Sidewalk Prophets look to spread the love in State College

Contemporary Christian music band Sidewalk Prophets has been taking its hit music, energetic live performances and thought provoking creativity on the road over the past few months on the 2017 leg of “The Prodigal Tour.” The band will make a stop in State College on Saturday as it continues to spread the love of Christ with music.

The band was formed by vocalist Dave Frey and rhythm guitarist Ben McDonald when the two were attending Anderson University. The lineup also includes lead guitarist Daniel Macal, bassist Cal Joslin and drummer Justin Nace.

“The Prodigal Tour” sets itself apart from other tours as the band has created what it calls an “immersive concert experience.” The centerpiece of this tour is Wander Creative’s short film, “The Prodigal,” which was co-written by McDonald.

For this tour, Sidewalk Prophets let its fans decide the cities it would be rocking, garnering more than 200 submissions.

“We followed up on details and made sure that the routing made sense, but after that we came where our fans asked,” Frey said. “Playing a lot of rural areas, we have found such an atmosphere of excitement, especially compared to the ‘bigger cities.’ We’re so grateful State College wanted us to come and rock for Jesus.”

The band loves all styles of music, as evident on its latest album, “Something Different,” which includes an ’80s pop/rock song with wailing guitar solos followed by a mid-tempo, heart-tugging ballad, followed by an epic, gospel based tune. The title track mixes influences from Michael Jackson to Led Zeppelin to DC Talk. Also on the album is a song Frey wrote in Hawaii called “You Ain’t Nobody,” featuring him on ukulele and bass clarinet.

“I’d been begging for years to rock the bass clarinet, and finally the guys agreed,” he said. “My favorite instrument on the album is called the bouzouki. It’s a Greek instrument our lead guitarist, Dan Macal, plays. It looks like an oversized mandolin and sounds like a jangly, stringed wonderment.”

During the concert at Christ Community Church, the band will play songs from “Something Different” and many of its radio hits. The band’s hope, Frey said, is to share the love of God and change lives by the end of the concert.

“We hope people come out and leave saying, ‘man that was fun, and I need to go share what happened here with everyone I meet,’ ” he said.

For Frey and the band, music is a blessed gift.

“I want to make sure I honor the giver of the gift everyday with the music we make,” Frey said. “Performing and traveling the country over 200 days a year is tough, but it allows us to meet new people, realize we all serve the same awesome God and get to know each other’s hearts. I hope that our music makes people smile, touches their hearts and moves them into action in spreading the love of Christ.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Sidewalk Prophets look to spread the love in State College."