Asbury to provide space for humanity with concert at the Paramount

Apr. 6—ANDERSON — Generally happy songs with minimal conflict and minimal humanity summarizes Singer/Songwriter Cory Asbury's critique of the Christian music industry.

"A lot of times in Christian music, the lyrics are so vanilla; your tragedy always wraps up by the bridge and all is good again. I've found that that's seldom how life works," he said.

Asbury wants break the mold; to pioneer songs that tell of profound highs and lows, while not losing sight of God's goodness.

His unconventional songwriting has attracted many fans and critics.

His 2018 hit "Reckless Love" garnered controversy, particularly among conservative Christians regarding his use of the word "reckless" to describe God's love.

A writer for the Liberty Champion, Liberty University's student newspaper, considered it an "inaccurate depiction of God and his love," saying it is "the gravest error a worship song could make."

Asbury said his song is ultimately about God's kindness despite human failure.

Asbury will deliver his first Anderson performance April 14 at the Paramount Theatre, during which he hopes to encourage audiences to be honest with God and themselves regarding their situation/emotions.

"Come out and feel, come out and be human for a night, come out and be okay experiencing the full gamut of emotions of being a person," Asbury said.

"(Jesus) was fully alive and fully human; he experienced everything that we experience and he knew the highs, he knew the lows, he knew families, he knew pain, he knew suffering. Come out and be okay experiencing all of those."

Asbury will share new songs from his upcoming album "Pioneer", including songs like "These Are The Days" in which he looks for beauty in each moment spent raising his children, and "My Inheritance" about the love for music he inherited from his parents.

Follow Caleb Amick on Twitter @AmickCaleb. Contact him at caleb.amick@heraldbulletin.com or 765-648-4254.