Spencer LaJoye With Ben Grace

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About this Event

About this event

Singer/songwriter and Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition winner Spencer LaJoye is joined by truth-telling songsmith Ben Grace to present a quasi-spiritual concert for messy peacemakers. In this autobiographical liturgy-of-sorts, Ben and Spencer share their own stories through song, inviting the audience to believe we're all made of the same stuff...and it's good.

Special thank you to Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church for hosting this event.*

About Spencer:

Spencer LaJoye is a folk/pop singer songwriter, violinist, and vocal loop artist in Boston, MA, who believes everyone is made of the good stuff. They make music to remember what it means to be human, to find connection in a time of disconnection, and to feel something in a world gone numb. Spencer’s first EP “We’ve Been That Way Before” won the WYCE Jammie Award for Listener’s Choice in Grand Rapids, MI, and most recently, Spencer was chosen as a winner of the 2021 Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition. Last fall, Spencer released their new four-track EP, "Remember The Oxygen," written before, during, and following their coming out as trans/gender non-binary. Their newest single, "Plowshare Prayer," went viral among hurting and healing people around the world before the studio recording was released on February 18th. It poses an answer to the question: what would a prayer sound like if used as a plowshare instead of a sword?

About Ben:

Born and raised in an inner city suburb of Sydney, Ben’s exodus from the beliefs and structures of his working class Christian childhood weaves poignantly through his lyrics, revealing itself in his deep commitment to justice and willingness to call forward the darker themes in American politics. His solo work is the culmination of a 25 year trajectory through the industry that includes the release of over 50 songs and collaborations, each a twist in the gradual unraveling that would lead him to produce under his own name. In the past two years, Ben has joined fellow artists to tour across 20 states and through Europe, playing everything from house shows to historic venues, singing into the truth of our stories and holding them up to the light. Ben Grace's debut full length record "As if words could heal the wounds" released in Fall 2020.

*Hey! Spencer here. I realize much of this Plowshare tour takes place in church venues. This was intentional. In my tour set, I intend to both honor and subvert traditional religious liturgies in order for my audiences and I to have a true, authentic, messy, and queer AF sacred experience together in concert. It feels bold to have these shows in churches. I'm excited to be uncompromisingly myself in these spaces, maybe for the first time ever (ah), and I invite my audiences to bring their whole selves, as well. I promise you I vetted these churches, and they're all inclusive/affirming/anti-racist/radical. I take the responsibility of caring for you very seriously.

But with all of that said, I know the physical experience of being inside churches can be plain bad for a lot of people. And if that's you, I don't expect you to abandon your boundaries in order to come see me play. There will be other tours and opportunities to connect via live performance. I get that, and I love you!