A few weeks ago I mentioned the upcoming Iron and Wine show at Wheaton College. I wasn’t able to make it to Edman Chapel for the concert, but a couple of friends did. Matt writes about the experience of seeing Sam Beam on the chapel stage of one of the centers of American Evangelicalism. A unique experience indeed.

As the Wheaton show wore on… I started to notice a sort of arc to the songs that Beam had chosen that night. These were not just individual songs placed together on a set-list, rather Beam was telling a story with the entirety of his performance. Initially I wasn’t sure if I was making this up myself or if there was really something to the idea that Beam was telling a story with his set-list. When Bob leaned over to ask if I was paying attention to the songs that were being played I felt pretty confident that some commentary on religion was being made from the stage of the Wheaton College chapel, not with just a single line from a song, but with the entirety of Beam’s performance. Beam has had a rocky history with church, and obviously felt a bit uncomfortable performing in the chapel at Wheaton College.

Read the rest of Matt’s review at rednoW.com.

Related…

• Sam Beam keeps appearing on this blog: a video and an interview.
• Another gorgeous Iron and Wine song/video (with Calexico), He Lays in the Reins from KRLU-TV in Austin.
• Update: Matt pointed out another review of the Wheaton show, this one by John Wilson, editor of Books and Culture.