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This is the first year I have really thought about the word Homecoming. I’m not sure if I just never took the time to think about it, or if this is the first time it has really applied to me. I was introduced to the idea of Homecoming in high school, but that was always confusing because I was already home and nothing about the word “Homecoming” communicated the fact that I would have to get dressed up and go to a dance. Next, we experience Homecoming in college, and at this point, there is only a football game, no dance (thank goodness), and you can tell people are visiting Lynchburg because suddenly it feels like you’re in D.C. rush hour traffic. The word is basic enough – it implies that you are coming home, and now it makes sense, because that is exactly what Lynchburg has been for me: home.

This past May I graduated from Liberty with a major in Advertising and a minor in business, which is kind of amazing considering that I did not anticipate coming here for college. Beyond that, I never would have guessed I would stay. When I started doing CSER with Student Activities my sophomore year, I never would have guessed that I would end up working for Student Activities full time. I also never would have guessed I would be starting grad school. Yet here I am, not just a student at Liberty, but a resident of Lynchburg – I have chosen to stay here. No offense to Lynchburg, but I would have to say the reason I have chosen to make this my home temporarily is not because there is no place I would rather be, but because Lynchburg has been home to the people I want to be with.

That’s the thing about homes: they are nothing without the people. And the thing about college is that it is only a temporary home. So why get attached to the people you know will find a new home once your four years are up? Because the memories and the things you learn from them will stick with you forever. And although you will all find new places with new people that make those places a home for you, it doesn’t change the fact that this was also once your home. That is the great thing about Homecoming: the people come back to the place they once called home. We get to celebrate the place we called home for four years (or five… depending on what kind of friends you have). Homecoming isn’t about celebrating the place that we currently are, but the place that helped form us.

I realize that some of you may not be in my shoes. It may be your freshman year, and you may not have any idea what to expect. You’ll attend your first Homecoming Parade, get dressed up for the football game, and take too many pictures. You’ll meet a cute guy and eat late night food after the game with him and his friends (and probably end up marrying his roommate). But soon it will be your last homecoming as a student. You’ll be experienced, you will have gone to your fair share of football tailgates and parades, and you may even choose to skip the festivities altogether because you’re too good for that now. And one day, you’ll get to be in my position. You will be a graduate, you’ll have earned the right to be called an alumnus, and you’ll feel even more unfamiliar with the construction going on around campus. You will also be able to look back at your freshman pictures from your first college Homecoming and realize the people in the pictures are still standing next to you today.

From here on out, you’ll have many different homes. You may get an apartment where you get your first, “grown-up” job, or your parents’ home may become your home once again while you figure out how the major you chose will provide you with any sort of income. Some places will only be your home for a year, and others may become the place your kids will consider home. While it is sad for me to realize my homes in the future won’t be shared with the same people I have shared my life with for the past few years, it does not change for a second that Liberty University is a place we have all once called home.

At Student Activities, we have a full calendar of fun and unique events for you to get together with your friends, or even to make new friends. From the Homecoming Parade, to our monthly movie nights, concerts, and Coffeehouse, there’s almost always something for everyone. Check everything out on our website here.

So we’re a few weeks into the semester and you might be thinking, “There’s got to be more to do in Lynchburg than going to Wards Road and using all my Flames Cash!” Well, I’m going to take you down the road less traveled and give you some exciting alternatives.

Lynchburg is positioned in such a great area of Virginia. You can go two hours north-east and be in Virginia’s state capital Richmond, or travel about three hours north and visit D.C. Also, Lynchburg is a day’s drive away from the Atlantic coast and the beautiful Appalachian Mountains that separate Virginia and West Virginia.

Even if you want to stay a little closer to Lynchburg, there is so much to do, it may take four years of college to experience it all. Here are just a few places to see that will hopefully pique your interest to explore more.

1. Go hike

• Peaks of Otter: Sharp Top
• McAfee Knob
• Lynchburg Trails

2. Learn outside of the classroom

• Downtown Lynchburg
• Authentic Shakespearean Plays
• Appomattox Court House

3. Eat at restaurants that don’t accept Flames Cash

• For Pizza Lovers
• “Lynchburg Is For Locavores”

4. Do something weird

Let’s be honest. Lynchburg isn’t a big, exciting city like you may be used to. You might have to look a little harder, and maybe do some activities that you aren’t used to, in order to see how much of a treasure Lynchburg and this area of Virginia really is. But trust us: it’s definitely worth it.

