In Concert: Jake Hamilton

I had the privilege of attending the Pretoria Jake Hamilton concert in his We Will Fly tour on 28 April… and what a performance it was. Pretoria’s very own Sons of Life opened and performed with Jake. They are a young band with a fresh sound, and a very bright future in the industry; I even thought they were a formal part of Jake Hamilton’s band – such was their seamless blending with the brilliant American musician.

It was a true honour to see Jake Hamilton, the rocking worshipper formerly of Jesus Culture, perform live. I have spent many mornings driving to varsity with speakers blaring while singing at the top of my lungs to The Anthem. I can honestly say that hearing that song performed live with the terrific atmosphere was the high point of the evening, and will be a high point of my year. The inspirational lyrics of “I am royalty, I have destiny, I have been set free, I'm gonna shake history, I'm gonna change the world” truly resonated with the hearts of countless young people in attendance- The atmosphere was remarkable, truly filled with the presence of God.

To add to the soul-stirring worship, there was a theme that transcended the evening; a theme of God’s love and grace. Jake paused midway through to talk about the parable of the prodigal son.  He mentioned that this parable could be more aptly renamed to “parable of the amazing father”, because that is truly what we learn from this powerful story. It’s not about us… It’s not about what we’ve done wrong, or how lost we are in our lives… It’s about how great our Father is… It’s about how much he loves us – with no strings attached. In essence, it’s about Jesus dying on the cross for our salvation. It was such a powerful discussion to put an exclamation point on a great evening.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, and went back home to Joburg with a reignited fire to glorify God, and with my face rocked directly off my head! I highly recommend Jake Hamilton to anyone and everyone who enjoys a slightly heavier-than-usual style of worship – Give it a listen; you won’t regret it!

Jordz