You’ll never believe her reaction…
We excitedly started learning “Light Up The Sky” a little over a month before we planned to surprise Kristin by performing it at our April concert.
The arrangement David Allen curated was amazing and as our enthusiasm brewed we had to be careful to not spill the secret. This was especially hard for her children and her husband. There were a few close calls… but luckily she suspected nothing.
April 13th was a big day for J209. It was our first ever concert, which was the moment to officially establish our mission of igniting the fire of faith in Christ in the rising generation. From the second we ran on stage, the energy from the crowd was electric and we experienced beautiful moments of worshipping God together through song. As our concert neared the end, we sang what everyone thought was our last song of the night and ran off stage. Little did the audience and Kristin know what we had in store for them.
Because Kristin thought that the concert was over, she started getting up to get a drink of water. But her husband, who was in on the surprise, pulled her back and told her that she had to stay a while longer. She was so confused as to why.
As we ran back on stage amidst applause, Neal invited David on stage to sing lead with him on our last song... “Light Up The Sky”. As we began to sing, we eagerly awaited Kristin’s reaction to hearing us perform the song that had impacted her so much.
Sitting in the audience, Kristin was shocked when we started singing another song and wondered what it could be. Finally, after hearing the first verse and seeing the visualizer of a desert starry night sky, the surprise hit her and she burst into tears.
As the song finished, she couldn’t contain her gratitude (or tears) and ran on stage for a big “family” hug. We felt extremely grateful to have been able to finish our first concert surrounded with so much love. God is so good and nothing that we do would be possible without Him.
Light Up The Sky is one of the songs that was just released to streaming platforms as our new album dropped. This album has taken a lot of work and has shaped J209 and us as people since we began this journey in January. Listen to Light Up The Sky and the rest of our album on all streaming platforms! If you want a physical copy with a bonus song sung by your favorite bass, come find us at the merch table after our performances!
