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Preview: For King & Country

March 31, 2017

Student Activities is proud to present for KING & COUNTRY with special guest Meredith Andrews in concert! Join us on Saturday, April 8 in the Vines Center for what will likely be the largest number of drums you will see on a stage that doesn’t have Rush on it. Doors will open at 7:30 PM and tickets are on sale now and priced as follows:

  • Students – $12 in advance
  • Public – $15 in advance
  • Door price – $18 for everyone

Just go to our website, click the “Tickets” tab, and choose the ticket that is right for you.

For King & Country have rocketed to the top of the Christian music scene in just 5 short years. No wonder, though, since their style blend is what you would get if you brewed Delirious? in an Awolnation filter and poured it into a Bastille mug. At least that is how we see it. The way American Songwriter sees it, fK&C is “Australia’s answer to Coldplay”*, an obvious comparison since both bands have a sound built for big spaces and radio replay. But you can hear just about any of those bands in their music, or just about any of their major influences: U2, One Republic, Goo Goo Dolls, and sometimes even Mute Math.** With such arena-rock sensibility, it should be no surprise to learn that in 2016, they played more shows (150), sold more records (600,000), and had more song streams (150 million!) than ever before.***

However, it is easy to see that fK&C have gravity far beyond their style, a depth far beneath the big production and polished sound that define them. Two songs illustrate this perfectly: “Light It Up” and “Without You”. “Light It Up” came directly from a close friend’s battle with debilitating depression*. Though it came from a place of individual difficulty, the song has generic encouragement value, an important characteristic since it addresses an issue that affects so many. Beyond this, their repeated lyric “It could be a beautiful morning” expresses optimism without claiming to be “the answer”; this, in light of the rest of the song, allows the listener time and space to toil and struggle through but with a forward-looking, hopeful eye. “Without You”, as Luke Smallbone tearfully addresses at the start of the song’s video****, is deeply personal for him. Health issues a few years ago became a matter of life and death, and this song, which he sings with his wife, Courtney, address the hardest questions anyone can ask: What if I do not get better? What if these are the last moments I have with the people I love most? This is the depth that draws fans to for King & Country and that will give them longevity more than any trend or style ever could.

 

Resources

* https://americansongwriter.com/2011/11/live-at-american-songwriter-ken-will-morton-for-king-and-country-jack-tempchin-garland-jeffreys/

** https://americansongwriter.com/2012/02/writer-of-the-week-for-king-country/

*** http://forkingandcountry.com/bio

**** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_zcjxDdZ1s