On April 18, the Cathedral of the Ozarks had the privilege of hosting Christian indie-folk artist Jordy Searcy. JBU’s SEA team hosted the event, which became an evening of laughter, dancing and singing.
The show consisted of several of his hit songs, like “Love & War in Your Twenties,” “Fire” and “Molly,” live in the acoustic excellence of the cathedral. The show began simply as Searcy intimately played paced and positive melodies with just himself and his guitar. Eventually, he surprised the audience with three more bandmates, one of whom was his brother. Students rushed to the foot of the stage and jumped, danced and swayed to the sounds of guitars, drums, piano and even harmonica.
One of the most memorable events during the concert was the invitation Searcy gave to senior student Philip Bartz to join him onstage to perform a song with him on the guitar. Bartz did an incredible job, and the energy of the audience was unmatched.
“It was an unreal experience and totally unexpected. I didn’t even know I was gonna meet him until a couple of hours before. Then my friend was yapping with him and mentioned that I play guitar, so Jordy said something like, “If I asked if you wanted to come on stage and rip a solo, would that be a dream come true or your worst nightmare?” And I just laughed in disbelief and said probably something in between. But then, a couple of hours later, I was on stage with him. It was such a cool experience, and I’m so grateful for him letting me play with them. He’s an awesome, chill dude, and it was an amazing privilege to get to chat and then jam on stage with him,” Bartz said.
Searcy is many things, including a singer, a husband, and is self-proclaimed to be the last song-bender. His first album, “Dark in the City,” was released in 2018, and his latest album “Mt. Tam,” dropped in January of this year.
With the nature of the small venue, the concert consisted of an abundance of fun and personal anecdotes about Searcy’s life, music and his wife.
If the concert did not leave the audience with a yearning to dust off their instrument of choice and practice, then it at least left them with a sense of joy, positive vibes and childlike creativity.
SEA is hosting their next event, Barnyard on the Quad, on Friday, May 1 from 4-6 p.m. Students can look forward to beaver tail pastries, Ground Floor’s soda, inflatables and crafts.
Photo by Hope Brittenham
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