01/22/13 On Sunday January 27, Trinity United Methodist Church is hoping to “get canned.” Huh? Well, on Jan. 27, Trinity is hosting the Rock, Hop, and Roll Tour with the pop rock band Attaboy and hip-hop artist NF (or Nate Feuerstein): admission is merely 3 canned goods or $3. The goal is to bring in over 500 canned goods for the Bread of Life, a local food pantry that Trinity and many other area churches help support and promote. As Nate Crawford, Director of Youth and Young Adults says, “We wanted to have a fun event while also doing something to support our community. This is a perfect option. After the holidays, the area food pantries tend to get kind of bare but people still need food. This is an opportunity to help out and restock the shelves.”
The Rock, Hop, and Roll Tour is an annual tour that brings out independent artists in the Christian music scene and allows them to play with people they may not get to on a regular basis. This year, the two artists are Attaboy and NF. Attaboy is a pop-rock group that uses melodies, harmony, technical songcraft, and “two verses and three choruses” to communicate honest, Christ-centered messages. NF, on the other hand, is a hip-hop artist who deals in driving beats, crazy samples, and flowing rhymes and verses to open people to the Christian message. The average tour would not bring both out together, instead opting to put Attaboy with other pop rock bands and NF with other hip-hop acts. The Rock, Hop, and Roll Tour brings them both together, giving the fan a very unique chance to see very diverse acts on a given night.
Trinity chose to bring this tour to Plymouth for a few different reasons. The main one, of course, was to help the area and specifically the Bread of Life. As Crawford says, “It is important to the life of Trinity United Methodist Church to be involved in helping the community in whatever way we can. Right now, in the dead of winter, this is a way we can use our resources to make a positive impact in Plymouth and Marshall County.”
So, why did Trinity choose to bring in a music tour instead of just doing a canned food drive? For Crawford, the answer is that this gives the community the ability to participate as well. He says, “If people want to drop cans off anytime, Trinity is always willing to accept them. But, the reason for the concert is that we all know that big events tend to grab people’s attention and bring in more stuff. It also gives people the ability to participate in a very tangible way. We have a goal and everybody that comes helps us meet that goal.” As Crawford makes clear, bringing the Rock, Hop, and Roll Tour to Plymouth is meant to generate attention and to meet a need.
The groups coming to raise canned goods have a heart for these kinds of needs. Attaboy is actually part of our area as they are currently based out of Huntington, IN, having attended Huntington University. While they have been together for years, they have never chosen to head out of state, to the big places like Nashville or New York or LA. Instead, they have remained in Northern Indiana with a heart to see this area changed and transformed through inspiring honest pop music. While they have toured all over the US, they have remained grounded in the northern parts of Indiana.
Attaboy was also chosen for the event because they have just released a new album, entitled “Motion Toward the Miles.” The album was released in November and has sold well. Currently, on their website attaboyonline.com, they are allowing people to buy the album and “pay what you want.” Through their music, their goal, according to the website, is “to encourage hearts, create lasting memories, inspire hope, and communicate the love of Christ.”
Crawford also believes Attaboy is a great band to come and play because of their desire to connect with people. He says, “We have had them play here before and they are super nice guys. They treated everyone great and were really interested in everybody, even my very young children.” Matt Siewert, vocalist and guitarist for the band, reiterates this, saying, “While on the road we make as many efforts as possible to interact with people who hear us perform. We try to make ourselves as available as possible after each concert to meet the audience, sign merchandise, take photos, or just have a conversation.” Jeff Edgel, another guitarist in the band explained. “The internet has allowed us to be intentionally relational with our audience. Whether we’re responding to emails or posts and messages on Facebook and Twitter, we purposefully prioritize communicating with our audience in these ways, attempting to communicate how much we appreciate their support and encouragement.”
Overall, Trinity hopes the Rock, Hop, and Roll Tour is a great concert but want it all to go for a great cause, helping area people get the food necessary to survive. The event is Sunday January 27, 2013 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 425 South Michigan Street, in Plymouth. The doors open at 5:30pm. The cost is 3 canned goods, or $3, with all canned goods and portions of the proceeds all benefitting the Bread of Life Food Pantry. If you have any questions, contact Nate Crawford at youthdirector@trinityumcplymouth.com or 574-936-2519.
