I watched The Voice and loved this group not really because of their story (though it's a nice story), but because of their genre. I absolutely LOVE traditional folk, acoustic, and harmony and it is really hard to find artists in that genre these days. Their incredible talent, and the folk song choices were beautiful. They are exploring with Pop and they may settle into a primary genre at some point. I hope it's folk, but whatever it is I believe they'll do very well because of heir talent.
I'm not sure whether it's in this shorter video or the longer one, but Caleb talks about keeping the "good" things from their Mennonite upbringing, and setting aside the rest. I wonder what the "good" things would be? Aren't Mennonites historically against political involvement, yet Caleb in one of the early GNT Tonight videos (made during Covid) right before the 2020 election, turns to the camera and says: "Resist." He got some push-back in the comments because of that. It makes me wonder whether the commitment to avoid politics might be one of the things he (and his siblings?) are setting aside - no judgment here, just curiosity. On the other hand, it does seem like the importance of being peacemakers is still vital to them, since they enjoying doing songs from the Vietnam era like Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind." I read elsewhere that Caleb spent some time in Senegal (West Africa) teaching music. That caught my attention, since I was a missionary for a decade in West Africa, and had Mennonite missionary friends. Finally, It would be interesting to hear more about how they're working out their faith, especially at a time when so many twenty-somethings are deconstructing their religious beliefs and dropping out of church. Thanks, John, for doing this interview. I watched your hour-long special -- so funny! I needed those laughs. :)
I watched The Voice and loved this group not really because of their story (though it's a nice story), but because of their genre. I absolutely LOVE traditional folk, acoustic, and harmony and it is really hard to find artists in that genre these days. Their incredible talent, and the folk song choices were beautiful. They are exploring with Pop and they may settle into a primary genre at some point. I hope it's folk, but whatever it is I believe they'll do very well because of heir talent.
I'm not sure whether it's in this shorter video or the longer one, but Caleb talks about keeping the "good" things from their Mennonite upbringing, and setting aside the rest. I wonder what the "good" things would be? Aren't Mennonites historically against political involvement, yet Caleb in one of the early GNT Tonight videos (made during Covid) right before the 2020 election, turns to the camera and says: "Resist." He got some push-back in the comments because of that. It makes me wonder whether the commitment to avoid politics might be one of the things he (and his siblings?) are setting aside - no judgment here, just curiosity. On the other hand, it does seem like the importance of being peacemakers is still vital to them, since they enjoying doing songs from the Vietnam era like Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind."
I read elsewhere that Caleb spent some time in Senegal (West Africa) teaching music. That caught my attention, since I was a missionary for a decade in West Africa, and had Mennonite missionary friends. Finally, It would be interesting to hear more about how they're working out their faith, especially at a time when so many twenty-somethings are deconstructing their religious beliefs and dropping out of church.
Thanks, John, for doing this interview. I watched your hour-long special -- so funny! I needed those laughs. :)