiddos. It is fun to watch them get excited about different music styles and instruments, and to watch their eyes light up when they see a musician who does exceptionally well. It is also fun to watch them hone their musical chops, improving their technique, and fine tuning their craft.

So this year’s concert season is over. And I only have three months to sew the buttons back on all my shirts before the next season begins.

Invisible Children

I just spent a couple of hours with some of the youth from our church who were showing a movie regarding the Invisible Children of Uganda. This is a documentary showing the suffering and plight of children who run from their rural homes to the cities to escape the atrocities of being abducted and forced into slavery, raped, turned into soldiers, or even worse, killed.

It seems impossible for me to express the impact this had on me, so I invite you to look at the InvisibleChildren.com website.

The documentary was very moving and made me wonder what I could do. I’m just one man and these kids are on the other side of the earth. Can I really make a difference?

And then I watch my daughter and her friends as they work to raise awareness of this African tragedy. Tonight they are recreating the 5-mile walk many of these kids take each day and night to go to school and then back to the safety of hospitals and other public places. They will sleep at the local hospital and then walk 5 miles back to school tomorrow morning.

These kids are putting action to their beliefs that we should do something. And while it may seem insignificant, they are jumping into action with the resources they have. So when did I become complacent and think that I couldn’t make a difference any longer? I fear I am making myself invisible out of ignorance and lack of action.

This... is American Idol

As I watched tonight’s American Idol, I was like a giddy school kid to hear that Scott Krippayne was co-writer of the winning song in the new songwriter competition portion of the show. It has been fun over the past couple of years to see Christian music show up on this popular reality show. Season 4 had Nadia Turner sing “The Power of Love” by Ashley Cleveland. This year Chris Sligh sang dc Talk’s “Wanna Be Loved.” And who can miss 3rd place finisher Melinda Doolittle who has done some impressive backing vocals on albums by Charlie Peacock and others.

I am glad that music made by Christians AND Christian music is finding its way into the mainstream. There are so many components to why this is happening (society’s spiritual hunger, disgust with inappropriate lyrics, and quality production in recent years in the CCM industry to name a few.) But regardless of the reasons, I’m thankful that people in the high profile entertainment industry are staying true to God’s command to be salt and light to our world.

Benny's Back!

When I was a much younger lad, and before I knew what an audiophile was, I really enjoyed the music of Benny Hester. Not only did he have a great sound, he wrote songs that really affected me during various times of my life. “Nobody Knows Me Like You,” was important during the break-up of a relationship. “When God Ran” helped during a difficult time in college. I even got to promote a concert with Benny when I was first starting my concert promotion business.Benny took a break for a while and worked in TV. From 1993 to 1996 he was a Music Producer and Songwriter for the Nickelodeon show Roundhouse (which incidentally starred an up-and-coming Crystal Lewis.)I’m happy to report that after a nearly 17 year break, Benny is working on a new record. Check out his new songs on his web site.