Casting Crowns hasn’t gotten to perform on stage in about four months, but that all changes this week as the Grammy-award winning Christian rock band begins their Drive-In Theatre Tour and performs in Clarendon Saturday, July 18.
Brian Scoggin, the lead drummer for Casting Crowns since 2009, told the Enterprise Tuesday that the band is looking forward to getting back on stage.
“We’ve recorded some stuff on tape, but this will be our first time on stage since early March,” Scoggin said. “We’re ready to knock the rust off and perform again.”
The group’s tour starts July 15 in Fayetteville, Ark., followed the next day by a performance in Tulsa, Okla., before coming to Clarendon on Saturday.
Scoggin said Casting Crowns were in the midst of their normal spring tours when COVID-19 hit and shut down the concert business. Then a promoter friend of theirs came up with the idea of getting them to perform in drive-in theatres, a venue the group had never played before.
“This is a totally new thing for us,” Scoggin said, “but it’s going to be a good night. People are ready to get out and worship the Lord.”
Even though Clarendon is a small population compared to some of the tour stops, Scoggin says they are used to playing concerts where the attendance can outsize the location of the community.
“People will show up to worship God, and they will come not just from Clarendon but from the entire area,” Scoggin said.
Casting Crowns, led by Mark Hall, started in Florida in 1999 and eventually grew in popularity and became multi-platinum award winners for their faith-based music. Scoggin says Hall is still the lead writer for the group.
“Mark is the songwriter, and it all comes from his work with church and his youth group,” Scoggin said. “God has given him that ability to speak like that.”
Saturday’s concert will be an entirely new combination of music, Scoggin said.
“We will have a good mix of songs by us that people have gravitated to in the past,” he said. “We also pulled out some songs from our catalog that are just fitting for the times we’re in.”
Scoggin joined the band ten years after it started. He said he knew of the band from its beginning but said their paths didn’t cross for several years.
“It was a life changer,” he said of joining the group. “I had to adjust to working weekends and being home during the week. We started homeschooling our kids. But it’s just been amazing how the Lord has blessed me and blessed others.”
The Casting Crowns concert is promoted by Awakening Events, founded by Dan Fife.
“When we began discussing the Drive-In Theater series and which artists made the most sense, Casting Crowns was an immediate YES,” Fife said in a concert release. “We’ve had a long history of successful shows with Casting Crowns. The powerful way in which their music impacts people is something that is needed in this season. I’m honored that the Casting Crowns’ team has decided to join us on this exciting new journey, taking live music to the people, on the Drive-In Theater Tour Series.”
All dates on the Drive-In Theater Tour will comply with local guidelines related to Covid-19. “We’ve heard the demands from our fans, and we’re working hard to bring live music back to as many locations as possible,” said Curtis Pinkerton, director of Marketing at Awakening Events.
Tickets for the tour will again be sold by the car load (up to 6 people per car) starting at $100 per car. A full list of cities and dates for the tour is available at www.awakeningevents.com or www.driveintheatertour.com. For more information, visit the Sandell’s Facebook page.
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