By Wil Comstock
Music City Arts Contributing Writer
Wednesday, March 29, 6-7:45
p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley -- An inspirational set with Brandon Heath, Bernie
Herms, Ryan Stevenson, and Mike Donehey with special guests Danny Gokey and Emily Weisband
Host Brandon Heath started off the evening with a song inspired by
Mother Teresa, who said she always liked to be the first to open the door
because she knew it would be “Jesus in Disguise." This is Heath’s new
single.
Canadian keyboardist, producer
and songwriter Bernie Herms was up next. This Dove Award winner explained that he was
not blessed with a good voice, so he asked Danny
Gorkey to come and sing for him. Gorkey
was an American Idol third-place finalist on season eight
and was once signed to RCA Nashville for
a short-lived career in country music. Herms and co-writers Randy Phillips and Mathew
West heard a story about a heart surgeon who operated on a woman. During
surgery, the body is hooked up to a machine that pumps the blood for the
patient. After the surgeon repaired the
heart, he couldn’t get it to start again.
He leaned over and spoke into the woman’s ear, “Your heart is fixed... You
need to tell it to start up again,” and immediately the woman’s heart started
beating. Gokey’s powerful vocals sent chills up my spine on “Tell Your Heart to
Beat Again."
Northwestern
native Ryan Stevenson told us he
went to the same church all his life.
That church split recently over gossip that wasn’t even true. The Lord spoke to Ryan about the power of our
words. This led him to the beginnings of
a song he shared with TobyMac. Toby
asked if he could finish the song with him. The result was “Speak Life,” which
Toby recorded and brought to #1 along with a Grammy nomination!
Mike Donehey, front man for the band Tenth Avenue North, spoke
of how the Church is quick to relieve us of our guilt but also quick to burden
us with concerns about our Christian legacy and winning lost souls. The
truth is God is not dependent on us, but he does want to use us. Mike wooed us
with the tender “Somehow You Want Me."
Brandon
joked that his next song was not written by the textbook because it had no
chorus. But that didn’t stop “I’m Not
Who I Was” from becoming his first number one!
Herms
wrote the next number with Mike Hall, a youth pastor. They were talking about a girl in Mike’s
youth group who had cancer and had died.
The kids in his group had a hard time reconciling that their prayers
were not answered the way they expected. “I Will Praise You in the Storm” was
Mike and Bernie’s response to their questions.
Gokey filled in for Mike Hall, who was sick and couldn’t make it, on the
vocals, having rehearsed only once backstage an hour before the show. What an uplifting song!
Ryan
followed with a plea from his heart to God on the beautiful “Between Me and
You”. Mike followed with the thought
provoking “Worn” inspired by his wife who was worn out by staying up with their
new baby. Next Brandon introduced his
phenomenal backup guitarist Adam Lester, who played with Peter Frampton. Adam
sang background on Brandon’s upcoming radio friendly single “Whole Heart”. What a great hook.
Bernie
Herms asked Emily Weisband to come
to the stage to sing the Hillary Scott song “Thy Will." It was written by Herms, Weisband and Scott
after Scott had a miscarriage. Emily’s contemplative vocal was the perfect
match.
Ryan
had worked as a paramedic for nine years having a front row seat to tragedy and
loss. He put those experiences into his stirring next song “In the Eye of the
Storm”. Mike told us that he and co-writer
Jeff Owens wrote this song for Jeff’s 32-year-old sister-in-law, who was
diagnosed with stage four cancer. Several
months later, she asked to be there when the song was recorded. While the song was being recorded, she
received a text from Vanderbilt that her cancer was in remission.
Herms
brought Danny Gokey and Emily Weisband back to
harmonize on “Chasing”. I love the lyric:
“I’ve been chasing dreams and you’ve been chasing me."
Brandon closed the set with
his song of surrender “Give Me Your Eyes” as we all sang on the chorus. This set of songs encouraged me and reminded
me of who I am… Thanks guys!
Tin Pan South continues
through April 1. See the show schedule at http://www.TinPanSouth.com/Schedule
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