David Crowder shows his style

Colton Dixon’s song ‘Scars’ encouraged, while Crowder’s mix included new twists on traditional hymns

Concertgoers lined up outside the Vines Center hours in advance Friday, Sept. 27, to see David Crowder and Colton Dixon perform.

One student waited outside for four hours prior to the concert.

“I was the first person here,” sophomore Jay Jung said.

According to Jung and a church group from Saunton, Va., good seats were reason enough to wait for so many hours.

Some took advantage of the time by socializing, while others looked forward to the concert itself, making a 45-minute wait for front row seats worth it.

“I’m excited to experience the presence of God so close,” Kierra Fields, a College for a Weekend visitor, said.

An excited scream announced the opening of the doors at 7 p.m.

By the time Colton Dixon took the stage, dozens of students were already pressed against the stage, ready for the night to begin.

Dixon opened with “Noise,” immediately engaging the crowd with a song that made the Vines Center shake.

Midway through his performance, Dixon took on a more serious attitude as he dedicated his song, “Scars.” He told the audience about fans sending in personal stories of their tests and struggles and how the one word he read over and over was “scars.”

“Crowder’s new sound is definitely different,” freshman Greg Tuckerman said. “It’s a good change. It fits, and you can’t go wrong with the classics.”

Dixon reminded the crowd that “nothing is too big or too hard that God cannot handle it and that “scars” reminds us why we believe what we believe.”

By the final song, Dixon had the audience back on their feet, jumping to the music.

The contagious energy continued with Crowder appearing in an orange glow of light and kicking his performance off with “Let Me Feel You Shine.”

After warming up the audience, Crowder launched into some of his best-known songs, including “O Praise Him (All This for a King)” and his version of John Mark McMillan’s “How He Loves.” The crowd easily caught onto the lyrics and blended their voices with his.

In addition to the songs fans have come to know over the years, Crowder played traditional hymns like “Amazing Grace” and “Come Thou Fount,” but with a twist that showed off his bluegrass style.

After taking a couple minutes to introduce the band members, Crowder preceded his next song with a dedication. The band played “You Are My Sunshine,” dedicating it to all the people who were not able to be at the concert that night, with Crowder noting that “it may sound happy, but this is one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard.”

For the final song of the night, they broke into what Crowder called an old-fashioned hoedown, bringing the Vines Center to life with the 1948 Hank Williams, Sr. song, “I Saw the Light.”

Crowder concluded the show with a prayer to “thank God for a night like tonight.”