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The Arts and Action Tour brought two Christian rock bands to the University of Maine this Saturday in an impressive performance at the Collins Center for the Arts.
As people filtered into the venue, Ten Shekel Shirt began to prep for their performance on stage. Lights began to dim and the crowd grew silent as lead singer/songwriter Lamont Heibert walked to the mic and introduced himself and the band.
The band kicked off the night with songs from their latest album “Jubilee.” According to Heibert, the entire album was inspired by stories of children escaping sex trafficking. In one song they sang about a girl who came to a safe home after being enslaved for four years.
At least 150 people filled the seats at the venue. Although this was shy of the amount of people anticipated to attend, the atmosphere was incredible and the night was a hit.
After a few songs, Heibert began to tell his story of how he became involved with Love146, a non-profit organization dedicated to the abolition of child sex-trafficking and modern-day slavery. He shared an inspirational story about a girl he met in San Francisco named Elizabeth, who was saved from a brothel.
The band continued to move the audience with songs from their introspective album, such as “Sparks” and “Fragile.” Though the songs dealt with weighty subject matter, Ten Shekel Shirt sent a strong message of hope and inspiration to the audience.
Ten Shekel Shirt ended their performance with more songs written for children who are captured for sex-trafficking called “Daylight” and “Over The Room.”
“Your smile is the most courageous thing I’ve seen,” Heibert sang with intense veracity, as a video of rescued children played behind the band on stage intensified the song’s tone.
Next up was The Wrecking — originally from Portland, Maine. They were nominated for best music video for the Gospel Music Channel and lived up to their reputation of sonic rock and melodic urban music.
There was a streak of pure confidence within the band as they performed, for the first time in front of an audience, songs from their new album “The Catalyst EP.” The band flowed from song to song, performing “The Sound of the Resistance” and “Breath.”
Halfway through their performance, lead singer Doug Elder told of a personal experience where he was asking God what his purpose is. He brought the tone down by singing a song by One Republic, “Stop and Stare.” Soon the audience joined in to sing along.
“The concert was so great,” said Annette Spencer, who attended the concert. “We traveled from Phillips, Maine to come see them.”
At the end of the show, the audience began to yell for an encore.
Initially, the concert seemed be over, but as the crowd persisted, Elder returned. “You all are awesome … I’m going to stay and play one last song for you guys,” he said.
Elder played a song that had familiar lyrics incorporated into it from Joan Osborne’s 1995 hit, “One of Us.”
Audiences filed out after the moving performance with the music and the message still ringing in their ears.
