This Sunday, I had the tremendous honor to attend a concert that was going to be featuring both christian singer, Steven Curtis Chapman, and christian band, Third Day.
To say this concert was good would be an understatement - this concert was take your breath away, sing along until you can't breathe, laugh until your stomach hurts, feel all your stresses be released to the sweet sound of Steven Curtis Chapman jamming on his guitar or clap along to Mac Powell singing kind of good.
When you first think of a concert with two main acts and no opening acts, you get a bit confused. How is that going to work? Are the two acts going to fight for dominance of the show? Will they just be taking turns on the stage? Not exactly...
Before we get into the logistics of the concert, let's look at who the two players are here:
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman began his career in songwriting and performing in the late 1980's and he is, arguably, one of the epic and prolific artists of the contemporary christian genre. Chapman has released over 20 albums (which is an amazing thing in itself since most artists are lucky to release maybe 5 or 6 albums), has won five Grammy Awards, and 58 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. (that's more than anyone else) He also has 10 RIAA-certified gold or platinum albums. But, this definitely has not gone to his head. SCC is a family man, he is a huge voice for adoption - he has adopted three children all from China. But, though his career has been so amazing, he has experienced heart loss and pain. In May of 2008, Steven lost one of his adopted daughters, Maria, in a driveway accident just a few weeks after her fifth birthday. But, that hasn't stopped him. Steven Curtis Chapman is still singing, and at concerts will pay memory to his girl and talks about how he can't wait to dance with her again while performing his song "Cinderella." He has also written a handful of books, you can easily find on Amazon. Steven is recognized for his big hits like "The Great Adventure," "Lord of the Dance," and my personal favorite, "Dive."
Third Day
Third Day is a christian rock band formed by Mac Powell, Mark Lee, and former member Billy Wilkins in the 1990's. They got their name from the story of Jesus rising from the dead on the third day. Currently, the members of the band are: Mac Powell - vocals, Mark Lee - electric guitar, David Carr - drums, Scotty Wilbanks - keyboard, Tim Gibson - bass guitar, and Trevor Morgan - mandolin, banjo, guitar, and backing vocals. The band was inducted into the George Music Hall of fame in 2009, they have 1 American Music Award, 4 Grammy Awards, 24 Gospel Music Awards, 10 Billboard Magazine Best of the 2000s. Some of their biggest hits of have been "Soul on Fire," "Cry Out to Jesus," and "Revelation."
At the concert, these two acts shared the stage beautifully. They sang each others songs with each other, but also gave each other space. It was so fun to see both Steven Curtis Chapman and Mac Powell jamming and dancing around to Live Out Loud, Dive, Soul on Fire, This Is the Great Adventure, Revelation, and so many others. It was also nice to see Third Day give Steven the stage when he talked about his daughter Maria and sang Cinderella. After they jammed again, they grabbed peoples phones and GoPros and brought them on stage to record them close up, they had a backdrop and signed guitars to pose with, they had everything. These two men have formed a friendship and there is no doubt for anyone in the room how well they work together. The concert was one that could change a life and I love every second of it.
