Album Review: Ellie Holcomb - As Sure As the Sun

Those of you who read my blog regularly know that my sister, Sarah, and I are really big fans of a precious Christian singer/songwriter named Ellie Holcomb. In November last year, Ellie announced that she had recently recorded her first full-length album...but instead of having a record label back the project and promote it, she asked her fans if they wanted to do it. Y'know, fund the whole thing and tell all their friends. Her fans responded with a resounding, "YES!!!"

(How could we not, after watching the promo video?!)

Not just a few fans of hers responded, either: 1,756 of them, to be exact. She hoped to raise $40,000 in 50 days. Well, let's just say that goal was met in three days...and by the time it was all said and done, they raised $108,176 (and broke a Kickstarter record)!

Of course Sarah and I were ecstatic to hear about the album, and we quickly decided that we'd go in together on a pledge amount...because on Kickstarter, the more you pledge, the more cool stuff you get: signed albums, t-shirts, posters, accessories like scarves and jewelry, etc. Then, after the $40,000 was raised, stretch goals were met and we got even more cool stuff: a pdf of handwritten stories behind the songs...vinyl records...a concert release party in Nashville...(we really wanted to go, but we just weren't able to get up there).

We were super excited when our "goodie box" came in the mail!



Then, a few weeks later, we met Ellie after the Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors concert in Oxford, Mississippi in April...what a blessing that was!



Anyways. Now that I've told you the story about all the fun we had backing Ellie on Kickstarter...let me tell you about the incredible album she recorded!

Sure As The Sun

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

Ellie wrote this song for her precious little girl, Emmylou, but said that it was really the truth that she herself needed to be reminded of. She wrote it from Hosea 6:3: “Let us acknowledge the Lord, let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear. He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."

Marvelous Light

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

We first heard this song on the promo video for her Kickstarter project and loved it. Ellie was inspired to write this song by one of the characters in Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga. His secrets were exposed in front of the very people he was trying to hide from, and yet, “He moved through the days in peace and wonder, for his whole story had been told for the first time, and he found that he was still loved.” (North or Be Eaten!, p. 321) (Sarah and I recently filmed a video of us signing to this song!)

The Broken Beautiful

{audio} {official music video} {Ellie's story behind the song}

Ellie sings about how God can take the broken pieces in our lives and turn them into something beautiful for His glory. “You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” Psalm 30:11. This song was released to Christian radio a few months ago and many people have discovered Ellie's music through it. You can hear her joy in the LORD as she sings!

My Portion and My Strength

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

One of my favorites to listen to on this album. "When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you; yet I am always with You. You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel and afterward You will lead me into glory. For whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26.

Night Song

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

"Be the truth that sings into my darkness / The melody of love that leads me on / Be the voice that comforts all of my sadness / Oh even when the suffering is long / Be my night song." I loved hearing Ellie tell the story behind this song during the release concert livestream. The melody is so calming and so are the lyrics!

Love Never Fails

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

Right before Ellie sang this song during the release concert, she said, "I wanna rollerblade to this song!" :) It's far more than a catchy tune with lyrics about love; it speaks of the unconditional love of God, and us showing that same love to others. "Help me trust that this is true / Help me to love just like You do / Oh, LORD, help me to live like / Love never fails."

Love Broke Through

{audio}

This song is the most similar, in terms of the sound, to the music Ellie's husband, Drew, plays with his band. She never did write a story behind it on her blog! "Your love has called me out / Out of my sorrow, out of my broken places / Hope has been renewed / 'Cause there in the darkness, there in the darkness love broke through." Only because of the love of Christ and His life, death, and resurrection can we have eternal life and hope in Him.

 Only Hope I've Got

{audio}

Ellie sings of how we are so quick to claim the gifts God has given us as if they had come from ourselves, yet it is all because of His work in our lives and what He has given us that we have anything! I'm reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." James 1:17 also says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."

The Valley

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

Ellie recorded this song several years ago with Drew's band; she wrote it for several friends who were struggling with depression. She wove several Psalms into the lyrics, and says that it tells her own story as much as her friends'. "So come and find me / in the darkest night of my soul / In the shadow of the valley / I am dying for You to make me whole."

Songs of Deliverance

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

The sweet Jillian Edwards Chapman sang with Ellie on this song, lending her high, clear voice to Ellie's rich alto. "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7. The hammered dulcimer adds so much to the ethereal effect of Ellie and Jillian's voices in this song!

Wanna Be Free

{audio} {Ellie's story behind the song}

“If the Son of God sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36. My first thought when I heard this song was, "Wow, Ellie, getting your inner Norah Jones on!" The organ and guitar combined with Ellie's soulful voice are awesome. "Oh, my Lord, come and set us all free."

Go to freeelliemusic.com to download a free sampler of songs from Ellie, including Marvelous Light and The Valley!

For the love of music and the glory of God,
Rebekah

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors Concert 4.3.14 | The Lyric {Oxford, Mississippi concert photography}

Normally my sister, Sarah, and I are the type who have to think long and hard about whether or not we should do something "big" like going to a concert or taking a road trip. It takes weeks of deliberation before we finally come to a conclusion. We often come up with grand ideas ("Hey! We could do this!!") only to realize, "Oh...well, maybe not...nope, too much money...schedules won't work out...never mind."

It was actually quite the opposite when we decided what we were going to do for our 23rd birthday trip.

