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There’s always that moment of anticipation before an artist/band steps on stage – that long moment after the background music goes silent and the lights dim and everyone in the room quickly realizes what is about to happen. Soon, what they have only listened to will be seen, and what they will see they will feel.

I have experienced many of these moments in my life, but none of them felt as long as the moment before I saw Stevie Nicks. As the lights dimmed in the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on March 19, 2017, I knew that the singer from Fleetwood Mac was about to step on the stage. For the first time in my life, I would see an artist that felt like home to me.

Stevie’s music has guided me in so many ways throughout my life. Of course, my parents are the reason I have a love for Stevie and Fleetwood Mac and even Buckingham-Nicks, the duo in which Stevie began her career. As a teen, I remember hearing the lines ““Thunder only happens when it’s rainin’ / Players only love you when they’re playin’” from the song “Dreams” and realizing that I was really, truly in love with music and the feeling it exudes. As my sister turned 15 and danced on a stage with my dad at her quinceañera, I listened to Stevie ask herself if she could “sail through the changin’ ocean tides?” and “Can I handle the seasons of my life?” from “Landslide” and I asked myself the same questions.

Stevie Nicks, singer/songwriter extraordinaire, is turning 69 this year on May 26, but she dances across a stage as though she’s 25. Her feet are as light and airy as her beloved and iconic fringe shawl that hugs her shoulders. She is a fairy, a youthful soul, a “gold dust woman”. Her steps are much lighter than her writing is – she’s spent the past 50 years writing about love, lust, pain, tragedy and everything in between.

When an artist’s words have a profound impact on you from a young age, that artist becomes familiar to you, like an old friend. And sometimes, you have a moment with that artist that, unbeknownst to them, changes you. Watching Stevie dance around the stage was that moment for me – it’s the moment we all wait for when we see an artist we love. It’s the reason why we anticipate an artist coming on stage; we expect the artist to give us an experience we haven’t encountered before. Thanks to Stevie, I had that experience on March 19, 2017.

The next Student Activities Double Feature Movie Night is boldly going where no Double Feature Movie Night has gone before, and that is really saying something since it doesn’t even involve Star Trek. Just tap into your sense of adventure, maybe unearth a willingness to get damp pants and/or grass stains, and then come to the Dorm 28 fields on Saturday, April 29. If you can do that, staring at a screen for five hours should be a piece of cake. This is what you will stare at:

• Passengers – starting at 9 PM
• Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – starting approx. 11:10 PM

Without digging too deep, you may get the impression that the point of Passengers (released December 21, 2016), at least for the first act or so, is to show everyone Chris Pratt’s butt. Dig a little deeper and you realize Passengers is really about a condition all of humanity may have to confront someday: space loneliness, which, as the movie reveals, is very similar to regular loneliness. This precipitates the natural question any viewer of this movie should ask: If faced with a similar situation as Pratt’s character Jim Preston, would you, or could you, do what he does? Is he a drowning man, as Gus Mancuso (Laurence Fishburne) suggests, or a murderer as Aurora Lane (Jennifer Lawrence) insists?  Beyond this, the movie presents a clear picture of the limits of technology to meet human needs; it offers no lasting, meaningful substitute for human interaction, and in the case of the passengers aboard Starship Avalon, may not be able to offer the safety or protection it espouses. As for the romance of the story, you can judge for yourself whether the movie does an effective job making the case for Aurora and Jim to live happily ever after. Overall, Passengers is just fine, and it should make for some exciting viewing (hopefully) under the stars.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (released December 16, 2016) shows exactly why fans are looking forward to every release in this third phase of the Star Wars franchise. From the moment the classic Star Wars text crawl does not move up the screen, Rogue One sets itself apart from the existing set of movies while still managing to feel like it belongs in the establish movie canon. The visuals and cinematography feel more stately, perhaps less cartoonish, than the other movies, certainly one of the distinguishing touches of newcomer to the series, director Gareth Edwards (who directed the most recent Godzilla movie in 2014). Specifically, there are several scenes that accomplish this in casting the looming shadow of the empire: the presence of star destroyers, whether hovering over Jedha or slowly emerging from the darkness of the Death Star, or the massive presence of Darth Vader in scenes on Mustafar and in pursuit of the Death Star plans aboard the Rebel flagship. This is in contrast to the one word that drives the Rebellion, heard several times throughout the movie, most notably from CGI Princess Leia at its conclusion: hope. Felicity Jones is outstanding as Jyn Erso and K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk) is a perfect addition to the already great list of Star Wars robots.

