On Justin McRoberts

Last night I saw Justin McRoberts play at Trinity College in/near Palos Heights, IL. It was a small setting, very cozy.

I must say I felt almost a sense of pride, as in proudness, seeing him play. I’ve been listening to him since I was in high school, really for about 8 years. I can’t believe it's been that long. I've gotten to see him twice and enjoyed it both times. And he’s still doing music full time. How cool is that?

For a while, he was one of my favorite acoustic artists. In my opinion, his best album is Father, much of which was reflecting on his dad's suicide. Right alongside that I would have to put Untitled EP, a collection of worship tunes written by McRoberts and others, and recorded at a retreat center over a weekend with a couple of mikes. (Actually, that's true. There was a microphone, and Mike Busbee, who plays amazing keys on that album and others.) As far as worship albums go it's right up there alongside Enter the Worship Circle's First Circle, which I absolutely love.

There has certainly been lyrical and musical growth over the years. But to be honest, somewhere around Intersections (5th album) I kind of lost interest. Now he’s on his 9th or so and I think I might tune back in. To me the lyrics are more thoughtful, and as such a little tougher to engage than the simpler lyrics of the albums of years past. Nevertheless, there is growth. The content of the tunes deal with world issues of poverty, loving those different than us, and living your life completely. Of course, everybody sings about those things, but he does it in his own Justinian way, which I really enjoy.

His new album is Deconstruction. I don’t think he’ll give a shout out to Jacques Derrida in the credits, but I wish he would. You should listen to a few songs on his website.

For those of you in the Chicagoland area, he'll be at The Union on Friday with Mitch McVicker. Go!