This
post will be short because I’m going to let some talented musicians do the
talking, not me.
I
went to a concert by Mike Mangione and The Union at a Christian coffeehouse in
Green Bay, and quickly fell in love with their soulful lyrics and blend of
folk, rock and symphonic sound. Part of the mystery for me was watching these
talented musicians tune in to one another and bring out the best in each other,
while creating a unique and distinctive sound.
I
would deem these artists Christian humanists, as they seek not to disengage
from modern culture to seek after the divine but rather to create art that
engages the culture and modernity at large by drawing from the common depths of
human experience and discovering grace at work there. You won’t find
politicized messages or gilded-edge Bible verses, but their music has a tragic
sense of a soul at stake. In its texture and lyrics, one feels a longing for
more than human mediocrity and a cry for redemption.
The
concert reinforced a lot of what I’ve been mulling over lately, how Flannery
O’Connor says the bedrock for drama is in original sin and good stories hinge
on the point of conversion. Also, in the book I am reading by Gregory Wolfe, Beauty
Will Save the World, he suggests imagination through the art form is needed
to redeem our time, and that writers and artists of faith today need not shout
the truth but whisper - for the truth will speak for itself. A church father once said, “Wherever there is
truth, it is the Lord’s.”
In
the first video below, Mike Mangione talks about his faith being the lens for his
songwriting. He talks about the reality of his days and concerts being numbered, which grounds him in the present, and he reveals
his writing models, Bruce Springsteen and Flannery O'Connor.
Thanks,
Mike Mangione and The Union for being an inspiration! Cheers!
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