TobyMac Returns to the Vines Center for CFAW Concert

TobyMac and the Diverse City Band captivated an audience filled with students and CFAW guests on Saturday, April 7. To start the night, TobyMac hyped up the crowd with two artists from his record label.

The first artist, Christian hip-hop and rapper Aaron Cole, came out with his drummer performing his song “Intro,” which grabbed the audience’s attention and brought them to their feet.

After Cole finished his songs, the second act, Hollyn, came in with a softer sound. Eventually, Cole joined Hollyn on stage performing the song “Steady Me.”

As the crowd waited anxiously through the first two acts, TobyMac and the Diverse City Band finally came out through strobe lights and smoke.

TobyMac emerged on stage sporting a fedora and red striped pants singing his first song “Lights Shine Bright.”  The illuminated stage mirrored the title of the song.

For the second song, Hollyn joined TobyMac on stage to sing “Backseat Driver.”  The choreographed routine of TobyMac and Hollyn had much of the crowd dancing along.

TobyMac challenged the audience by expressing his affection toward God through the songs he performed and his interaction with the crowd.

TobyMac continued to share God’s love throughout the night with a story he shared about his son Judah.  TobyMac said one night when Judah was younger, he asked TobyMac how he “steals the show?”  TobyMac answers Judah by saying that it is not him but God that steals the show.

The crowd seemingly loved how TobyMac sang a mixture of his newer songs and his older songs, such as, “Made to Love.”

When introducing the Diverse City band for the next song, TobyMac expressed his love for humanity as a whole by saying, “If your world is not diverse, you are missing out on the richness that I know.”

Audience members such as Rebecca Martin loved how TobyMac has a passion and love for others besides himself.

“What a selfless saying,” Martin said.  “I love the fact that he continued, throughout the show, to express his love for everyone as people and not anything less than who God created us as.”

TobyMac then went offstage to change outfits while his DJ came out doing a mash up of different artists featuring Bruno Mars.  The DJ got the crowd dancing once again for TobyMac’s return on stage.

TobyMac performed his final song, “Love Broke Thru,” which had a video playing behind the band as TobyMac sang and danced on stage.  For the crowd, this was the most powerful message throughout the entire concert.

The song expresses how Christians should live for love and not war and showcases through the lyrics and rhythm of the song that this sort of love could only come from God.

After the final song, the crowd shouted for an encore, and TobyMac obliged.

Some people were surprised that TobyMac was still popular, being that he originally came to stardom after co-founding the band “DC Talk” while a student at Liberty in the late 1980s.

Students and guests at the concert, such as Martin, said they still enjoy listening to him today.

“This is such a throwback to my childhood when I used to listen to his older songs,” Martin said.