Welcome to a revival, of sorts. Several years ago, we began an editorial series entitled “Faith in the Mainstream,” where we highlighted artists of faith finding huge success and mass appeal in the mainstream market:
Flyleaf,
Lifehouse, and
Jordin Sparks are just a few of the artists we wrote about. We couldn’t think of a better way to reignite the series than to write about
The Civil Wars, an alternative folk duo whose success is spreading like wildfire, and there wasn’t a better time to write about them than after attending their sold-out hometown show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium on January 12, 2012.
Unbeknownst to many is The Civil Wars’ composition: singer/songwriter John Paul White and former Reunion Records recording artist
Joy Williams, who saw astronomical success with her song “Hide,” which took the Christian charts by storm back in 2005. Fast-forward to 2012, and Joy’s newfound success with John Paul is truly fascinating. After being asked to attend a songwriting session in Nashville by their publishers several years ago, of which neither of them wanted to attend, something clicked, and brought them a meteoric rise to fame. 2011 alone saw the duo opening for Adele on the UK leg of her tour, receiving a CMA nomination and two GRAMMY nominations, recording a duet with Taylor Swift for the upcoming soundtrack for
The Hunger Games (the track hit #1 on iTunes in December), and embarking on their own headlining tour. To simply call all of that impressive would be a true understatement.
That being said, what a night it was for their Nashville show, a true a milestone in their so-far short, yet unprecedented history. The anticipation in the Ryman before the pair stepped on stage probably could’ve been felt from miles away, and the cheers that emanated from the audience as they stepped on stage were almost deafening, and certainly were well-deserved. Following powerful opening renditions of “Tip of My Tongue” and “Forget Me Not,” the duo broke out into a haunting (in a good way) and unforgettable delivery of the faith-charged “From This Valley.” Only three songs into their set, Williams addressed the crowd’s energy and her own gratitude, saying, “I can already tell I should’ve worn waterproof mascara.”
It was only the beginning of an absolutely memorable concert experience. From the harmonies of the first song the duo over wrote, “Falling,” to the simple beauty and deep meaning of “C’est la mort,” which found Joy at the piano and John Paul on guitar, the impeccable nature of The Civil Wars was on a roll. And the show wasn’t without surprise: Taylor Swift came out at the concert’s midpoint to join the two in a performance of “Safe & Sound,” accompanied by a standing ovation from the audience.
The highlight of the night, however, came during the encore. In an unrecorded cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Joy and John Paul harmonized and complimented each other perfectly, showcasing their talent at its fullest extent.
Here’s the thing about The Civil Wars: nothing more is required of them to hold an audience completely captive but to stand stationary on the stage, playing and singing the music they ingeniously have written. The duo’s own incredulity to the audience’s overwhelming response throughout the night was more than evident, giving way to their modest nature as completely genuine and authentic musicians. Combine that with their lyric’s foundational ties to faith and you have something truly, truly refreshing.
Set List:
- “Tip of my Tongue”
- “Forget Me Not”
- “From This Valley”
- “20 Years”
- “I’ve Got This Friend”
- “My Father’s Father”
- “Barton Hollow”
- “Falling”
- “C’est la mort”
- “I Want You Back” (The Jackson 5 Cover)
- “Safe & Sound” (duet with Taylor Swift)
- “*Untitled New Song*”
- “To Whom it May Concern”
- “Birds of a Feather”
- “The Killer in Me” (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)
- “Poison & Wine”
Encore:
- “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson Cover)
- “Dance me to the End of Love” (Leonard Cohen Cover)