Just so you know, Passengers is rated PG-13 for “sexuality, nudity, and action/peril”, the “sexuality” and “nudity” of which we will “tone down”. Rogue One, for some reason, is also rated PG-13, but for “extended sequences of sci-fi violence and action”. Maybe there should be something more like PG-10 or PG-11 for movies like Rogue One.

This event is FREE to attend and we will have FREE popcorn and cheap snacks and drinks available. You see how serious we are about this with the all-caps. If you have any questions, email us: studentactivities@liberty.edu.

Try as we might, Student Activities cannot possibly prepare you for Oh, Sleeper on Friday, April 21 starting at 7:30 PM in the LaHaye Event Space. Oh, Sleeper will be joined by The Death In Me and BoughtXBlood, and all three are ready to rock the roof off Green Hall and potentially make working out that night just a little more intense. Your other option is to just stick your ear against the wall in Green Hall Chick Fil A, or do the right thing and buy tickets, which are on sale now like this:

• All tickets are general admission, and this show is standing room only.
• Are you a student? Your tickets are $12 in advance, $17 at the door.
• Are you a general public person? Your tickets are $17 in advance, $22 at the door.

Look, if you do not already like metalcore and/or Oh, Sleeper, we are not going to be able to convince most of you. You probably have a strong opinion one way or the other already; when we ask students what music they like/dislike, the two most contentious styles are “screamo” and “country”, eliciting the strongest love/hate reactions of any genre. Therefore, we expect that any favorable arguments for shrieking metal will fall on deaf ears either because your mind is already made up or because your eardrums have disintegrated. But we think it is possible that some undecided person out there has an open mind enough to try something new, and Oh, Sleeper is as good a place to start as you can find. Taking their name from Ephesians 5:14*, they are an explosion of guitars and drums that are relentless to the point of actually waking the dead. Existing Oh, Sleeper fans should be excited because you are guaranteed to hear new music from their upcoming album Bloodied//Unbowed, which, as Oh, Sleeper Zac said in a recent Facebook post*, has “100% chance of double bass.” As the post also says, they decided to make a full-length album instead of releasing another EP, which is usually preferable. Incidentally, that EP, The Titan (2013), is a great place to start if you are new to Oh, Sleeper, as it is just five songs that give shape to the direction the Shane Blay, Micah Kinard, and Zach Mayfield are heading as a band. One thing is certain: their concert here on April 21 will have no shortage of heavy, heavy, heavy metal, as we are excited to include Lynchburg natives BoughtXBlood and regional artists The Death In Me as well. So hey, undecided guy or girl out there, just open your mind to the possibility of having Oh, Sleeper melt your face off. You may like it more than you think.

Resources

*https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+5%3A14&version=ESV

**https://www.facebook.com/ohsleeper/posts/10153822159938771

Student Activities is excited to bring you one of the most inspiring Documentary Film Nights we have ever had as we present the award winning film Life, Animated. Join us on Tuesday, April 18 in the LaHaye Event Space starting at 7 PM for one of this year’s Academy Award nominees for Best Documentary as well as a nominee or winner of awards at 19 film festivals around the world.

Life, Animated is the story of Owen Suskind, a young man who at age three experiences a dramatic decrease in his ability to speak and is eventually diagnosed with autism. To his family’s surprise, Owen rediscovers his voice through his memory and love of Disney movies, identifying deeply with particular characters in many all-time classics including The Lion King, Peter Pan, and especially The Little Mermaid. Even if the film were a straightforward telling of his story, it would be outstanding. However, Academy Award winning director Roger Ross Williams adds a beautiful dimension to Owen’s story by weaving animated segments of Owen’s personal life into the film footage, including a unique animation of one of Owen’s own stories. The juxtaposition of Owen’s life and the brief clips of classic Disney movies is one of the most striking aspects of the film. Almost everyone can think of a deeply affecting story, even to the point of describing it as “magical”, and Disney’s massive appeal likely makes it the most endearing storyteller of the past century. However, the viewer in this film gets a glimpse of seeing that magic through another person’s eyes. You see joy and wonder, fear and sadness, anger and despair; whether you have seen the death of Bambi’s mother or the crowd’s mockery of the Hunchback of Notre Dame a hundred times in your life, viewing those same moments from Owen’s perspective is like seeing them in some ways for the first time. Placing Disney moments alongside the animations of Owen’s life not only adds gorgeous visual depth to the film, it is also one of the most touching gestures the filmmakers could pay to him. It adds a soul-stirring depth of kindness, especially considering the importance animation plays in Owen’s growth and development.

