Grace, Truth, and a Festival of The Beatles

This weekend I took my kids to a festival all about The Beatles' music.

I've written before about my 2020 New Year's Resolution to listen to all of The Beatles' music (I realized today that their name was The Beatles and not Beatles. I don't know what I was thinking.). It started as more of a music history and cultural interest that has grown over the years. My kids have been raised on their music.

I heard about the When I'm 64 Fest in Prairetown, IL and knew I wanted to go. It was a free, all day music fest where all the bands played The Beatles' music. It was mostly people that were young when The Beatles were together. Most of the bands were not tribute bands, and that was part of the appeal to me. My wife stayed home with the baby, and I took our six oldest. We took a picnic lunch, set up a shade tent, and stayed for 3 bands. One was a young rock band, one was a blues bar band, and one played very polished covers.

I think The Beatles are important because their music influenced so many other popular artists and culture. The music, the lyrics, and the style are woven throughout pop and rock music. After living with their music for three years, I now see their influence all over pop and even Christian music.

One of my favorite musical moments was when the blues band played "Piggies." Piggies is a satarical take on the British upper/ruling class in the style of a classical minuet. Hearing a blues/rock version of a 60+ year old song was really fun.

Dominic Miller, Sting's guitarist, says that the definition of a great song is that someone can play it badly and it still be good. This fest had good bands, but it showed the greatness of The Beatles because their songs could be played in a different style and still be amazing.

There were unintentional discipleship opportunities. I can be naive and didn't consider what some of the songs that would be played would include. I also didn't really think about the fact that it was a festival where people could bring in coolers of beer and drink all day. It gave me and the kids a chance to talk about how to think about sin in the world, what it means to cut off temptation for us, and how we overlook and move past other people's sin when we have to.

I've been thinking about how music exists in a matrix that I call it the Grace and Truth Matrix. I learned it in a different context. Music can be low or high beauty and low or high truth. The best music is both either intentionally or unintentionally.

Griffin Gooch has a recent newsletter on how all music relates to God on the spectrum from exalting to opposing. I think there is some help in that framework he explains. I'm not sure he goes far enough in thinking about how music and not just lyrics can be related to God. Music (not just lyrics) with beauty can exalt, reflect, echo, wrestle, substitute, or oppose God.

The best of The Beatles is high grace but low on truth. Musically it's hard to beat While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, or Back in the USSR. Some of their lyrics reflect or echo God's truth in songs like Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, and Penny Lane. Much of their lyrics wrestle, substitute, or oppose God, and it is good to notice that.

Some people wonder that I would listen to The Beatles. How can I--a Christian and pastor--listen to The Beatles or other non-Christian music? My short answer is that the earth belongs to the Lord and everything in it--even music. Some bands might not be exalting God intentionally. By their skill and creativity though, their music exalts the creator of music. I prefer music that intentionally exalts, reflects, echoes, or wrestles with God's world. I avoid music that substitutes or opposes God--we've learned the last 10 years though, that even music intended to exalt God can be made by those whose lives oppose him.

This is my Father's music, and to my listening ears...



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