Colony House supporting Needtobreathe, w/ Ben Rector and Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors
DeVos Performance Hall, Grand Rapids
Monday, May 4, 6 p.m., $36-$46
devosperformancehall.com, 616-742-6500
Life on tour agrees with Colony House, and things have only gotten better since the group found a sound representational of its true inspirations.
Since two of the members are children of Steven Curtis Chapman, a Grammy-Award winning Christian singer-songwriter, the pressure from record labels to head in their father’s direction could have nudged Colony House to follow someone else’s vision. But the trio has ultimately played to their strengths to churn out melodic, guitar-driven indie rock.
“Through trial and error, we found the music we were passionate about,” said Caleb Chapman, lead vocalist for the group. “From the beginning, (Christian music) never felt like where we were supposed to be. Trying it out wasn’t a negative experience, but we purposely followed a different route. It’s the standard ‘be true to yourself’ story.”
Listening to their instincts has brought the band from the Nashville indie-rock scene to the national stage. The group performed the glistening single “Silhouettes” on Late Night with Seth Meyers in September 2014, and its debut album When I Was Younger earned supportive reviews from the likes of Paste.
The band, which also includes Chapman’s brother Will on drums and Scott Mills on guitar, openly acknowledges its favorite bands greatly influenced the latest record. The LP echoes U2, The 1975, and Lord Huron. And what do all of those bands have in common with Colony House? “Honesty,” according to Chapman.
“What people care the most about when they’re having a conversation is honesty, and playing for an audience is like having a conversation,” Chapman said. “So when we write our songs, we don’t have an agenda. What we write about are our lives, and this is how we tell our story.”
Writing a frank, tight album didn’t come easy. But it did pay off.
“We’ve worked so hard for the little things, like writing and rewriting songs,” Chapman said. “So the big milestones: the album, the Seth Meyers appearance — those are big celebrations.”