The concept of the sidekick is an important aspect of Life, Animated. Owen’s father recognizes that many of Owen’s drawings of Disney characters are of the supporting cast rather than the protagonists. This layer of the story not only creates such a beautiful and natural irony, but it enhances all of the central themes of the film – familial love and support, persevering through difficulty, and most importantly, issues of identity and significance. In one of the most important moments of the film, Owen’s mother relays a question to one of his therapists that the family has asked among themselves: “So who decides what a meaningful life is?”* This is not only the central question of the movie but to each of our lives as well. Life, Animated is the imaging of this question. It honestly depicts the challenges of autism and what it truly means to bear with one another’s burdens. It is a picture of grace and a powerful reminder of the Christian’s essential fight for human dignity.

FYI – Life, Animated is rated PG for “thematic elements” and “language” that includes “a suggestive reference.”

This event is free to attend and as usual we will have FREE popcorn and cheap snacks and drinks available. Questions? Check our FAQ page to find answers. If that doesn’t help, send us a nice email: studentactivities@liberty.edu.

* This question occurs at approximately 33:20 of the film.

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

Kurt Cobain would have been 50 years old on February 20 this year. His impact on music is nearly impossible to ignore over twenty years after his death. However, as fondly as we might remember his birthday, such remembrance is short lived since the anniversary of his death is just a little over a month later on April 8, his impact forever balanced with the tragic circumstances of his last days. He is simultaneously exemplar and cautionary tale, with many obvious takeaways from his story, both positive and negative. But beyond the obvious, there are two elements that I think are worth our reflection. Both concern this quote:

“I’m a spokesman for myself,” he says. “It just so happens that there’s a bunch of people that are concerned with what I have to say. I find that frightening at times because I’m just as confused as most people. I don’t have the answers for anything. I don’t want to be a ******* spokesperson.”*

By 1992, Nirvana had reached Rolling Stone magazine darling status, and their cover story featured a lengthy interview with Kurt that deals mainly with their rise to fame and the struggles that came with it. His response above is both illuminating and damning for a culture that so often idolizes its artists. Most artists have the courage to say, “I don’t have the answers for anything,” which means that most of us looking at an artist’s art should be okay with unanswered questions. As C.S. Lewis said in his excellent work An Experiment in Criticism, our appreciation of a work begins with surrender: “We sit down before the picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it.” The more we look to an artist’s work to confirm or deny our beliefs, the greater the risk we run of misusing that work.

Secondly, he says explicitly, “I don’t want to be a spokesperson.” Christians are knocked for this all the time (see Shai Lynn’s recent post concerning Chance the Rapper as a perfect example), but the response to Kurt Cobain’s life and death demonstrate that this is a problem common to everyone. Whether spokesperson or savior, elevating an artist to this point is not only unwarranted (in this case by his own request), it is ultimately devaluing to the art and dehumanizing to the artist. We have all encountered art that affects us deeply, even to the point of feeling as though that work speaks for us. But as Kurt Cobain shows, this may well be a coincidence, or at the very least an unintended consequence. The more we look to an artist to represent us, the greater the risk we run of abusing that person.

Kurt Cobain’s legacy is ultimately a tragic one, but his daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, summarized it best**:

“My dad was exceptionally ambitious. But he had a lot thrown on him, exceeding his ambition. He wanted his band to be successful. But he didn’t want to be the ******* voice of a generation.”

His life, work, and death should push us to treat both art and artist with hospitality and respect.

