What is David Bazan Doing Here?

Recalling the early days of his frustrations with Christian rock, David Bazan said, “It’s embarrassing to be associated with stupidity and hypocrisy, on that cultural level.” Yet years after Pedro the Lion signed with Tooth and Nail Records, Bazan is once again finding himself in the middle of a Christian subculture in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But is he still surrounded by stupid hypocrites?

Looking at the concert schedule, one wouldn’t expect this event to have anything to do with a Christian college. Lupe Fiasco, The Hold Steady, The War on Drugs, Over the Rhine and David Bazan were the highlighted shows of the weekend. So what’s so “Christian” about this event, anyway?

Author and teacher David Dark may have some insight into why an event like the Festival of Faith and Music exists. During his workshop at the fest, he said of music: “…you have it in your head, but you don’t always pay attention to it. When you pay attention, then something happens in your mind.”

The festival is not concerned with simply entertaining, but purposefully presents workshops and seminars to help attendees think about what it means to sincerely engage with music. This festival takes music seriously. It doesn’t look at electronica as work out music, or punk as a forgotten expression of youthful rebellion. The Festival of Faith and Music is attempting to strike at the heart of what happens when Lupe Fiasco sings about American terrorists, and why Dave Bazan says the f-word in his songs. The Festival of Faith and Music is about the truth of music.

The hope is attendees will experience culture without any form of elitism, be that indie-snobbery or self-righteous religiosity. Christian or not, every person in the world experiences something special within themselves when they’re at a concert. It’s a topic worthy of dialogue, and the festival’s purpose every two years is to spawn those conversations.

In 2007, the fest brought in Sufjan Stevens, Emmylou Harris and Neko Case. and posed the question: “is it possible that not only Christians are able to create music of great cultural and spiritual importance?”
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This year’s event was even more open-minded and fascinating than its predecessors. The highlight of the fest was a meet-up between Lupe Fiasco and renowned thinker and author, Cornel West. In an intellectually engaging discussion about hip-hop, Lupe spoke about what it means for him to interact with art. “The world is a mess, and we’re products of that world. But you have to check your mind and soul to find out what the garbage, what the mess is,” he said.

As Lupe reminds, awareness is a key principle in music. When a musician composes a piece of music, it takes all his or her experience and skill to put that work together. When a listener consumes this work, they should do so with the utmost appreciation for the energy and heart the creator initially put into it.

David Bazan accentuates this point in saying, “whatever is true, as long as you’re thoughtful and careful, will present itself to you.” Without mention of the gospel, the speakers and artists at the Festival of Faith and Music showed nothing but respect to the Christian faith. Whether or not they’re Christians was of less importance. Lupe Fiasco told Cornel West, “I separated culture from religion, and then religion from spirituality.” Setting out three clear distinctions between culture, religion and spirituality, Lupe is a perfect headliner for this unique festival. “I started to go off what I felt, not what I thought.”

Too often, American culture blends spirituality with entertainment, and the result is crude and dishonest drivel. Engaging with music can be a spiritual phenomenon, but is not one to be exploited. There isn’t much discussion of mainstream Christian music here, as the event is interested in real art and cultural relevance.

“I believe Radiohead. I think they’re telling the truth, and I want to be in on it,” David Dark said. It is not a specific faith that keeps this festival running, but an openness to the possibility that faith could be bigger than what most Christian rock bands sell. God might be a topic of a Switchfoot song, but that’s not to say He can’t be just as important in an iconoclastic Arcade Fire track as well.

Song may be composed of metaphors, lies, and facts. None of these things are in and of themselves “truth.” But after a weekend at the Festival of Faith and Music, one can argue these three things (when indecipherable amongst each other) all point to truth. This truth is not Christianity, but is a God who requires no elitism to experience Him, only a creative spirit.