Only about a month before the concert, Sarah and I both, separately, just so happened (honestly!) to look at the tour dates on Drew Holcomb's website. We had already known they were going to be in Oxford (a few hours away from us) in April, but neither of us had ever thought about going. But this time, I found myself walking into Sarah's room... "Hey, Sarah, what day of the week is April 3rd?" Imagine my surprise when she said, "It's a Thursday.....yeah, that Drew Holcomb concert in Oxford?" ::pause:: I think we both said in unison, "You think we can go?!?"

Next thing we knew, in about 5 minutes flat we'd planned the whole trip. It was within driving distance. We could stay with friends. Sarah could schedule a meeting in that part of the state that she'd needed to schedule for a while anyways. We could ask our parents to pay for gas as our birthday present. We could afford the tickets (only $15 each!). Our schedules allowed it. So we made phone calls and sent emails and bought the tickets - the entire thing was all set in only a few hours!

It was fun. :)

And then we asked Drew on Twitter if there was any chance he or we could convince Ellie to come to Oxford with him (she recently came off the road to be at home with their baby girl, Emmylou). He said Ellie would be making a few surprise appearances on tour, and he heard she likes visiting Oxford, so chances were 50/50. Then I tweeted Ellie and said I hoped to give her a big thank-you hug in Oxford (we'd just gotten our box of goodies from helping fund her new record on Kickstarter)...and she favorited my tweet. And then...she said on Instagram two days before the concert that she was excited to spend a few days on the road with Drew. So yeah...we knew she was going to be there. ::squeals::

So, on April 3rd, we headed up the road!

(Some of these are taken with my Canon and some with my iPhone.)

(It really was that dark!)

A new (and talented!) band from Belmont University called Judah & The Lion opened for Drew on this tour. They're a high-energy blend of bluegrass/folk/rock/Americana and sound quite a bit like Mumford & Sons. :)
We got to meet the mandolin player afterwards, Brian McDonald. He's a great mandolin player for sure, so I wanted to ask him what kind he plays and all that. We told him we found out about them through Ainsley Britain and he was so shocked! ("No way!!") Then of course we had to say that we know about Ainsley through her, "Oh, y'know, totally NOT famous best friend..." (Hunter Hayes)
It was funny. :)

The Lyric is a pretty cool venue. You can read about it here!

(Thanks to the lady who offered to take our picture in the lobby as we waited for Drew and the band to come on stage!)

I was wearing my "I Made Music with Ellie Holcomb" t-shirt. :)

Most of the time, we hung out back by house sound. Unlike almost everyone else there, we didn't have anybody we knew to chat with! It was a little quieter in the back, but occasionally we'd go over to the sides to get closer to the stage.

Musical-instrument-geek me was so excited to see Nate Dugger's guitars on stage - L to R: Gibson SG, Fender Telecaster, and Gibson ES-335.


Drew and the band opened with the title track off their latest album, Good Light.




A few songs into their set, we heard this roar come up from the front of the room and quickly realized Ellie was there! (Yes, we screamed and jumped up and down. Too excited not to!) They sang Hung the Moon and everybody loved it!






(The expression on Ellie's face is pretty typical - she is so full of joy!)




We had so much fun hearing Nate play the black Gibson live. He's a great guitar player, and that guitar in particular sounds so cool. (Watch the video and you'll hear it!)


















Drew and the band ended with Fire & Dynamite, but came back on stage to do What Would I Do Without You, then finished out the night with a cover of With a Little Help from My Friends (in this case, the friends were Judah & The Lion). :)






Not long after the concert ended, we heard that Drew would be downstairs in the lobby signing autographs, so we waited around for that. Meanwhile, we got to meet Nate! He is a really genuine, down-to-earth guy and we enjoyed getting to talk to him for a minute. He signed our LP vinyl of Ellie's album (he played many of the instruments on it) and told us he got the black Gibson on Craigslist!





So here's where the story gets really special.

We waited until we were the last to meet Drew. As soon as everyone else had moved further into the lobby, we quietly asked him if there was any way we could meet Ellie.

Seeing my t-shirt and the vinyl record (which only Kickstarter backers have), and knowing how much Ellie loves and appreciates her backers, he quickly said,

"She's right upstairs! I'd be glad to take you up there!"

As if there was no way he couldn't.

We silently freaked out and followed Drew up the stairs and across the balcony to the door at the stage end on the second floor. (See the first pictures to get an idea of what I'm talking about - it's hard to describe.) It was so surreal. "What?! We're following Drew Holcomb across the balcony to meet Ellie?! And noooobody else in the whole place gets to do this but us?!?"

Drew opened the door and talked to Ellie only long enough to hand her his sharpie and tell her we were there.
Next thing we knew, Ellie was running toward us and we all screamed.

We really did.

She bear hugged us and we all almost cried.

Ellie is so absolutely precious and has such a heart for the LORD and for others.

It was such a dream come true for us to meet her!

She took the time to talk to us for a few minutes - about the concert, and where we live, and how much we all love Jillian Edwards, and a few other things...it was wonderful. :)

Then we asked the security guy to take a picture of us. Of course!

Thank you Ellie for making a 6-hour drive and a concert that started at 10:00 and ended at midnight oh-so-unbelievably worth it!

(Nate's signature)

So of course we tweeted Ellie, who is so sweet to reply to almost all of her fans on Twitter!

A huge thank you goes to our dear friends, the Lockes, who let us stay at their house and fed us and dropped us off at The Lyric and stayed up 'til after midnight to come pick us up...that really meant a lot. We love y'all. :)

Of course I shot lots of video, so here it is on Vimeo! Enjoy!

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors (with Judah & The Lion) - The Lyric Oxford, MS 4.3.14 from Rebekah Hope on Vimeo.

For the love of music and the glory of God,

Rebekah