The Gray Havens Are Coming to Our House!

Exciting news:

Dave & Licia Radford, aka The Gray Havens are going to do a "house show" concert at our home on May 26th at 7pm.

Heather and I first heard of this singer/songwriter couple in January when they gave away their first EP album, Where Eyes Don't Go, online.

We made the mistake of downloading it, because now we can't turn it off!

Their music is creative and fresh, and the lyrics are, too. Dave explained some of the philosophy behind their songs on this very informative interview at challies.com:

The album is sort of a concept album in that everything centers around one central idea, a song. The first track, “Where it Goes,” is an account of creation, fall, and redemption from “History’s” perspective. The song’s subject matter is a “song” which is meant to represent the fabric of reality that God spoke into existence at the founding of creation. This theme continues in “Silver,” the second track, which is inspired by a conversation between C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkein before Lewis was converted. “Lies breathed through silver” was the description Lewis gave to the myths that he and Tolkein both shared a passion for. Tolkein, however, argued that Christianity was the true myth, and therefore distinguishable from myths crafted with “silver.” Therefore, the song is an attempt to capture this kind of imagery that depicts some who grow up with “silver” songs but begin to hear echoes of songs that are of a different nature. They sail off in search of the song’s origin to find that it melts everything silver, which gives them eyes to see the song’s inherent truth. The third track, “Gray Flowers,” stands alone as a gospel narrative story about a town that does not allow “grays.” Grays is really grace. The officials represent the Pharisees. The woman represents the church. The man represents Jesus. You’ll just have to listen to it. The “song” theme is re-introduced in “Train Station” through a more redemptive lens. It depicts a series of well-polished trains and conductors who promise a way of escape and deliverance from the train station for a certain fee. However, one conductor operates a train that is free to any who might accept a ticket from him. The “song” makes its final appearance in “Music From a Garden,” a combination of Genesis 1 and a chapter from The Magician’s Nephew entitled “The Fight at the Lamppost” from Lewis’s Narnia series. It’s about how the song (God’s original design) was so much more full and real at creation, but now can only be heard as an echo until Christ returns.

Interestingly, Dave was also once a contestant on American Idol.

We're looking forward to having them in our home, sharing their stories in Sunday School (9am), having them sing in church on Sunday morning (10am), and doing a house show at our place in Lanse (7pm). We're asking for $10/person suggested donation at the door.

Learn more about The Gray Havens on their website.