By Denton Josey, Page Editor
Caedmon’s Call, Dove Award-winning Christian band, will perform Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Elmer Gray Stadium as part of the band’s Emancipation Tour, marking the fourth time the band has played at ACU.
Jennifer Ellison, Centennial activities coordinator, said in an e-mail Caedmon’s Call was invited to play because the band appeals to students, faculty and staff.
“We wanted to end our Centennial year with a bang, so having a fireworks show seemed like a great way to accomplish that,” Ellison said. “It just made sense to have a concert before the fireworks and do the whole celebration outdoors.”
The concert is being promoted as a laid back atmosphere where people can bring lawn chairs, blankets and coolers and sit on the grass in front of the stage if they want, Ellison said.
“It’s going to be a great concert with a spectacular finale,” she said. “Who would want to miss fireworks?” Ellison said. “It’s going to be a fun atmosphere.”
Caedmon’s Call formed in 1993 while the early members were in college in Houston. The band has garnered numerous No. 1 spots on the Christian music charts, including several Dove Awards, a prestigious Christian music award.
Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Cliff Young said the band is comprised of musicians who are Christians.
“We never had a plan to be in this Christian music industry,” Young said. “We’re musicians. Our priorities are in our relationships with Christ, glorifying him with our gift.”
Young said in the beginning of the band’s career its audience was college students, but now their audience has grown up with them; however, Young said the group hasn’t grown up that much.
“We act more like college kids more than married people with kids,” he said.
The Emancipation Tour, the name referring to the band’s work with the Dalit people in India, will aim to spread awareness about the oppression in parts of Asia.
“With this tour, they are trying to get awareness out about India and the oppression there,” said Cassie Buell, assistant manager for the band’s management company.
Playing at many Christian colleges around the United States, Young said he has seen schools that seem to be teaching students to separate themselves from the rest of the world, and he does not agree with such teaching.
“The goal of Christianity is the exact opposite,” he said. “It is to go into the world and make a difference, be a light.”
Recognizing they are the band’s primary audience, Young explains the band is marketed to Christians because that is who is going to buy their music. The band tries to write about things that are going on in their lives, and those things appeal to Christians.
“We’re professional autobiographers,” he said. “We write where we are. Sometimes people relate, sometimes they take it as if we are talking to them.”
Caedmon’s Call has been rehearsing five older songs they haven’t performed in two or three years for Saturday’s concert, Young said.
Young said the next Caedmon’s Call CD will be recorded in Calcutta, India, in January. “I’m there whether there’s music or not,” Young said. “We would give both of our hands and vocal cords to see a revival among the Dalit in India.”
Free tickets were given away in the Campus Center, but for those that missed the opportunity, tickets can still be purchased for $8 for students, $10 for non-students and $5 for children 10 and under.
Tickets can be purchased in the Alumni Relations Office, online at www.acu.edu/birthday or at the Elmer Gray box office after 6 p.m. Saturday.