If you want us to take you somewhere away from Wards Road, check out our calendar!

On September 26th and 27th I had the opportunity to attend the first annual Landmark Music Festival in Washington D.C. The mission of the music festival was to raise over 750 million dollars for repairs of the monuments and landscaping at the National Mall. The festival featured a smorgasbord of artists including Drake, The Strokes, alt-J, Ben Howard and many others. Despite Landmark being put on for a great cause and the awesome selection of bands that were playing, I was still a little hesitant to make the journey to the nation’s capital. I know what you are probably thinking: “You were hesitant on the opportunity to see Drake perform Hotline Bling live?!” and the answer to that is yes. I was hesitant to go because I was uncomfortable.

I had never been to an actual music festival before, so I had no idea what to expect going into it. All I knew was that there was going to be thousands of people there and many of those people would probably be doing many things that would be considered socially acceptable in the real world but not here at Liberty. I was right, and in that instance, I was fine with being right. A memorable quote from the weekend was “everything that I struggle with is within these walls”. I love that quote because that is one of the main reasons why some people would say why I should not have gone to the music festival, but that quote is one of the main reasons why I went to Landmark. It is easy to uphold your values and beliefs when everybody around you is in agreement and doing the same thing, but as soon as you are all alone in a crowd of people with opposite values and beliefs, that is when you will be tested. I want to be tested because I won’t be at Liberty for the rest of my life and I want to be prepared for the real world. So if I have the opportunity to go to a Drake concert where every other person is drunk or smoking something a little stronger than tobacco, I will take that opportunity for the learning experience, because that is a real life situation I may have to deal with further down the road.

At Student Activities we highly encourage students to engage in culture and we try to incorporate that into every event that we put on. We want you to ask tough questions. We want you to think for yourself. We want you to believe in your values because you have thought through them, not because your Biblical Worldview professor told you what to believe in. We understand that it is easy to stay inside the “Liberty bubble” where it is safe, which is why we try so hard to push the importance of cultural engagement through the events that we provide. There is a fallen world out there that you and I are going into and we need to be prepared for it.

I was uncomfortable at Landmark Music Festival and I loved (almost) every second of it. I saw enough acts of PDA to last a lifetime and there are definitely some images from the festival that I won’t be able to un-see, but honestly, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. It was an eye-opening experience that I was able to take so many lessons from and it is a memory that I will be able to share with my friends for a very long time. So if you are deciding whether or not to do something that you wouldn’t normally do, something that would challenge your beliefs and your values, something that would take you out of your comfort zone, I encourage you to take the advice of the wise Shia Labeouf and “just do it”.

On Saturday, October 3, Student Activities brings you yet another action-packed, Double Feature Movie Night featuring two of this year’s biggest movies: Ant-Man and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

First up will be Ant-Man, #12 on the ever-growing list of movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, and Michael Douglas are your heroes for the night, starring as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Hope Van Dyne, and Hank Pym, respectively. As usual, Paul Rudd’s funny, endearing, everyman acting quality transitions easily to the superhero genre. He plays Scott Lang, a reforming crook who, because of his various “skills” in that regard, gets invited by scientist Hank Pym to become Ant-Man, and gets training and assistance from Hank’s daughter, Hope Van Dyne. His mission: to retrieve the mysterious “Pym particle”, which, like many movies’ mysterious “particles”, has tremendous powers and is being used for corrupt means, this time by a bad, bad man named Darren Cross (played by actor Corey Stoll). Cross becomes “Yellowjacket”, Ant-Man must stop him, and battles ensue. Tiny, tiny battles. As some reviewers have noted, the smaller scale of Ant-Man isn’t just in the size of the hero. As you may have seen in the movie or its previews, since fights take place in ant-size measure, whole cities, or even the whole world, are not at risk of destruction, but the toys in a little girls room are. (It’s tough to choose whose minor role is better in the movie: TI’s, or Thomas the Tank Engine’s.) Beyond the unique action of the movie, there are themes of redemption/second chances as well as commitment and love from father to daughter. Like its protagonist, Ant-Man is fun, a tad unassuming, and just self-deprecating enough, but still manages to pack a big punch.

