The Planetshakers shake up Lee University chapel
Photo by Jaclyn De Vries
The Planetshakers, an eight-member Christian worship band from Australia, shook up the Conn Center stage during chapel on Thursday, Oct. 6.
Sophomore Selena Abel attended the show and enjoyed the energetic setting.
“The worship was full of energy and reminded me of a concert in some ways,” Abel said. “The atmosphere was definitely enthusiastic and passionate. They brought a lot of excitement to the Conn Center.”
Originally from Adelaide, Australia, the Planetshakers are now based in Melbourne at the Planetshakers Church. The band has released over 20 internationally acclaimed albums and tours annually around the world, according to the Planetshakers website.
The group was excited to worship with Lee University and encourages students to “go all out for God”, according to lead vocalist Joth Hunt.
“We want God to be everything, to control every part and that’s probably our greatest prayer, that everyone would just make that choice to go all out,” Hunt said.
Sam Evans, a lead vocalist and senior pastor at the Planetshakers Church, believes that the band has a mandate from God to empower generations with their music, which expresses their desire for people to have personal encounters with God.
“Our music is very vibrant and passionate because we really believe that we’re not to hold back in our relationship with God,” Evans said. “So we really believe that we’re to give our all and our energy and then just to inspire other people to do what we’re doing, like go for it! Love God, give Him your all, and sing along with us.”
Several of the band members grew up in the Planetshakers conference, which began in 1997, and have been playing music with the group for several years. Drummer Andy Harrison, who has been with the band for 10 years, feels privileged to help lead others in worship.
“Everything that we do around the world, including at Lee University, is really just to take from what God is already doing at home and so for us, we feel so privileged to be a part of that,” Harrison said. “We feel like we’re a product of those encounters with God and now we have the opportunity to then lead other people and that’s an exciting experience.”
Bass guitarist Josh Ham, who joined in 2010, reflected on how being part of the band has positively impacted his musical talent.
“I mean we all grew up going to Planetshakers conferences, and I was very much inspired by Planetshakers music to become a better bass player,” Ham said.
The Planetshakers have performed around the world and will launch a tour in January 2017 to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Their newest album, “Overflow”, was released on Sept. 30 and encourages people to experience the abundance and overflowing nature of God, according to their website.
In the future, the Planetshakers hope to keep traveling and reach more people with their music.
“We want to go out to more nations, more cities, more towns and really see revivals break out,” Hunt said. “That’s our greatest desire rather than any type of career, so to speak. We just wanna shake the planet!”
Staff writer Kaitlyn Aaron contributed to this story.
