Art and Authenticity

• SA Concerts

August 31, 2023

In a generation of young Christians who crave authenticity from believers around them, especially those of influence, there’s a call for relatability. Seemingly perfect saints keep them from speaking up about struggles, while fallen faith “heroes” plant seeds of skepticism over who’s as real as they say they are. Allie Paige answers that call with resounding vulnerability. The Santa Barbara native has been releasing music eponymously for over half a decade with no hesitation to share the most raw parts of her life. Perhaps the most notable example of this is her 2022 album “ap vol. I”.

            The self-written, produced, and mixed album is presented as one cohesive work of art, both in musical composition, mixing mellow elements of pop, indie, and alt, and lyrical composition, ingeniously following the pattern, or “cycle”, of honest confession and crying out to God for help from beginning to end. The record’s opening track, “Cycles”, dives into Paige’s ongoing struggles with depression and grief, a process often overlooked in Christian communities. The song ends with the line, “reach for me”, which she explains as “the feeling of utter hopelessness and a need for a savior”.

The following tracks consist of Paige detailing various, relatable struggles and continually coming to the conclusion that a poured out heart before her Creator opens the door to healing and breakthrough, an idea she expounded upon in an Instagram post during the initial release of the album. The record’s final song, “I feel like flying”, which features fellow indie worship artist, and friend, Taylor Armstrong, concludes with one line of courage-inducing hope that reflects the thirty-year-old’s overarching outlook on the challenges shared, “you take my pain and you make it worth it all.”

            Observing the responses to Paige’s music makes it clear that she has found a way to formulate a special connection between her songs and her listeners. Beyond simply producing thoroughly enjoyable art, which is nothing to scoff at, she is able to provide comfort to those who share her humanity and provoke that outstanding appeal for openness. The significance of this lies in the reality that you and I have a hard enough time being honest with the closest people in our lives. To be this unreserved, to lay this bare to any and every person who has access to music streaming is entirely remarkable. It is refreshing, it is comforting, and it is certainly needed.

            Allie Paige is bringing her unashamed authenticity and coastal coolness to Liberty’s campus on November 10^th in the LaHaye Event Space. Tickets are on sale now and you can find them here!