Second, hang on to your hats, your seats, your wallets, and maybe even the folks next to you, because Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will knock your hat off, knock you out of your seat, steal your wallet, AND sit next to you on both sides without asking. It’s not the only reason to see the movie, but you may already know that Tom Cruise did his own stunts, which included hanging on the side of a giant, military-sized airplane as it took off. The incredible part is, even after hanging onto a real airplane, all of his other stunts are still so impressive. (He had to hold his breath underwater for six minutes.) Another thing you have to like about the J.J. Abrams phase of Mission: Impossible is the increased appearance of Simon Pegg. In fact, the supporting cast of Rogue Nation, especially relative-newcomer Rebecca Ferguson, is exceptional, and certainly one of the reasons the movie has been so well received. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is proof that “spy vs. spy vs. spy vs. spy agency vs. international governing bodies, etc.” is a movie concept that will likely never grow old, at least as long as compelling storylines and unbelievable stunts are the hallmark of such movies.

Be sure to take advantage of our FREE popcorn and inexpensive snacks and drinks. It’s yet another outstanding and action-packed Double Feature Movie Night, brought to you by your friends at Student Activities.

“You will create a second family with them, a kind of tribe that makes you feel less vulnerable. Sometimes our families can’t love us all the time. Sometimes we’re born into families who don’t know how to love us properly. They do as much as they can but the rest is up to our friends. They can love you all the time, without judgment. At least the good ones can.” – Ryan O’Connell, from “The People You Will Fall in Love with In Your 20’s”

My friends at Student Activities are some of the people who embody what Ryan O’Connell says about the friends you make in your 20’s. As a group, they are some of the people I love the most: from the full time staff who work behind the scenes to plan and coordinate every event, to the supervisors who plan alongside the full time staff, to the event staff who will hopefully become some of my lifelong friends.

One of our values at Student Activities is loving others, and I don’t think we’d be able to successfully love the student body without loving each other as a staff first. I believe that we execute quality events because our service to the student body starts with our service to each other. We hear it in staff meetings time and time again – “it starts with the staff”, and I truly believe that my experience at Student Activities has been such an integral part of my college experience because of the relationships I’ve made here.

I think that fostering relationships with each other is what helps us focus on creating relationships through our events, whether it’s at College For a Weekend tables (which are my personal favorite), or Block Party, or Bingo Nights where there are hundreds of 20-something year olds playing bingo. What other college can offer that? I believe that our events are successful because there is a collective group of people planning, promoting, and executing these events week after week. My experience at Student Activities wouldn’t be what it is today without that group of people.

There’s something so special about working 18+ hour shifts and then still wanting to go to IHOP together at 2AM. Who knew that building decorations for Coffeehouse, in the middle of a snowstorm inside a storage cage for hours on end could create friendships? It’s only been two months, but I can confidently say that this is going to be one heck of a year. The way the full time staff always seem to hire the right people boggles my mind. Honestly, there are days where I ask myself “How in the world did I get this job?!” But don’t just take my word for it, check out an event for yourself and stop by our promo table because I promise that no matter who the staff member is you stop and talk to, he or she should be one of the nicest people you’ll meet on campus.

On Thursday, September 24, Student Activities will feature The Drop Box for our Documentary Film Night.

It is increasingly clear that the affirmation of human dignity, at all stages and “quality” of life, from advocates of all religious and political persuasions, is one of the most pressing needs of this age. Questions surrounding the fate of the unborn, the refugee, and the equal treatment of all ethnicities in the eyes of the law have dominated much of the national conversation in recent memory. For its part in this conversation, particularly as it relates to the lives of infants and young children, The Drop Box is an important documentary. It highlights the work of Pastor Jong-rak Lee and his wife at Jusarang Community Church in Seoul, South Korea as they take in abandoned children. The statistics given in the film are that approximately 204 infants were abandoned in the city of Seoul in 2013, and that the number of these children has doubled in the past 2 years. As a result, the work of Pastor Lee, his wife, and his church, is essential.

The issue of “quality of life” is evident from the earliest moments of this film, as a number of the children taken in by Pastor Lee have various physical and mental disabilities. Considering the abortion rate of babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome both nationally and globally, this aspect of the film is perhaps the source of its greatest glory. Jung Ja Yang, Director of Korea Family Legal Service Center, is quoted in the film saying, “Even the mothers or parents who are capable of raising babies, if the child is disabled, they abandon them.” As much as this film highlights the work of Pastor Lee and those affiliated with his church, the foundation of this ministry, and perhaps the “hero” of this story, is Pastor Lee’s son Eun-Man. Born with major physical disabilities, Eun-Man became the reason Pastor Lee began his work, giving him the experience and perspective to be able to take on the burden of caring for the disabled. (The section of the film featuring Eun-Man, from minute 50 of the film until approximately 59:22 is extraordinarily powerful and full of beauty. We encourage you to pay particular attention to it.)

