Lifesong Tour Hits Columbus

By Katy Full
Casting Crowns, the fastest-selling new Christian act in 2003 and 2004, continued the spring leg of their Lifesong tour March 26, at the Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Accompanying the band was Nichole Nordeman, a two-time Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year, and eight-time GMA Music Award winner. Josh Bates, born and raised in Independence, Kentucky, was also an asset to the tour. He offered his mandolin, guitar, and piano skills, and topped it all off with an amazing voice.

At 6 p.m., Josh Bates kicked off the concert with stories of mandolin playing in Kentucky, and his own rendition of Christian blue grass. Then, to switch it up a bit, Bates exchanged his mandolin for an electric guitar, and entertained the crowd with more contemporary style songs. Much to the dismay of the female viewers, far too quickly Bates departed the stage, and gave the spotlight to Nichole Nordeman.

Singing her heart out while playing the piano, Nichole Nordeman wowed the crowd with her intricate honesty. She brought personal life struggles into her music, and audience could feel every emotion put into the lyrics. Her songs were calming, other than audience softly singing along, not another sound could be heard in the entire arena.

Quickly following Nordeman, Casting Crowns, the band everyone was waiting to see, entered the stage. After lead guitarist, Chris Huffman, offered the evening prayer, Casting Crowns began. Debuting their new release, Lifesong, songs such as “If We Are the Body,” “The Voice of Truth,” “Who am I,” and new hit “Lifesong,” were concert must-plays. Lead vocalist, Mark Hall, kept audiences laughing with his blunt perspective on life and his quirky sense of humor. Around 9:30 p.m. Casting Crowns had a hard time leaving, brought back onto stage after audience shouted “encore, encore.”

Tony Nolan, a passionate evangelist, spoke to the crowd once during the concert, giving an entertaining, and incredibly animated display of God’s love for humanity. Performing almost a skit, Nolan begin talking about his “heart disease” and his “transplant,” meaning he had a more spiritual heart put in him. Refusing to let people leave unchanged, Nolan led the crowd in prayer, and in return had many individuals re-devote their lives to Christ.

The Lifesong Tour show in Columbus was a complete success. Proving that they are just regular people with a desire to live for Christ, Casting Crowns gave testimonials of their local churches. Consisting of a real estate agent, a Christian bookstore sales clerk, a graphic artist, and a janitor at the church, among others, Casting Crowns is simply a group of dedicated youth workers with a great deal of talent. They will continue their tour throughout April. Tickets can be purchased at numerous sites, including ticketmaster.com and castingcrowns.com.