special post; check out this band!

okay. this post is pretty much going to be shameless friend promotion (one step above shameless self-promotion). but i really want everyone to hear/read/experience the awesomeness that is my favourite belmont band. and yes, i may be slightly biased, but that doesn't take away from the talent.

at belmont, there exists an overwhelmingly talented and extensive musical population. it seems like everyone you meet there plays at LEAST one instrument, if not more (myself being one of the few exceptions). thanks to this talent pool, it is not surprising that within a few months of starting college freshman year, i'd become pretty good friends with some seriously gifted musicians. these musicians are mitchell blom, stone meyer, stephen palmer, and becca bradley. they used to sit around in the atrium and play their songs for people walking through, and it was always so fun to see them having such a good time. and then this past fall, another blessing was added to the band (and my life) in the form of drew smyser. and thus, The Weight Of Glory (TWOG) was born.

the first official band photo.

back in september, TWOG decided (practically on a whim) to audition for the christian showcase. each year, belmont puts on four big concerts (christian, urban/pop, rock, country), each featuring four belmont acts. so, TWOG tried out. and, you guessed it, made the showcase! it was a huge deal, and the show went incredibly well. we were all so, so, so excited and proud of them! in a few short months, they'd gone from playing acoustic stuff in the atrium to being a part of one of the showcases! amazing. TWOG spent the rest of the semeter writing and recording at various belmont studios. they are so fun to watch record - always having a blast.

at the christian showcase, rockin' it out.

a few weeks ago, drew found out about a battle of the bands contest sponsored by a radio station in his hometown of huntsville, alabama (about two hours south of nashville). the winning band would get to open for the Rock and Worship Roadshow to take place on january 30th, with the following acts including the afters, thousand foot crutch, and mercyme - all big christian groups with huge followings. also on a whim, drew submitted a video of a live TWOG performance from november. and then about two weeks ago, he found out that they'd been chosen as the winners!!! pandemonium ensued.



the two weeks preceeding the show were filled with rehearsals, press coverage, carpool arrangements, and nerves. check out some of the articles written before the show! the belmont vision, indievisionmusic blog, the view from college blog, even the huntsville newspaper! the hype was unreal. and then here are a couple post-show articles; blog.al.com's chris welch and the rock and worship roadshow's own article.

the rock and worship roadshow.

and then sunday finally came, and TWOG had an amazing experience getting to play for over 6,000 people! if you'd like to see footage of the performance, find TWOG on facebook. there is a 12 minute clip of their whole set! i was so sad that i couldn't be there to support them. but it was still amazing to know how much God has blessed them!

and as if that wasn't enough, TWOG released their acoustic EP this past week as well! this is stone's description of the EP - "So after much deliberation, The Weight of Glory thought that its first EP should be this. No editing, no automation, no nothing. This is just us. All set up in one room. Doing what we love. Though the EP doesn't really have a name, I think there is one word that I would use to describe it... Honesty. Have a listen!" and you should indeed have a listen by visiting this link. the band put up the EP for FREE download on a website called noisetrade.com, where artists can get their work out in the world. TWOG has been in the top 4 downloads on the site since the EP was released. way to go, friends. :)

so, moral of this story. i have ridiculously talented and awesome friends, who are constant blessings in my life! please check them out. :)

-jill