Music Maker Productions presents Jars of Clay live at the Humphrey Coliseum. The multi-award-winning Christian band performs Tuesday, April 8, at 7 p.m. The concert also features Caedmon’s Call.
“I am really excited to have them here. I think this is the first time Music Makers has had a contemporary Christian show,” student director Travis Wolfe said.
Jars of Clay began their college-based tour in late February and will play 40 shows in all. Charlie Lowell, piano and keyboards, said this tour is different than their usual shows and will be an acoustic performance.
“I like how this tour has gone so far. It’s more personal and stripped down, letting the songs speak to the audience,” Lowell said. He added that the band will tell stories pertaining to songs and will even take requests.
This tour was inspired by Jars of Clay’s CD Furthermore. The album is a two-disc set live from a concert that became their DVD. The DVD tells the story of how they rearranged old songs and put a different flavor to them.
“After it was finished we were excited. Now we have a new tour and a new CD. This tour is just different because of Furthermore,” Lowell said.
Vocalist Dan Haseltine, guitarists Stephen Mason and Matt Odmark along with Lowell took their name from II Corinthians 4:7: “We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
“Our career is our calling. Knowing what our name means helps us to stay humble and remember what God has given us,” Lowell said.
“Jars of Clay plays great music and delivers it with a solid Christian message. Their music can reach not only Christians but also everyone as a whole,” publicity chair for Music Makers Cliff Jones said.
The college tour is significant for the band because they began while attending Greenville College in Illinois. Their combined love of the Lord and music helped forge them together. Jars of Clay actually did their own rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and sang it to the tune of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
Jars of Clay have won three Grammies, as well as other awards, and are highly popular in the Christian music scene. They are best known in the secular music world for their hit “Flood.” Lowell said “Flood” was the only way for mainstream radio to play them. No one knew who they were and it was just a song.
“It was great to be accepted by the mainstream world and for us to reach out to a different audience. It was, however, interesting to see people react when they found out we were a Christian group. Many of the Rock and Top 40 stations even pulled our song off their lists.”
Lowell said the band just remembers that it is expected, that God promises in the Scriptures that Christians will be rejected by the world. “We weren’t that surprised. We know this is how it is and we would continue our lives with our calling,” Lowell said.
Jars of Clay also began a symposium called “The Blood/Water Mission” to educate college students and community leaders of the HIV/AIDS crisis. The more the band has learned about the crisis in Africa the more it has made them want to spread that knowledge to others. The simple reason why Jars of Clay does this symposium is because of the scripture Isaiah 58:7
“We won’t do the symposium at MSU, but anyone interested in can go to our Web site for further information,” Lowell said.
Wolfe said he does not know what to expect from the show, but he is excited.
“We need all the folks to come out because without the support from the students we can’t bring great concerts to MSU.”
Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the Bryan Athletic Ticket Office, BeBop Records or at www.ticketweb.com. Individual tickets cost $20, and for groups of 15 or more they cost $15 each. For more information on Jars of Clay, visit www.jarsofclay.com. For more information about Music Maker Productions, visit www.msstate.edu/org/mmp/org.