The film deals with tensions between societal norms and pressures, especially those put on young mothers who get pregnant out of wedlock. It addresses the legal issues surrounding childbirth in South Korea, such as the Korean requirement for births to be registered by the mother in order to keep accurate records, as well as issues surrounding adoption. But most of all, it deals with the care of children who may otherwise be abandoned anywhere at any time. “Abandoned”, “unwanted”, “discarded”: these are terms used to describe children. The contrast of this is the constant image of workers caring physically for these children: holding hands, feeding, putting on clothes, bathing, hugging. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me”; Pastor Lee, his wife, and his workers are the hands of Jesus.

In describing his early life, Pastor Lee says, “I was brought up with love.” Appropriately, Jusarang, the name of his church, means “God’s Love”. The Drop Box is a film of life, presenting a vivid picture of what the tangible display of God’s love looks like in the world, giving grace to the broken and unlovely, and offering hope to all, even the abandoned and unwanted.

It’s almost that time of year: Fall is nearly here. The leaves are changing, the cool breeze is blowing in, and everything is getting “pumpkin-ed”. The heat from the summer is starting to fade away and you can’t help but hear the outdoors bid for your attention. The beautiful fall foliage and smoke rising from a campfire seem to blend so pleasantly with these September and October weekends and are a perfect backdrop for your outdoor excursion.

I’m always one to encourage exploration, but I encourage it even more this time of year. Does this mean, though, that you should just run out there into nature and explore, completely unprepared? No. So don’t you think more people should ask me something like, “Mike, what it is in your pack on a typical weekend excursion and what should I bring with me?” Yes, they should. But no one has ever asked me that, so that’s exactly what I am going to share with you this week. As I head out on these fall weekends with many other outdoor enthusiasts, there are a few items that I will be taking with me.

Pack – My current weekend pack is the Kestrel 32. I love this thing! For me, it’s the perfect size for 1-3 days out. It offers great support via the sturdy hip belt, and has an integrated rain cover for those surprise showers.

Tent – I’ve never been more pleased with a tent as I am with the Kelty Trail Ridge series. These tents are great, and it is nice to see them in the inventory at Camp Hydaway (wink, wink…available to rent). The 2-man is lightweight enough to strap to my pack, and large enough for me and a friend. These tents are easy to set up, yet sturdy and mobile.  This is my favorite home away from home.

Boots – I’m currently wearing my Oboz Sawtooths. I like a lightweight, sturdy, but sneaker-ish boot, and these couldn’t be better for me. However, the right hiking boots really are conditional upon what your foot shape is and how you walk. I always recommend going to a local store to try on different pairs or even talking to a pro about different options.

Clothes – I basically have 2 articles of clothing that I can’t live without when I’m out.  I have a synthetic Patagonia zip-neck that works great in all seasons. It breathes when it’s hot, and as the cool evening rolls in, I simply add another layer and this baby keeps the heat right near to my body. This type of middleweight layer is ideal for fall camping.  I also love the Prahna Bronson shorts. I live in these things!  They are made with a tough and sturdy canvas fabric that also stretches in all the right places for optimum comfort.

Other Cool Stuff – I have had my Gerber Instant knife for a few years now. It’s with me almost every day and is always ready to lend a hand. Few items are as helpful when you’re outdoors as a trusted knife in your back pocket.

• A sturdy flashlight will be just as helpful in a pinch. There’s a lot of debate out there on what flashlight to buy. I’m a huge proponent of not spending a lot of money on one. Just get one that is reliable and bright. Some people can spend $60-$100 on a flashlight. I think that’s crazy! I’ve had my Coleman from Walmart for 2 years now and I love it.
• It’s also great to have a back-up headlamp just in case. Inevitably, someone will forget a flashlight on your trip. So, I always act the hero and carry two. The same rule for flashlights applies to headlamps – DON’T OVERSPEND!

Student Activities just got back from our overnight beach trip to Virginia Beach and we have a few more excursions left on the calendar. That means you have a few more opportunities to utilize this pack list. Be sure to check out our upcoming fall break trip. But, more importantly, just get outside! Step out of your comfort zone this fall and go camping with some friends.

Have fun, stay safe, and engage the world around you!

