I knew this was going to be a good concert when Will said he planned to debut a couple of songs he had never even shared with me before. Not saying that I’m like super special or anything, but I do get to hear most of his songs throughout the writing phase just because that’s the nature of living in a studio apartment. So anyways, good things were in store.
Ethan, Will’s younger brother, was our host for this show, and we spent the afternoon setting up for the show in the activities center for the apartment complex he lives at. Will’s mom graciously provided dinner for concert staff and before we knew it, friends and guests were arriving and the room was lively with conversation.
The concert kicked off with a good friend of ours, Andrew Cruise, sharing a couple originals and a cover, and setting the tone for the evening with both humor and depth.
Will then took it from there and shared several favorites from The Young Band repertoire, as well as new ones he’d written. I always love hearing him play solo because there’s a heart that, as the writer of all of our songs, only he can convey. It’s a beautiful thing to watch, and even though I love playing alongside him, I found such joy in actually getting to be a part of the audience for the night.
After the intermission, our friend Jason Barrows took the stage at the last minute (which was awesome—we were hoping he would!) For as long as we’ve been friends with Jason, it was actually the first time Will or I had ever seen him perform his own music live and it was so neat and redemptive to see his vulnerability in doing that.
The hope of this show was to embody the title “Blood Brothers.” One of the stories Will shared is that the whole idea that blood runs thicker than water is not because of the blood relation to your DNA family, but because of the blood oath that unites non-blood individuals. In that same line of thought is the desire to bring others who don’t have a family into the closeness of what family in Christ actually means. It’s a blood oath of sorts and it is a bond that is so so much stronger than any familial bond could ever hold.
If you missed this show, you missed a good one. But don’t worry–it’s not the last of it’s kind. Make sure you follow us on the socials so you can be the first to know when the next one is. 🙂
-joy, for the band
