For King & Country Mount the Last Stand in Ottawa

Technically speaking, a last stand is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming odds. Nashville-based For King & Country did just that in Ottawa on Thursday night being the last band to play the venue for the foreseeable future.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, which sounds kind of appealing these days, you know that 2020’s cataclysmic version of the sinking of the Bismark or the fall of Saigon is the COVID-19 virus. As of the writing of this article, it has been linked to 150K cases and 5K deaths. Over the last few days governments and private industry have been announcing preventative actions aimed at flattening the curve of the virus. If you don’t know what this means, look it up. It’s pretty smart and we hope that it will help to contain the outbreak and reduce the impacts on our health care systems. In the midst of this uncertain and chaotic time, ticket holders for the For King & Country show wondered if the show would go on. It indeed did, and with a bang!

Formerly known as Joel & Luke, For King & Country is a Christian pop duo composed of Australian brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone. The Nashville-based brothers’ 2012 debut record Crave has received praise, and the brothers were declared by Billboard to be one of the “New Artists to Watch” for 2012. American Songwriter also described them as “Australia’s answer to Coldplay”. In 2015 and again in 2020 they won Grammy awards for their work. With all these accolades, some of us were left wondering why we had no heard more about these guys before. Well, that could be due to the fact that it’s a faith-based genre. Contemporary Christian music formed as those affected by the 1960s Jesus movement revival began to express themselves in a more contemporary style of music than the hymns, Gospel and Southern gospel music that was prevalent in the church at the time. Since rock music has historically been associated with themes such as sexual promiscuity, rebellion, drug and alcohol use, and other topics normally considered antithetical to the teachings of Christianity, Christian pop has been a bit of a controversial topic.

Not really knowing what to expect, we made our way to TD Place and took our spots amidst a large crowd of faithful supporters that included many young families. The lights dimmed and the stage was filled with the scene of an old-world ship afloat in the sea on huge sail shaped LED screens. Soon the ship’s sails were set ablaze and the drum beat started to crescendo. The production value of the concert that followed was incredible. It was a veritable feast for the eyes as well as the ears. As an ensemble, they produced rich, upbeat, alternative sounds and it was suddenly very clear to us why they have risen to such popularity.

The high energy percussion-driven show included hits Fix My Eyes, Joy, and Burn the Ships which were reminiscent of Coldplay and Imagine Dragons, with slightly more optimistic lyrics. The pair seemed genuinely touched by the fact that the Ottawa-based crowd would risk their health to attend their show and thanked the audience profusely. This was King & Country’s first Canadian show and it won’t be one they will soon forget given the unusual circumstances. They were set to play events in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton, but whether or not those shows will take place remains to be seen.

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