On Friday, September 18, 2015, Student Activities will host the All the Earth Is Holy Ground Tour featuring Tenth Avenue North, with special guests Sidewalk Prophets and Dan Bremnes.

Tenth Avenue North has become one of the defining bands of Contemporary Christian Music. We hesitate to call them the defining band as long as artists like Casting Crowns, MercyMe, and Third Day are still around. But the thing Tenth Ave. has going for them is that they have Mike Donahey and those other bands do not. True, a band is not all about the lead singer, but seeing just one concert with Tenth Ave. demonstrates why they have risen to the top of the Christian music charts. Dynamic, magnetic, endearing, adorable: take your pick of terms to describe Mike Donehey. We got to see this on display first hand during the K-LOVE Fan Awards in Nashville this past May. Mike performed his expected duties during Tenth Ave.’s show performance, but in some ways he stole the rest of the show during the “Not So Newlywed Game”, a “how well do you know your significant other?”, Q&A segment featuring Kirk Cameron, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Steven Curtis Chapman, and their spouses. Sporting a gaudy sweater and Guy Smiley-level cheese, Mike took a short bit for the show and stole the stage from the show’s (supposedly) biggest stars. Few lead singers possess the quality to transfer from lead singer to game show host. For Mike Donehey, it speaks to a lightheartedness and fun quality about him, but also reveals the talent it takes to have the vocal quality and on-stage persona to pull something like that off.

As for Tenth Avenue North’s music and stage performance, that lightheartedness and fun shines bright. They are qualities that you can feel in every melody in almost every song, sometimes, perhaps, to a fault. For example, such positivity in melody and song crafting makes the ideas of their 2010 album The Light Meets the Dark a bit heavy on the “light”, and pretty light on the “dark”. This does not take away from the band’s heart in addressing life issues, however. It is clear on tracks like “The Struggle” and “Cathedrals” that there is hope and grace for us despite our weakness, and that resonates with Tenth Ave.’s listeners as much as anything else about the band.

Despite this, no one can fault Tenth Avenue North for writing catchy songs. The videos for just two of them, “Worn” and “You Are More”, have been viewed on YouTube over 10 million times. And you can certainly hear their improvement in quality and polish on Cathedrals, especially on dynamic and honest tracks like “For Those Who Can’t Speak” and “Forgive Me”. Plus, as it is with many, excellent bands, their live show has propelled them to fan-favorite status, as evidenced by their numerous Dove and K-LOVE Fan Awards nominations.

That live show will be here in the Vines Center on Friday with another K-LOVE fan favorite, Sidewalk Prophets, and up-and-coming artist Dan Bremnes. The show gets started at 8 PM, and tickets are available by clicking on the Tickets tab on our website here. It’s sure to be a good time at the All the Earth Is Holy Ground Tour featuring Tenth Avenue North, brought to you by Student Activities.

Our Outdoor Movie Night selections for Friday, September 11 are this year’s mega-ultra-Indominus-Rex of a blockbuster, Jurassic World, and a real dog lover’s treat of a movie, Max.

First up will be Jurassic World, which sits third on the list of highest grossing movies of all time, behind only Titanic and Avatar. Surprised? If so, perhaps you have underestimated the power of nostalgia. But man, over a billion and half dollars is a lot of nostalgia. How many movies, though, give fans the warm memories of Jurassic Park? Maybe the most surprising thing is that it took 14 years for a reboot/sequel. Jurassic World is very much in line with the original movie, but, as other reviewers have pointed out, it is basically a repackaging of the original with a couple, bigger dinosaurs. So it’s kind of like going back to a theme park you haven’t been to in a long time and everything is the same except one, big rollercoaster. Could it have been better? Sure. We agree with reviewer Sean Larsen, who said that Jurassic World had an opportunity to make a bigger statement about, well, something. But even if it’s a theme park with one, big rollercoaster, it’s still worth it for that one, big rollercoaster. We also agree with reviewer Matthew Toomey, who said that “Jurassic World is worth seeing for the pure spectacle.” The effects are everything you want in a popcorn blockbuster, Chris Pratt is always awesome, and if nothing else, we get a Godzilla-like reminder that there are limits to scientific pursuits and to what humans can and can’t control.

