Recently I attended Anberlin's concert at Calvin College. Going into the Concert I was a little leery about having it in the FAC. Sometimes the environment can hamper the experience of a concert and personally I'd rather be close to the band with a little more room. Luckily they lowered the pit providing a nice open area in front of the stage. The turnout was excellent for the concert. I'm pretty sure it was sold out, and for a good reason. Anberlin did not let anyone down. I'm not a huge fan of theirs but I was impressed by the show they displayed.
Before the concert I got a chance to go to a discussion panel with the members of Anberlin. Students got a chance to interview and ask the band questions without all the media nonsense. One of the questions/topics that stood out the most to me was when one student asked why they decided to identify with the mainstream market instead of the Christian. They responded that they want to be viewed as a band of Christians not just a Christian band. They are working in the mainstream music scene to bring the hope of Christ. They don't directly profess to Christianity in their songs, but there is still evidence of their faith in the lyrics. This is a band participating in tours like the warped tour, bringing music with hope to a scene surrounded by music and people who are angry and or crying out for more. Anberlin is most definitely a band working in the Empire for the Kingdom of God.
If Anberlin were to work the Christian music market they could make a good living. The Christian music market has a lot of profit in it. Instead of pursuing the money of the Christian market the band is pursuing footholds in the empire by going mainstream. This approach is no easy one and profits aren't always the best. One member said they've done shows where at the end of the night the band was paid three hundred dollars in profit. That's not much once it gets divided up. This is evidence that this band has their priorities in line. Its not all about making it big and getting rich. They have a much higher goal in mind.
Anberlin is doing a great thing in a time when people are crying out the most. The way they hold and display themselves is very intentional. They have definitely earned my respect. Given a chance I will be seeing them again.
Of course, there are all kinds of other issues at play here that you could have explored, too. How do things like image consciousness, musical conformity and artists as commodities come into play with Anberlin? I don't know the band well, but these kinds of questions are always abundant for Christians artists and it would be interesting to see how they approach them.
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