Sources:

* http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-inside-the-heart-and-mind-of-kurt-cobain-19920416

** http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/frances-bean-life-after-kurt-cobain-death-exclusive-interview-2015040

Student Activities invites you to join us for the Every Square Inch Conference on Theology and Culture, an event we are co-sponsoring with the Center for Apologetics & Cultural Engagement. The event features James K.A. Smith, Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College, in two different settings:

• Wednesday, March 29 – Coffee, discussion, and a book signing, 1:30-2:30 PM in Liberty’s Barnes & Noble Bookstore
• Thursday, March 30 – A lecture on his latest book, You Are What You Love, 7 PM in the new Center for Music and the Worship Arts Concert Hall

The conference events are free, but you must have ticket to participate. You can pick up tickets in three locations:

• Religion Hall room 101
• The Student Activities Office in Green Hall room 2900
• The Student Activities Office in Montview Student Union room 2760

If you have not done so already, we encourage you to pick up a copy of any of Dr. Smith’s books in preparation for this event. For an excellent preview of the lecture, no one can do it better than Dr. Smith himself can. He recorded ten short videos that preview You Are What You Love itself, including a brief summary of how it relates to his previous books. You can sample them here.

With Coffeehouse just a few more days away, you know exactly what that means – another 2000s artist highlight. Last but certainly not least, our 7^th and final 2000s icon being highlighted “ain’t no other (wo)man but”… Christina Aguilera!

In 1999, Christina Aguilera released her self-titled first album, which sold more than 8 million copies and produced her first hits, “Genie in a Bottle” and “What a Girl Wants”. Since then, she has gone on to release 8 more albums*, featuring many of her top singles, including “Beautiful”, “Candyman”, “Hurt”, “Ain’t No Other Man”, “Fighter”, and “Pero Me Acuerdo de Tí”.

Similar to the other icons we’ve profiled so far, Christina had a deep passion for music from childhood. Her talent was discovered early when she “wowed audiences” on the program Star Search at just nine years of age. Her real rise to fame began around the same time as two other 2000s icons, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. All three were cast members on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club that aired in the early 1990s. This eventually led to the opportunity to record the song “Reflection” for Walt Disney’s Mulan just a year before her debut album was released.**

Aguilera’s talent is obvious and she has proven that throughout her life. She won Grammys for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best New Artist, Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Latin Best Pop Vocal Album, on top of her many other awards***. She was also the halftime performer at the Super Bowl in 2000 and has adorned just about every fashion and entertainment magazine in existence****. She made the list of Greatest Singers of All Time and Most Influential People in the World, she has been recognized as one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and is commonly referred to as “The Voice of a Generation”*****. Christina Aguilera is an undeniable icon of the 2000s and the final artist highlight before Coffeehouse: The 2000s. Get excited! It’s finally (almost) here!

Resources:

*https://www.discogs.com/artist/77855-Christina-Aguilera

**http://www.biography.com/people/christina-aguilera-9542394#commercial-success

***http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/christina-mara-aguilera-1055.php

****http://www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/christina-aguilera

*****http://www.uselessdaily.com/world/christina-aguilera-trivia-40-interesting-facts-about-the-singer/

Student Activities invites you to a real ground-rule-double of a Movie Night as we present Field of Dreams on Saturday, April 1. The movie will be in The Liberty Baseball Stadium starting at approx. 7:30 PM, or, right after the baseball team demolishes Bethune-Cookman for the second straight game on their way to a series sweep GO FLAMES.

Field of Dreams (released April 21, 1989) is not a baseball movie, at least not in the same way that, say, The Natural or For the Love of the Game, also starring Kevin Costner, is. Sure, Field of Dreams has baseball in it, and baseball is definitely a sport. Yet, in 2008, when the American Film Institute completed top 10 lists of various genres*, Field of Dreams was #6 on the list of greatest fantasy movies of all time, but did not appear on the list of top 10 sports movies. Their assessment is accurate. Sports movies tend to feature the drama of sport: extended action sequences of a game and a win or lose moment on the field that defines a player or team. Field of Dreams does not really have either of those elements, at least not in a way that is essential to Ray Kinsella, the protagonist played by Costner. Adapted from the book Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, the movie does feature “Shoeless Joe” Jackson and other members of the infamous “Black Sox” team who threw the 1919 World Series and subsequently were banned from baseball for life. “Shoeless Joe”, played by Ray Liotta, appears first from the cornfield, the initial answer to the mystery surrounding the famous line, “If you build it, he will come.” The rest of the movie is about Ray Kinsella pursuing the mysterious voice, deciphering that quote as well as two others: “Ease his pain” and “Go the distance.” His pursuit takes him to Boston where he meets famous author Terence Mann, portrayed by James Earl Jones, and then to Chisolm, Minnesota, to find former player “Moonlight” Graham, portrayed by Burt Lancaster. In every encounter, baseball is the constant, the foundation to the action, but hardly ever the prominent feature of on-screen action.