Second, you’ll get Max, a family-friendly, but very perilous, tug on your heartstrings. It’s basically a story about a boy and his dog, so for all of you dog lovers planning to attend, you’ll probably want to bring at least a travel pack of tissues. Max is a Belgian Malinois, a shepherd breed, used often in police and, as is the case in this movie, military service. A family tragedy leaves Justin, played by actor Josh Wiggins, as the only person who can care for Max. This eventually leads to various difficulty and danger, including kids getting tangled up with weapons-smugglers in their small town. Is it corny? Yeah, probably. And it is true that the critical reviews for the movie are not great. But they are basically opposite of the user reviews, and for a movie like this, you’ll get exactly the kinds touching moments you expect from a story about kids and their dogs. But to go a bit deeper, actress Lauren Graham (who plays Pamela in the movie) says, Max is ultimately about “tough things that happen to families, and then, how do you put the pieces back together.”

It’s a gorgeous night for an Outdoor Movie Night. It’s fun and it’s free, thanks to your friends at Student Activities.

On Tuesday night, Student Activities hosted Dustin Kensrue and The Rocketboys in concert at the LaHaye Event Space.

One of things we love most about Dustin Kensrue’s music is the appropriateness of his voice for both the style and thematic elements of his songs. Of course, much of that is natural ability, but this is not just an observation that Dustin has a great voice for rock music. No, it is appropriate in the sense that despite his grit and growl, his vocal quality moves effortlessly between tracks regardless of tone or topic. Anyone who was in the building last night heard this on full display throughout the nearly 90 minute, 20 song setlist.

But before Dustin started, fans were treated to a terrific set by The Rocketboys, their sound reminiscent of groups like Band of Horses, some of the more atmospheric moments of Kings of Leon, and the rockier moments of Coldplay. The highlight (for me, at least) was the soaring track “Carry Me”. Everyone was treated to their version of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, which closed the show. The Rocketboys then served as Dustin’s band for just under half of the concert and were nearly flawless in their accompaniment. “I love these guys,” said Dustin between tracks, and their fit together made the feeling seem mutual.

Dustin sang 9 of the 10 songs on his excellent, new album Carry the Fire, opening the show with the first two tracks on the album, “Ruby” and “Back to Back”. Fans were also treated to most of his first album Please Come Home. He made it clear during the solo, acoustic portion of his set that songs from his worship album The Water & The Blood would not be part of the show (though he did perform the absolutely crushing track It’s Not Enough from that album). From the earliest moments, the power, depth of emotion, and ease with which Dustin sings was evident, perfectly demonstrated on lighter-hearted tracks like “Pistol” and heavy-hearted tracks like “There’s Something Dark Inside of Me”.

Much of Carry the Fire deals with darkness, a theme that appears throughout his other work as well – darkness as evil, whether within us or in the world around us, or, as he pointed out in the commentary to the track “In the Darkness”, as that which is unknown. There is a requisite familiarity with such things, one that comes from honest introspection, that allows someone to sing about them and sound like they’re telling the truth. Dustin accomplishes this on his studio albums, but hearing it in person made it an enrapturing experience. “You are all very respectful,” Dustin whispered into the mic in a quiet moment between songs. Though the crowd was a bit quiet, lack of noise shouldn’t be confused for disinterest. It was more like intent focus, even reverence. Which would you rather have: too much “WOO!”-ing, or none at all? For Dustin’s show, quiet worked just fine.

Dustin covered three songs as well (four, if you count “A Song for Milly Michaelson” by Thrice), each of them with themes that fit perfectly with much of what he sings about in his own music. He explained that he likes to choose pop songs that, if you can peel away the fabrication and façade, actually have a lot to say about love, relationships, and truth, and then proceeded with Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball”. Somehow, Dustin made a song so easy to hate completely easy to love. His performance of Lorde’s “Buzzcut Season” was possibly the highlight of my night, as Dustin singing her words, “Nothing’s wrong when nothing’s true”, added a new dimension to an already excellent song. But the defining moment of the night came from the last song of the night, a cover of a Tom Wait’s song called “Down There By the Train”. “This song gets the gospel better than 95% of the songs that play on Christian radio,” Dustin said calmly. Read the lyrics. Listen to the song. It is hard to argue with what he said. Dustin sang much about difficulty, fear, and sin throughout the night, but he ended the show with grace.

Dustin Kensrue makes excellent music, he crafts lasting stories with hymn-like poetry and themes that touch on the deepest parts of life. But most of all, he tells the truth. Every one of his songs is worthy of consideration and exploration. Hearing him perform some of those songs live in concert last night was nothing short of outstanding.