Published: May 07, 2009 09:07 pm      

Lutcher Theater welcomes Christian rock acts Saturday

The Lutcher Theater has long been an attraction for fans of drama, musicals, and even the occasional blues or country music concert, but this Saturday it will offer guests something different — a Christian rock concert.

A trio of rock acts make their way to Orange this Saturday night for a performance inside the beautiful Lutcher Theater. Headlining is the award winning quartet, Skillet.

Tickets are on sale now at the Lutcher Theater box office, online at www.lutcher.org or by calling 409-745-5535. Tickets are $25 for Orchestra Center, $22 for side orchestra, $20 for lower balcony and $18 for upper balcony seating. A $2 handling charge per ticket will also be assessed. The show starts at 7 p.m. and all ages are welcome to attend. Special guests include Decypher Down and Disciple.

Skillet, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for its 2006 release, “Comatose,” is currently touring in support of its 2008 live compact disc and DVD, “Comatose Comes Alive.” The band, comprised of bassist and vocalist John Cooper and his wife, Korey, on guitar, along with guitarist Ben Kasica and drummer, Jen Ledger, make their second ever appearance in Southeast Texas.

“We’ve been out on the road, headlining this tour, for about five weeks now,” said John Cooper during a telephone interview on an off day in the tour. “We still have about four weeks to go. Things have been going well on the road and the shows are good, and we’re enjoying be out in front of the fans.”

Cooper said the band has a new member in drummer Jen Ledger, who replaced previous drummer Lori Peters in January 2008 after Peters decided to retire from the band.

The “Comatose Tour 2009” is basically a continuation of the tour started in 2006, which is when the band released the critically acclaimed and Grammy-nominated album. The band is touring in support of its October 2008 CD/DVD release, “Comatose Comes Alive,” which was recorded May 9, 2008, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Although the band is a Christian rock act, the band has managed to cross over into the mainstream rock world with a small measure of success, partially due to energetic live performances and well-crafted songs, as well as spots on tours with big name acts such as Seether, Shinedown, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, Thousand Foot Krutch and more.

Their experience on the road over the years has led the band to perfect its live show.

“We have a pretty cool production with us on the tour right now,” Cooper added. “It has good lighting too, and some other things that make a rock show.”

Many fans may be patiently waiting for Skillet to release a new album, and, according to Cooper, the wait is almost over.

“We have been working on new material for a while now, and the new album is scheduled for an August release,” Cooper explained. “The album is called ‘Awake’ and we hope to have new single coming out, hopefully, next month.”

In fact, fans can expect two singles to debut at the same time as the band attempts to capitalize on its Christian and secular popularity. The song “Hero” is slated to go to Christian radio, while the track “Monster” will arrive at mainstream rock stations around the same time.

The band is also reported to be performing both songs on its current tour.

“We really didn’t stray too far from what works for us, as a band, with the new material and album,” Cooper said. “We tried some new things, but we kept everything else the same. We know what works for us at this point in our career.”

After the current tour is over, Cooper said the band will take part in a number of summer music festivals before the next chapter in the Skillet saga begins.

“The festivals should keep us pretty busy until the new album comes out,” Cooper added. “Then we’ll get ready for another run in September, and see where the road and new album take us from there.”



Tommy Mann Jr. is a reporter for The Orange Leader. He can be reached at 409-883-3571, Ext. 2619 or tmann@orangeleader.com