NEEDTOBREATHE’s third album is called The Outsiders and listening to the anthemic title track that opens the 14-song collection, it’s clear that they embrace this label as both a badge of honor and a battle cry. The sons of an Assembly of God pastor, Bear and Bo Rinehart had inherited their father’s gift with words, and put it to good use in their songwriting; their mother taught piano, making music a constant part of their young lives. NEEDTOBREATHE was formed in 1999 by Bear and Bo with childhood friends Joe Stillwell and Seth Bolt from Possum Kingdom, South Carolina.

Perhaps you’ve heard past hit songs “Shine On,” “Signature of Divine (Yahweh),” “More Time” and “Washed By The Water” by this amazing band. If you like what you’ve heard before then you have to go buy The Outsiders right away. This album will have you hooked right from the opening title track, which really sets the tone for this album. NEEDTOBREATHE is a band that has the musical chops to rock a big arena and front-man Bear Rinehart also has incredible charisma and an unmatched ability to personally connect with fans in a small crowded venue like the Theater of Living Arts (TLA) in Philly, a 1,000 person capacity. I had the amazing opportunity to see this top notch band on Sunday, November 7th. Their current album, The Outsiders, is my top album of 2009 and they have quickly become my favorite band to see in concert.

The band opened with the guys singing just the chorus of “The Outsiders” which had the capacity crowd all singing along at the top of our lungs and then they broke into their amazing blues-inflected rocker “Prisoner.” The song has a great piano part that builds to a ripping guitar solo and Bear’s vocals really shine on this incredible song. At this point, standing near the speakers near the stage, I wondered if I’d be able to hear after the show. A surprise was next with “Quit” which is a jamming song from their debut album Daylight. The band has only gotten better with each album and it was awesome to hear a great rocker from their first album. A highlight for me was next with “More Time” which is one of their biggest hits from their sophomore album The Heat. The song was also featured on the P.S. I Love You soundtrack. The crowd all really got into the vibe of the song as we all echoed “I need more time, just a few more months and we’ll be fine.” The fun was non-stop as they jumped right to the party song “Girl Named Tennessee” which is a great song about an encounter with an unnamed girl from Tennessee. The dancing was in full effect and the crowd all knew all the words of every song which made it even more enjoyable.


I’ve seen the band twice before in support of the current album so the biggest surprise of the night was next with a brand new NEEDTOBREATHE song which will be on their next album called “Devil's Been Talkin'.” The band had me with the banjo intro to the song and as I jammed along to the song I found myself super-excited to hear more new songs from my favorite band as I’ve practically worn-out the current album. Bear’s vocals are emotive yet honest, making the words he’s singing all the more powerful and moving. Next was “Stones Under Rushing Water” which is achingly beautiful, both musically and perhaps even more so lyrically. The song is about the desire to maintain the joy over the years in a married relationship of slow dancing, laughing and smiling and not let those things fade away. As I’ve been married for 16 years, this song really speaks to me personally. Hit song “Washed By The Water” had all of us singing along with the band and the end where we all sing “even when the rain falls, even when the flood starts rising, even when the storm comes, I’ll be washed by the water” is very powerful. They shocked me again with another new song called “Tyrant King” which is a ballad. Bear stayed sitting at the piano and sang his heart out. Based on the two new songs alone, you absolutely won’t want to miss out on the next album by the incredible band. Without a doubt, the best part of the night was the last set of songs starting with current single "Let Us Love” which is a call to action to “let us love like we were children and make us feel like we’re still living.” The end of the song gets every person clapping and singing along “it’s time to beat the system, in a world I know is burning to the ground.”

Hit song “Something Beautiful” was next. It is my favorite song on the album with the very moving lyrics "Hey now, this is my desire, Consume me like a fire, 'cause I just want something beautiful, To touch me, I know that I'm in reach, 'Cause I am down on my knees, I'm waiting for something beautiful.”

NEEDTOBREATHE has very quickly become one of my all-time favorite bands because of how they are able to move me with such amazing and spiritual lyrics that truly reflect how I feel as a Christian. No matter what your situation, they have songs that can really bring healing and reflect the cry of your heart. As this song reflects, sometimes we need to be on our knees in prayer and submission before God and cry out “Hey Now!” Get to that place where you are in humble submission to God and don’t play it safe but take a chance and ask for God to be real in your life. You’ll never see true beauty if you don’t fully submit to God.

The band continued with Dove award winning hit song “Lay ‘Em Down” which is based on the hymn “All Who Are Thirsty.” The gospel feel of the song is similar to “Washed By The Water.” I get choked up when I pray along to the words of the song “Come down to the river, Come and let yourself in, Make good on a promise, To never hurt again, If you're lost and lonely, You're Broken down, Bring all of your troubles come lay 'em down.” At this point Bear stopped to tell us that the band supports PMI, which stands for Palmetto Medical Initiative. He explained that they take trips to Uganda to help people in need. The band is donating the proceeds from Bo's original artwork from all 42 shows this fall to help needy people in Africa. The last song before the band left the stage was a 10 minute version of “We Could Run Away” from The Heat. The way the band can just jam musically is practically unmatched in my opinion and this song showed all of their musical talent. They briefly left the stage and the capacity crowd chanted “one more song” and then “Need To Breathe” and then the band came back and blew me away with an acoustic completely unplugged performance of “Valley of Tomorrow.” The song reflects on that ‘little voice’ of the Holy Spirit speaking to us, killing the selfishness that turns us away from God. They closed their amazing night with the full song “The Outsiders.” As Christians, we truly are ‘outsiders’ and we need to ‘stand our ground’ as this anthem urges. The Outsiders is a 5 star album and “A Night With NEEDTOBREATHE” is a 5 star night!! You MUST see this band live if you like quality music and a fantastic concert experience. Don't miss any chance to see NEEDTOBREATHE, one of the premier concert bands in the history of Christian music!