Chris Hardy--Hawk Nelson shows their lighter side with a free acousitc set at Calvary Chapel Bible College.
Many Hawk Nelson fans took a short road trip to Calvary Chapel Bible College for the local concert sponsored by Air1 on Feb. 9.
The previous day, Feb. 8, Hawk Nelson’s fifth album, “Crazy Love (Plus the Light Sides),” was released as a dual disc record.
“We’ve literally been sitting on it for about a year. We’ve been waiting to give it to you guys. It’s been sitting there, it’s been done forever, so we’re like can we just put it out already?” Jason Dunn said.
“Crazy Love” consists of all new songs by the band and “Plus the Light Sides” has acoustic versions of all their favorite songs from previous albums.
The band of nine years, Jason Dunn (lead singer), Daniel Biro (bassist), Jonathan Steingard (guitarist) and Justin Benner (drummer) played an acoustic set consisting of 13 songs, new and old.
“Usually our show is pretty high energy, so you know if the singer is a little flat in areas, it doesn’t matter. He can get away with it because he’s dancing, so it’s fun. But here, I don’t have any excuses, I’m like it’s you and me, baby,” Dunn said.
They weren’t sure if fans would even show up and made jokes about guessing the number of attendees, like 25 or one million. However, they were a little too low and too high. All the seats the campus provided were taken and people began to fill up the remaining standing room.
Although there was a difference in sound, the atmosphere was more intimate than normal. The band was able to connect better with the crowd.
Hawk Nelson is originally from Canada but all members of the band currently live in Nashville, Tenn. The California weather was a nice change from the weather they are experiencing everywhere else.
“I think this is the only place in the country or the continent where it’s not snowing, so that’s great. You should be thankful it’s ridiculous everywhere else,” Dunn said.
Even though Steingard sliced open his finger earlier that morning, he fought through and still played guitar with his own makeshift Band-Aid.
“I put about an eighth of an inch of super glue on the end of it, and there’s a spot in the set where I’m going to reapply,” Steingard said.
The new record was available for $10 at the merchandise table along with shirts, posters and other band paraphernalia and the band stayed after the concert to meet and greet and sign things for all fans willing to wait in line.
Hawk Nelson is currently on Revolve Tour, which “is a one-of-akind inspirational weekend for sixth to twelfth grade girls that combines award-winning bands and speakers with real, relevant messages in a highenergy event,” the tour’s website says.
Along the way, they are also performing at churches and festivals. All tour dates can be found online at http://www.hawknelson.com/tour.
