for King & Country visits Liberty, promotes new ‘Unsung Hero’ film about their family’s story

Even as they hyped their newest feature film, “Unsung Hero,” based on their family’s move from Australia to America and the trials they overcame to emerge as one of Christian music’s most popular bands, for King & Country performed a full set of songs to inspire students gathered for Friday morning’s Convocation.

From “Fix My Eyes” and “Love Me Like I Am” to “Priceless” and the film’s title song, “Unsung Hero,” the brothers duo of Joel and Luke Smallbone engaged the crowd with an interactive experience from the stage to the seats.

During the anthem “Burn the Ships,” sung as a ballad from amongst the audience as phone flashlights illuminated the arena, Joel shared an intimate prayer affirming how much the students are loved by the God who created them. The set also included acoustic versions of “God Only Knows” and “Joy” and concluded with the band’s rendition of “Little Drummer Boy,” with Luke on drums.

“I just want to say on behalf of LU, ‘Thank you,’” Liberty Vice President for Spiritual Development Josh Rutledge said as he sat down with the Smallbones to discuss the film, which releases April 26 in theaters across the country. “You guys consistently show up and serve and you just bless us.”

The movie chronicles “One family’s journey from Down Under to center stage,” from out of poverty to the bright lights of Nashville and tours around the United States and Canada.

“Unsung Hero” is co-directed and co-written by Richard Ramsey and Joel Smallbone, who plays the role of his father, David. In the film, David’s once-successful Sydney-based music company that promoted concerts in Australia collapses and he opts to move his family — his wife, Helen, and their six children, with one on the way — to the United States in search of a brighter future.

The brothers began their music careers as band members for older sister Rebecca St. James, one of America’s most popular female Christian recording artists of the 1990s, and eventually followed in her steps to become for King & Country.

The movie is a drama, with comedic elements that share the family’s transformation through trial — turning struggle into adventure — with a diverse soundtrack from the 1990s.

Playing the role of his father proved a life-changing experience for Joel Smallbone.

“I was pretty lazy with my dad’s story before this film, and it was really impactful for me to drop into his world and to literally step into his shoes, and into his jacket, and (ask) ‘What was he facing?’” Joel said. “It was pretty profound, and it was also really profound to re-enact these miracles that we sort of inexplicably felt and sensed along the way.”

Luke Smallbone, who also co-produced the film, said it should inspire families to draw closer together and nearer to God.

“I believe in the power of the family,” he said. “I think the family is more important today than it ever has been in the history of the world.”

He cited Mother Teresa who said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.”

“That’s kind of the heartbeat behind this movie,” Luke told the students. “If we want to see revival in the Western world, I think it’s going to come through the family. Some of you here might be thinking, ‘Well, Luke, I’m away from my family right now. I don’t have the opportunity to speak into my family.’ Well, here’s what I would say: The people that you are sitting next to, here for four years if you are a freshman, they are your family. If you are a senior, the people that go beneath you, the way that you love them, the way that you care for them, has everything to do with family.”

At its essence, the film is a tribute to the artists’ parents, for their sacrificial love shown toward their family. Luke Smallbone encouraged the students to honor their own mothers and fathers by learning from their mistakes and creating their own legacies.

“The way that you honor and respect your parents in these years that you are here at college has everything to do with the way that you will raise your kids, the way that you will go about your life,” he said. “You play a vital role in the influence of where your family goes, from here until however long you get the privilege of being with your parents.”

Josh Walsh, co-producer of the film, will host a Q&A following a premiere showing of “Unsung Hero” at the university’s theater inside the Get Air Trampoline Park at the Candlers Station Shopping Center at 7 p.m., with limited seats available on a first-come, first-served basis.