Rebecca St. James

Rebecca St. James: 11/29/22 “It was practically in my backyard, Greenwood SC, so I didn’t want to miss a first time opportunity of seeing 45 year old Australian contemporary christian singer Rebecca St. James. I made my way across the town line in hopes of catching a few of her nine #1 singles and with fingers crossed not so many Christmas songs (it’s okay— I really don’t mind being labeled a Scrooge or Grinch). Advertised as ‘an intimate solo performance that will feature a combination of original music, worship, and Christmas songs’, it was also a special benefit show, part of Giving Tuesday’s celebration at Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries. Tickets were only $20 and all ticket sales went toward supporting the ministry which facilitates residential care, crisis care, foster care, and family care to over 200 children per year, a worthy cause! The concert was held on campus at the church providing the artist a magnificently decked and garnished backdrop in preparations for the Holiday. At 6:15 singer/songwriter Josh Nichols based out of Nashville opened with a 30 minute/5 song set. Josh solo on keyboard with all original compositions set off the evening on a reflective note. Josh self-describing his songs such as ‘Lu’ and ‘White Ford Expedition’ as being ‘heavy’ challenged audience members to adopt an attitude of living out their faith principals at an uncompromisingly practical level. His voice and piano skills were on point and the theme rang true for an organization with a mission such as Maxwell. At 7 pm Rebecca took the stage with a three person back up: guitar, keys, and cajon/various percussion. The performance a little over an hour did feature mostly Christmas music with the exclusion of only two songs. With nontraditional arrangements the classics were anything but dull. Watching the interaction between the musicians on the timing of her vocals and chord changes was an adventure, the guitarist often utilizing his iPad to his left along with several quick glances toward the keyboardist to the right. The ‘O Comes’ i.e. all ye faithful and Emmanuel made my heart grow three times larger. There were plenty of interactive moments with singing and clapping from the audience, Rebecca making note of certain audience individuals from the stage. Midway she paused to take time out to share parts of her story namely the beginnings of her career i.e. being asked at the age of 12 to open for Carmen during his Australian tour. Next she summarized her consequent move from Sydney to Nashville with her parents and six siblings in 1991. It was not what they anticipated, finding the basics of life food, clothing and shelter difficult at best to come by. All the good things in her life had come at a cost and have been sustained alone through God’s faithfulness —Rebecca pointing upwards towards heaven numerous times during times of audience applause. Of note she also mentioned the similar success of two of her siblings Joel and Luke with the band ‘For King & Country’. Michael W Smith’s ‘This Is The Air I Breathe’ was a highlight with a cappella audience sing-a-long chorus, it’d had been a while since I sung that song. The other highlight complete with backstory was the song ‘Wait For Me’. The song revolved around her participation in what was known at the time as the ‘purity movement’ and her wait for her ‘holy hunk’ to come along. The wait was longer than she anticipated, all the while fans would show up, some with engagement rings, believing they were the ones destined to be her special partner in holy matrimony! Though not a #1, it is by far my favorite song she has recorded and I was able to capture an entire video from row one! My only regret of the evening was not sticking around after the show. I found out next morning that she came out unannounced after the performance to meet and greet with the faithful who didn’t rush out to capitalize on the early evening’s release. A brief chat with Maxwell’s president Danny Nicholson prior to the show revealed that they plan on doing more events like this bringing in known artists. I’ll be following along, who knows who may be next!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #727)

First time my beloved wife, Tara and I saw Rebecca. Simply marvelous and very entertaining. And also Happy Birthday, Rebecca

She was genuine and a joy to have her lead a night of worship The small venue of the Ocean City NJ Tabernacle made for an amazing experience. Her band members were also accessible after the show. My wife and I enjoyed chatting with Caleb who was on keys. Thank you Rebecca St James for making a stop in Ocean City, NJ!!!

It was a Blessing to Hear your New music and where the Spirit is Guiding you 🙏🙌Amen...

I Love you Rebecca.

So great to see and hear Rebecca again after many years.

AMAZING!!!