We the Kingdom’s concerts are high-energy, and the contemporary Christian band is bringing that cheerfulness to the stage during their 11-stop “A Family Christmas” tour.
Current plans for the tour include a mix of the thoughtful traditions of Christmas and the playful aspects too, all wrapped up in a theatrical production with wardrobe and set changes.
Christmas Eve is to be depicted in Act 1 and will include solemn, formal events such as a church candlelight service. Act 2, Christmas morning, will focus on the childlike side of Christmas with lots of wrapping paper and energy.
It’s an intensive undertaking, said Martin Cash, drummer and songwriter for We The Kingdom. Sets have to be designed and built based on the smallest stage on the tour. All of the visual details have to be added, the lighting has to be refined and where the instruments will go has to be determined and worked around.
“It does get very intensive,” Cash said. “But we love it and are really looking forward to this one.”
Fun with a purpose
“We have a brand-new song that we’re unbelievably excited about. It’s called ‘Christmas in Hawaii.’ It’s based around Santa flying around the world, dropping presents off. Then he gets to Hawaii, and he gets stuck in a coconut tree,” Cash said.
With Santa stuck in a coconut tree, the song then becomes concerned about what will happen to Christmas if Santa can’t finish his rounds. The band started writing the song before August and September, when devastating wildfires in Maui killed about 100 people. After the disaster, a friend of the band proposed using the song to help. The band finished it with Maui in mind and a twofold purpose.
“It is a cheeky, kind of cheerful song, but how cool would it be to come up with a T-shirt with all of the proceeds from this T-shirt going to a Maui charity, to help rebuild it,” Cash remembered the friend saying.
The band agreed this was a great idea but saw that it could have another function to bring comfort.
“Every person we play it for just can’t help but smile and be reminded of what it’s like to be a kid,” Cash said, hoping the song will bring a little joy to those who experienced such tragedy.
Recognizing pain
The band recognizes that Christmas can bring up a lot of pain and heartache due to family issues.
“Family can be such a gift to us, but it can also be something that really hurts us with wounds that we have to work through throughout the years,” he said. “I’m personally excited to reveal both sides of, ‘Hey, family’s amazing. Family is something that we were obviously made for, but it’s also something that can be incredibly crippling sometimes.’
“And that’s okay — to sit in the emotion of that and kind of surrender that and let go of those emotions and give them to Jesus. Everyone has family and I would say it’s very rare that someone would have family that was perceptively perfect. We all have our issues,” Cash said.
“A Family Christmas” tour, featuring We the Kingdom and Canadian Christian music artist and worship leader Matt Maher, will kick off Nov. 30 in Macon, Georgia, stop in Birmingham on Dec. 7, and finish in Cleveland on Dec. 17. For more information, go to wethekingdom.com.
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