Christian Music Online

Randy Stonehill Concert review

May 22, 2005 – 4:56 pm

Stonehill showcases wit, sensitivity CONCERT REVIEW By Julie DeHerrera The Salt Lake Tribune

Randy Stonehill performs Sunday at the Calvary Chapel of Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon. The veteran musician, who has more than 20 albums to his credit, says, “Christian music has grown from a grassroots to a billion-dollar industry.” (Danny Chan La/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Randy Stonehill started playing Christian music before it was ever called Christian music by the industry.

Thirty-four years and 22 albums later, Stonehill’s influence can been seen on artists such as Jars of Clay and Sara Groves. Others have clamored to record with him - Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary) and Amy Grant. A duet by Grant and Stonehill was nominated for a Grammy in 1985. “Christian music has grown from a grassroots to a billion-dollar industry,” Stonehill said during a concert at Calvary Chapel of Salt Lake on Sunday afternoon.

The audience was treated to Stonehill Unplugged as he took to the stage with only a guitar and launched into “Hand of God” from 1998’s “Thirst” album. Infected with a case of “happy feet” and an amiable stage presence, he had the audience in his hand with his engaging humor and banter. “We Were All So Young” was a reflective, nostalgic song harkening to the days of the emerging Jesus movement in Christian music.

During the 1970s, the song was a collaboration with fellow music veterans including Barry McGuire and Phil Keaggy..

These days, he said, the people who attended his concerts in the ’70s and ’80s “are returning with their own kids.”

For that younger set, he revealed his childlike side with “Toes” from “Uncle Stonehill’s Hat,” an independent album for kids that even appealed to adults.

The delightful “Great Big Stupid World” was about everything and everyone. Nothing escaped his musings - “Cher, waiting for the shroud of Elvis, waiting for a Beatles reunion, MTV, or if Jesus came back today, they’d book him for the Oprah show.” The crowd clapped and shouted with glee. Stonehill’s lyrics and vocals on ballads resonated with sensitivity.

He said “Rachel Delevoryas,” a sad and melancholy song, was a true childhood story about a girl who played the violin, which served as a voice for words she could never utter. The girl who wore “dowdy clothes and who would never be one of us” ended up one day on stage in a beautiful gown.

Stonehill ended his show with the beautiful “King of Hearts” and “Everything You Know (Is Incorrect)” that included the lyrics, “Turn to the right, turn to the left, turn to the One who gives us breath.”
deherrera@sltrib.com

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