Shaun Groves CD Release Party

I wasn’t familiar with Shaun Groves or his music until I came across his blog called “SCHLOG” the other night while researching Tennessee Bloggers to include on our Tennessee Bloggers website.

By the way, after last night’s Shaun Groves concert at The People’s Church here in Franklin, I ran home to put up this post. And just to make sure I was spelling his name right, I Googled it.

Check out this rather obscure suggestion that Google gave me!…

Fortunately, I know that Shaun has a great sense of humor!

So I’m sure he’d get a chuckle from this as well.

As an example of his charm and character, and overall sense of humor, this post about his neighborhood cul de sac comes to mind. I dunno, I just like how he’s “real”…

Anyway, back to last night’s concert…

 

Shaun Groves “White Flag” CD Release

So here I’ve listed his blog as one of the “Best in Tennessee”, only to find a couple days later as Jim and I are walking through the little shoppes in downtown Franklin, Shaun’s picture on a flyer taped to the wall.

It said: Shaun Groves concert-slash-CD-release-party / at the People’s Church / this Tuesday at 7 p.m.

I wanted to learn more about the man and his music, so we went.

(We were the ones up front who kept sending off all the flash bulbs with our megga-zoom lensed camera. To the lady directly in front of me… sorry.)

 

The Highlights…

This guy is one heck of a comedian and a storyteller!

I’d love to sit and chat with him some night down on the cul de sac. Kind of reminds me of our neighbor Johnny Reid. You know, just down to earth and “real” with a life full of experiences which lends itself to some pretty incredible stories. I love to just sit and pick the brains of guys like this.

Shaun’s also got some pretty interesting posts on his blog about the music business — specifically regarding the label vs independent angle — that I’ve linked to before.

While his music is good, and his songwriting abilities are amazing… the part of Shaun that stands out in my mind is his sense of humor! Combine that with his personal calling to help others and his innate ability to relate to people on all levels. He seems perfectly suited for the line of work that he’s in.

 

Shaun’s Work With The “Ikon Community”

Turns out Shaun has been on staff at The People’s Church for a number of years, most recently as the co-leader of the 18-25 group called Ikon.

He’s perfect for it! He’s just so upfront and real about all of his own life experiences — from his dark and weary past to his present day married-with-children experiences which are filled with periods of joy and spiritual growth.

He’s a great role model for 20-somethings who are transitioning between high school and college. As he stated last night, this age group is the most likely to feel misunderstood and to eventually give up on church altogether. He’s doing an amazing job at keeping today’s young adults “connected” to a faith-based way of life.

 

So, How’s The Music?

It’s great! He’s “Christian Rock”, and he has a great voice. You might have heard some of his stuff on Christian radio stations before.

He started the night with several accoustical numbers — just him and his guitar. His voice was strong.

Then, he brought in the band, and they ROCKED. In fact, the bass and drums might have been turned up just a tad too high, as the mega-huge speaker on the front of the stage actually tumbled off the stage in the middle of their first loud song!

We actually liked his accoustical stuff best. But since he’s trying to reach those 20-somethings, his combination of heartfelt ballads and raise-the-roof anthems are a good mix.

Every song was sung straight from the soul and penned with a deep faith-based message at its core.

Props to this Christian rocker… he’s found his calling.

Here’s a great interview with Shaun Groves from Christianity Today.

Shaun Groves Videos