We Are Messengers' Darren Mulligan talks to NRT about their upcoming slot on tobyMac's Hits Deep Tour, the current single that's impacting thousands, and when we can expect to hear new music.
Since bursting on the scene in 2016 with the energetic anthem "Everything Comes Alive," We Are Messengers has quickly become a fan-favorite. Known for their intimate shows and encouraging presence, the band is fronted by former The Remission Flow vocalist Darren Mulligan. With a live show that's uniquely personal and refreshingly honest, We Are Messengers is preparing to hit the road this spring on tobyMac'sHits Deep Tour. We caught up with Darren to talk about what he's most excited about on this tour, the recent single that's impacting lives profoundly, and when we can expect to hear new music.
The Hits Deep Tour has a pretty impressive lineup–Jordan Feliz, Jeremy Camp, TobyMac, Aaron Cole, Ryan Stevenson. What are you most looking forward to about this tour, and about being out on the road with these guys?
I'm really excited about having a whole bunch of people together, like Toby and Jordan and Ryan and Jeremy and young Aaron Cole–we're all friends, so to be with friends, but also to be with people that you trust to do the things that you cannot do. In our short set, I'm going to trust that Jeremy and Jordan and Ryan and Toby and Aaron are going to finish the work that the Lord starts in our set. And vice-versa, maybe we'll bring something that they don't so that people get a really broad experience with God from different perspectives. I think it's going to be pretty freeing for me, to be honest, because sometimes I feel the weight of having to carry everyone's burdens, so to have a tour like that where we're all carrying burdens together and chasing Jesus together, I think it's going to be really freeing and allow We Are Messengers to do part of what we love doing, which is just being really joyful. We're really energetic and really just rocking, so we're just stoked to be able to do that.
We Are Messengers' set is usually very intimate and you're connecting with people individually in the crowd, but, obviously, you can't do that as well in bigger arenas. It's a different kind of environment. So how are you going to bring that special element that a We Are Messengers set normally has to this arena tour?
It's super hard, and to be honest, I don't think we can bring what we normally bring because it's such a short set. This tour is different for us because it's a big arena tour and we have a set time for the show. Usually, we take a lot of time with people, with the crowd, and with the room to really take it somewhere special. We're not going to get the chance to do that on this tour as much, so for me, I'm really looking forward to just playing the songs and trusting the songs. A lot of the time, artists don't trust their own songs. Our insecurity lands us to believe that we need to have something more than just the song, and sometimes we do, but honestly, this time we're going to trust songs like "Magnify," "Point To You," and "Maybe It's Okay," and trust that what those songs say is enough to really move the room closer to God and closer to each other. We're also going to trust the other artists. Part of me is a little bit mournful because I feel like we're temporarily losing a part of We Are Messengers in doing this tour, but at the same time, I think we're gaining something beautiful. Fellowship, and going on a journey with a bunch of other artists with one common goal. We've just got to let We Are Messengers loose, bringing lots of energy and lots of intensity, but really focusing on what the songs were designed to do, so I'm actually pretty excited about it.
The first time I ever saw you play a set was a few years ago in a little tent at Creation Festival, so it's quite a jump to go from that to this huge arena tour. What's it like for you to go from super small shows where no one knows who you are to these massive arenas where you have thousands of people singing your lyrics back to you? Has it surprised you how fast and how positively fans have responded?
Oh yeah. I never really understand why the Lord has allowed us to have the success we have. I hope it's because we've said "yes" to Him and have been faithful in the small things as well as the big things. For me, honestly, I prefer smaller venues. I've really grown to love theaters because you get to see everyone's eyes and interact, but the arena shows allow something different. They allow you to have an energy and to carry a side of our faith that we don't often get to explore. Sometimes we're so serious about our worship music and so serious about our songs, but sometimes God just wants us to have fun. He wants us to have a party, so for me, the arena is maybe more so about that side of it. Maybe the Lord gives us the arena shows so that We Are Messengers can have a break from being incredibly intense and just go have fun. Like I said, I think I'm going to miss some of the intimacy of the smaller shows, but touring with someone like TobyMac is just a dream come true. He's a legend–not just as an artist, but as a man. He's a good man. So to be involved with someone like that is beyond a blessing.
The single that's out right now is "Maybe It's Okay," and we've already seen some incredible messages about how this song has impacted fans, but what has the response been like for you guys to hear all the stories about this song so far?
It's been crazy. We've had huge songs before, but this song is a beast. It's taken on a life of its own way beyond We Are Messengers, which is why we started music in the first place, to try to create something so much bigger than us, bigger than me and my mind and my little thoughts. This song is for people that don't know Jesus, people that do, people from all walks of life. They're sending messages by the thousands, saying this song is allowing them to not be okay, allowing them to admit that they're not okay, and in doing so, they're finding healing and they're finding comfort and they're finding hope. I think it's maybe the most real song we've ever put out, and I don't know what it's going to do, but I know it's a beast. The Lord is using it in a way that I never thought it ever could be.
And this is the first single from a new album that's coming soon?
Yes! We have another single that's dropping on the 25th of January–it's called "The Devil Is A Liar," so that's going to be available everywhere with a new music video. Then March 29th, we're going to drop a new 6-song EP called The Honest EP. Then in September, we're going to do it all again with another 6-song EP. We're going to have music coming out all year long. We're never going to do what we did and go away for 18 months ever again. It's too long and we just have so many things we want to say, so you're going to get music all the time. I hope you like it.
I'm sure we will! To wrap up, how can people be praying for you guys in this season?
We just took 70 days off the road just to be home, so I think I would ask that people pray that we don't lose sight of our families and the people we love and that we don't lose sight of what God has called us to. I think 2019 is going to be a huge year for We Are Messengers, so I'm praying that this would be the year that we draw closer to God than we ever have and that as our success and all of that stuff grows, that our love and intimacy for Him would grow too. So just be praying for that.
Caitlin Lassiter is a worship leader, songwriter and journalist with a deep passion for Christian music. She currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where she attends Trevecca Nazarene University and can frequently be found loving life at a concert.
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