SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Evangel University’s campus radio station, KECC 98.1 The Rock, presents “The Boombox,” its first concert of the year, on Friday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m.
The event is presented in association with EU24, a campus visit weekend, and features the nationally-known band All Things New from Deltona, Fla., and rapper Jonathan Joseph & The Soul Society, from Springfield, Mo.
Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend.
The concert will be held in the Spence Chapel, which is located on Evangel’s campus facing Glenstone Ave. Joining the bands will be Anna McGuire, an Evangel grad and former student body president, who will share some of her life’s adventures.
“This is a great chance for prospective students and friends from the community to come hear the bands and learn about opportunities at Evangel,” said Sarah Buford, KECC station manager.
The Bands
• All Things New consists of four guys who met as teens in Florida and shared a rough background, broken homes and a struggling faith that was still shaping who they would become.
The band released a self-titled debut album on BEC Records in 2013 and got a big break touring with The Newsboys on their God’s Not Dead Tour, as well as performances with the Rhett Walker Band, Francesca Battistelli and Sanctus Real. Their first album peaked at #14 on the Christian charts and #5 on the Top Heatseekers chart.
The Springfield concert will feature those debut songs by Garrett Hornbuckle (vocals), Jeff Stein (guitars), Luke Wycuff (drums), and Josh Shou (bass/guitars), as well as tunes from their forthcoming new album, The Good News.
• Jonathan Joseph & The Soul Society is a six-piece hip hop soul band lead by the poetic rhymes of Jonathan Joseph. The band is a unique blend of hip hop, soul, jazz and funk. They also have deep roots at Evangel University.
JJ is emcee/producer from Arlington, Texas. He got his start in music five years ago after a group of his peers saw him perform a spoken word at an Evangel talent show. They encouraged him to turn his poems into raps. Growing up the son of a DJ, he always had a love for music, so he tried it. After hearing people’s reaction to his first song, a passion was born.
Since then, JJ has released his debut EP titled Summer Dreams (2014) and helped establish The Soul Society, a collective of Evangel musicians dedicated to creating music that warms the soul.
The Radio
KECC 98.1 The Rock is Evangel’s student-lead radio station and is broadcasted live on Evangel’s Springfield campus. It is also available off campus via streaming at www.crusadermedia.com and accessing the KECC listen live option.
Jonathan Jarosinski, faculty advisor, said, “KECC exists to equip radio broadcast skills for students, as well as provide an avenue for people to be influenced and encouraged in a positive way.”
The broadcast students hope that “The Boombox” will be a great step toward KECC providing more musical events for students to attend throughout their school year.
“We want to create an engaging moment for people to connect with music,” said Buford.
Ana Solano, associate director of undergraduate admissions, is excited to have this special concert for visiting students. “EU24 is an immersion experience for prospective students and their families,” she said.
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WRITTEN BY: Charity Chiltz & Paul K. Logsdon