Campus ministries hosts concert featuring Jervis Campbell
Friday’s concert resulted in an array of mixed emotions. While it began with soulful, singer-songwriter music, it blossomed into an upbeat concert with strobing lights.
Nathan Colberg was the first singer to perform. He’s a small up-and-coming musician from Tennessee. In his song “Isle of Disenchantment,” he seemed to be conveying how the heart feels when it’s been abandoned. There’s this goal in mind of leaving the darkness and setting out for better things; to be able to feel life again and not to dwell on fear.
His other song titled “Roses,” which was released Oct. 19, 2023, had a similar message. This song expressed the inability to find happiness in life, the feeling of living inside a “house of stones.” It was a plea for someone to aid in carrying the weight. Finally, recognition comes — on the other side are roses. That’s the end goal: to get through the hurdles and find the roses.
After Colberg finished his performance and the crowd warmly encouraged him through cheers, Jervis Campbell and his band came on stage. The anticipation of beating drums and peculiar lights excited many of the young people in attendance and excitement brewed. The lights flashed with each changing beat and rhythm, from orange to yellow to green — a relaxing yet entertaining ambiance.
The genre of Jervis Campbell's music seemed to fit a mix of indie folk, gospel and a touch of blues. While Campbell’s nature of singing didn’t follow very strict articulation, he was able to channel his meaning through the delivery of pathos. Similar to Colberg’s music, there was an amount of relatability to his lyrics.
He started the concert off with a song about his youth. In the lyrics he sang the lines “When I was younger, it didn’t matter.” The idea here develops into an overview of how he’s grown older and been faced with hard questions and challenging situations. There’s a quality of reminiscing for those years when life didn't offer such hardships or have to be taken as seriously.
He stated that as a kid he remembers “music was like a prayer.” As he continued his performance, it occurred to me the meaning of that statement. The words he sang contemplated the pure beauty and fullness of God. His desire was to not only to feel the fullness but to be part of the presence of God. Through his music, he told his audience, “Music is prayer, and prayer is love between us and God.”
By the end of their performance, the crowd was singing along and swaying to the atmosphere Campbell had curated in an united worship to the love between us and God.
By Shanti Slater