Something Different: Wayfarer

Something different indeed. I don’t usually blog about anything but biblical studies here, but I’m making an exception for Wayfarer, a band in Seattle about which I just learned a couple weeks ago.  I was contacted by Dan Koch, the leader of the band, about what they do — re-purpose hymns. In Dan’s words, “We take lyric sets from old, largely forgotten hymns or Southern Spirituals, and we write entirely new music to those lyrics: melodies, chords, arrangements, etc.” Since I prefer hymns to most of the Christian music these days, I thought I’d give it a listen.

To be honest, I’m not one for music. If I listen to something it’s talk radio or a book on CD (except when writing fiction — not sure why, but the music I have helps me imagine better). I have fewer than thirty songs in my iTunes account (something that makes my kids wonder if Dad really is an earthling). I don’t know anything about instruments or genres or groups. I just know when I like the sound of something. I really like Wayfarer. Very refreshing sound. I bought the album on iTunes (my first album purchase; maybe the kids will stop whispering now.

I hope the group gets serious attention, so I thought I’d give readers a heads up. Apparently they are starting to become known since Christianity Today just posted them on their music site.  Have a listen!