That is why Field of Dreams is not really about baseball, but the idea of baseball. It is the pre-steroid era, nostalgic, “as American as baseball and apple pie” idyll of baseball. Comments made by Liotta’s Joe Jackson and the famous speech given by Jones’ Terence Mann exemplify this. “Shoeless Joe” says that he would have played for food money, or even nothing, as he recalls the sights and sounds of the game. Later, while Ray’s brother-in-law threatens him with the loss of his farm, the voice of James Earl Jones provides the counterpoint: “People will come, Ray…as innocent as children, longing for the past.” It is a movie about faith, and even though, as Roger Ebert said in his 1989 review**, “the religion is baseball,” Ray’s out-in-left-field faith would not work without the trust and support of his wife Annie, played by Amy Madigan. It is a movie about fathers and sons, exemplified in the end by the relationship between Ray and his father and embodied in “Moonlight” Graham’s words: “We just don’t recognize life’s most significant moments while they’re happening. Back then I thought, ‘Well, there’ll be other days.’ I didn’t realize that that was the only day.”*** Ultimately, Field of Dreams is a movie about missed opportunities and second chances, putting the ghosts of the past to rest not by resisting or escaping them, but by engaging and embracing them, no matter how risky or difficult it may seem.

Just to “cover our bases”, Field of Dreams is rated PG for “some language and thematic elements”.

This event is free to attend and as usual we will have FREE popcorn and cheap snacks and drinks available. Questions? Check our FAQ page to find answers. If that doesn’t help, send us a nice email: studentactivities@liberty.edu.

Resources

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI%27s_10_Top_10

** http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/field-of-dreams-1989

***http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/quotes

Student Activities is excited to present An Evening with Ellie Holcomb on Friday, March 31 starting at 8 PM. Join us in the LaHaye Event Space as Ellie performs with special guest (and veteran of Student Activities concert events) Nicole Miller.

Tickets are on sale now on our website and are priced as follows:

• Students – $12 in advance
• Public – $17 in advance
• Door price – $23 for everyone

When you visit our website, just click the “Tickets” tab and select the type of ticket that is best for you.

Ellie Holcomb’s star has been steadily rising since the debut of her Magnolia EP in 2011. Of course, fans of Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors have heard her since their formation in the mid-2000s. However, her feature tracks such as “The Wine We Drink” (from Good Light) or “Magnolia” (from A Million Miles Away) have always begged for her to go solo. Her vocals are light and pretty, recalling Leigh Nash at times, elsewhere reminiscent of Metric’s Emily Haines, and occasionally approaching the sacred CCM ground of early Amy Grant. However, singers with nice vocals are a dime a dozen these days, which is why Ellie sets herself apart as an outstanding songwriter. To put it in that very Christian way of describing art, her songs are not just excellent “worship,” they are excellent songs that happen to have a very worshipful tone. It is no wonder, then, that she received the Dove award in 2014 for New Artist of the Year.

We are looking forward to hearing her latest effort, Red Sea Road, performed live. She describes it as her declaration of God’s faithfulness, a faithfulness she says both “surprised” and “delighted” her*. It is a faithfulness, she explained, experienced through her father’s cancer diagnosis prior to the recording of the album, and is most certainly the source of the deep and weighty lyrics throughout the album. She further describes it as “sing(ing) the truth into the dark”, and songs such as the title track are her declaration of the truth that God is near regardless of circumstances. Another theme throughout the album is that of worth, the reality that one’s value is nowhere but in Christ, having no basis in performance or other human measures, a message heard especially on “You Are Loved” and “Wonderfully Made”. The highest praise we can give to her work is that it is Psalm-like in the quality and content of the lyrics. It is a patient work, allowing for four and five minute tracks such as “You Love Me Best” and “Man of Sorrows”, as though allowing the truth to speak as it heals and mends each struggle she presents. Red Sea Road, like much of Ellie’s other music, is a beautiful, truth-saturated work, and we cannot wait to welcome her in concert on March 31.

Resources

*https://www.ellieholcomb.com/news/2016/11/8/about-ellie