While preparing to interview CCM artist Matthew West recently, I realized the last live show I saw in person before the COVID-19 shutdown was Matthew West in the 2019 K-Love Christmas tour in Lafayette.
Two years later, West is touring again and will stop in Baton Rouge at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18, at Greenwell Springs Baptist Church, 19421 Greenwell Springs Road.
Hannah Kerr and Anne Wilson will also perform. Tickets are $25 for balcony and wing seating, and $28 on the floor. Two levels of VIP experience called the Blue Couch are available at $70 and $100. All tickets have an additional fee.
“I'm getting butterflies as I get ready for this new show," West said. "And it feels like we've been waiting to do this tour for so long. I put out an album called 'Brand New' in February 2020. Here we are now. And the 'Brand New' tour is finally in February 2022.”
West shared, “You know what? I just got over COVID. It knocked me out. About a week ago, I don't even think I would have had the energy for this interview.
“I'm just thankful to be coming through that. For two years, I dodged COVID. I never got it. And for those two years, I spent the entire time encouraging other people. What was really special is when I told people I had COVID, I feel like everybody returned the favor the last couple of weeks and were praying for me. And so I'm thankful to be feeling a lot better. It's not a moment too soon as we get ready to begin the tour.”
Just as with other musicians, the two years off the road haven’t been slow for West.
“I've been staying productive and working hard in writing songs,” he said. “And I launched the podcast and most importantly, trying to stay the course and lead my family through what's been a really challenging season for all of us.”
“There's something about songwriters, I kind of always joke that songwriters love rainy days," he continued. "That means literal and metaphorical. But we've had a whole bunch of rainy days in our world. So, it's no surprise that those rainy days have inspired a lot of songs. And I'm excited to share those songs with the world.”
Two years ago, West spoke about facing medical challenges to his voice and then his hand, the two things necessary for his music career. When asked if those experiences prepared him for the uncertain days of a pandemic, West hesitated and came back with the word "unprecedented."
He added that every trial in life brings something familiar.
“When life brings you to your knees, that becomes a familiar place. There's the similarity of going 'OK, here I am, again, I’m in a situation that I can't fix on my own.' … In some ways, maybe it prepared me because I've been there before, I faced times in my life where something was broken, and there was nothing I could do in my own power to fix it. I really feel like that's where our world has been the last couple of years.
“But as far as a pandemic, in the unknown of a virus and the political strife and that division at the, you know, you name it, all these crazy things, and mandate and masks and gosh, I just feel like we've all thrust into just a scene like we've never known before,” he said.
The singer said that trying to come out of the situation “we're all just trying to figure it out, you know? What are we doing?”
As things are coming back, he asked how we have confidence again. West said life is crazy and people are mad, whether you perform or not.
“All I know is that it’s time to be together again, and I'm excited to be on stage and to see a real crowd in front of me and to hear them lift their voices. And I got a feeling that these tours we're going to be on are going to be really special.”
When asked about the show in Baton Rouge, West said the hardest thing will be containing the excitement of the crowd.
“The artists, myself and my band, we are ready.
“We're going to laugh, and we're going to sing, and we're going to cry, and we're going to worship.”
West said he always hopes people enjoy the show and that they work hard to ensure the entertainment aspect. But “we always are reaching for something more than just entertainment at our concerts. We want our hearts to be connected by the powerful truth that there's hope even when life looks hopeless, and I feel like that message has never been more needed than it is right now.”
In addition to writing for himself, West creates songs others use. He said he has about six songs on the radio right now, performed by others.
Casting Crowns is among those. “Scars in Heaven,” co-written with Mark Hall, played on the radio the past year. The Crowns have another song, “Crazy People,” also co-written by West, “The song is as fun as the title,” he said.
The chorus lyrics are:
“Crazy people trusting Jesus
Following Him wherever He leads us
Kingdom Seekers
Walk by faith believers
Here’s the church Here’s the steeple
Here’s to all God’s crazy people"
In addition to music, West found time to write a book that will be out in the fall and to start a podcast.
“Every Wednesday, I put out an episode of the podcast and I get to interview … No offense to myself, but I get kind of bored with myself … So, I get the chance to turn the microphone around and be the one asking questions to some of my favorite authors and artists, speakers, and just different people whose stories inspire me.”
West said the podcast, at https://www.matthewwest.com/podcast, will soon hit 2 million downloads.
West said these things grew out of boredom in the pandemic.
“Sometimes we limit ourselves, and we get stuck in one lane. And we think that's the lane we're always supposed to be.
“And for me, I go in one day, I might write a song, and another day, I might write a song for somebody else. And another day, I might write a book. And another day, I might do a podcast, and then another day, I'm gonna go on tour and do a concert. It's so exciting to see that there's more than one lane, right?
“When your goal is to encourage people, and that becomes your chief aim in life, it's like how can I be a message of hope to people? You'd be amazed how many lanes can open up for you.”
All of these projects also come as he and his dad, a pastor, have been running their nonprofit called Popwe, a chance to help people tell their stories. West described the program as a chance for people to open more lanes in their lives.
“Our nonprofit organization is all about finding people wherever they are. And we talk about our lives being a story. That's a big part of my music. And there's a lot of people who've been made to feel like there's no hope for their story or their stories are too messed up. And they got too many messy chapters that couldn't be redeemed. Our whole organization is about helping to step into people's stories and let them know that there's new chapters ready to be written,” he said.