The Christian Music Industry: The Grrs and the Greats

Holly: Just in case you didn't get any recent memos, we're pretty into music.  Or, more specifically, Christian music. Duh. I think we first sort of really got into it after attending ICHTHUS for the first time. Kelly will mention it later, but if you don't know what that is, you should educate yourself: it's glorified worshipful insanity at its absolute best. Since getting out on our own, we've also had the great fortune of attending quite a few Christian concerts, and I've noticed several very positive attributes and trends towards them. First off, the ticket prices are very affordable. Example 1: we attended a K-LOVE sponsored Christmas concert (where yours truly finally got to meet the one and only Jeremy Camp, a long sought-after dream of mine since about the tender age of 14), and it was $28 for him and three other artists.  It cost us $25 to see Matt Maher and I Am They last week, and it was $10 for Winter Jam last month.  We saw for KING & COUNTRY in Winchester on the 4th and it didn't cost us a penny!! DID I STUTTER? Plus, everyone else who performed at the Christmas concert stayed afterwards to talk to fans. Which brings me to my next point: Every single concert we've attended, someone has stayed afterwards. Did you hear that? Every. Single. Concert. It's awesome! Do you really see that anywhere else? I'm willing to bet not.

He was really nice, and he gave me a hug :) 

We found out (while attending Winter Jam, actually), that the Eagles were going to be in Lexington in July. We thought it'd be a fun surprise for our folks, so we looked up tickets.  Imagine our surprise when we found it was going to cost us, for the worst possible seats, a pretty $185!!! Say. What?! Actually, while writing this, we checked prices again: anywhere from $188- $426. You have GOT to be kidding me! And with the experiences and moments we've had at our shows...you can't put a price on those, especially to the tune of three flipping figures!

Kelly: I generally find the Christian music industry very appealing. We have been blessed to have attended several concerts over the years which have been super amazing! Case and point, ICHTHUS. If you don't know what that is, you should definitely get into that; it's a weekend of music, speakers and camping! It will change your life. However, it's frustrating when I'm listening to the radio driving to work and I hear one song then turn it back on driving home and hear the exact same song again. One time I was driving to and from Richmond in a span of about 4 hours in between being in and out of the car and I heard one song three times. Really? Is that how it works? Yet I remember hearing a few songs that I only heard once or twice and was like "hey, what happened to that song?" I'm the first to admit that I have no idea how radio stations pick their music, but perhaps maybe a little bit of variety every now and then would be nice. Most of the time I find myself getting bored with the same selections that I hear over and over and over.

I've also found that I'm not alone in my thoughts of this as well. To be fair though, that's why I have a lot of my own saved on Spotify, Pandora or my iPod. Yet sometimes I even find my selections a bit redundant. On the flip side, there is some AWESOME Christian music out there!!!! I find myself sometimes when I'm listening to a certain song, it just gets me at the right time and I just find myself totally immersed in the presence of God. I just have to stop whatever I'm doing and just worship. Still I have songs I hear that give me goosebumps. There's so much power in that, and I can't describe it any other way. And that's all I have to say about that. I love Jesus music, but I think it's important to remember to love Him before the music.

The first time we met Joel :)