It was a night of worship for All Sons & Daughters as they performed a nearly 80 minute concert Friday night.

Playing for a full house in the warmly-lit Covenant Fine Arts Center (CFAC), All Sons & Daughters performed a set centered around worship music, led by the passionate vocals of David Leonard and Leslie Jordan.

Coming into the concert, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Knowing that the band from Franklin, Tenn. and their opener, Tim Timmons, were going to be playing worship music left me with a little uncertainty. Like many others at Calvin, I was raised on contemporary Christian music (CCM), but I’ve never been the stand-up-and-praise-God-through-song type. Hearing hundreds of voices echo through the CFAC in praise of God and his glory is great, but that just isn’t me. I also found myself wondering the following: can All Sons & Daughters separate themselves from the many other Christian music bands out there today?

Well, sort of.

Where All Sons & Daughters excelled was in their engaging sound. Full of passion for praising God and his works, Leonard and Jordan’s vocals impressed throughout the night. From the opening proclamation that “we will sing out, hallelujah/we will cry out, hallelujah” to songs like “Great Are You, Lord” and “All the Poor and Powerless,” Leonard and Jordan’s big voices and ability to extend each note to its fullest gave each song a powerful edge.

In addition to their great vocals, Leonard and Jordan added to All Sons & Daughters’ impressive sound through their play on the keyboard and guitar, respectively. The other members of the band, including more guitarists and a drummer, also helped with giving the worship music an intriguing folk rock sound, particularly on the song “Rising Sun.”

As compelling as All Sons and Daughters’ sound may be, they fall short of separating themselves from the large pack of Christian music artists currently working today. This is due to the lyrics of their songs. Though thoughtful and passionate, All Sons & Daughters’ lyrics ultimately sound like the offerings from every other CCM group; they lack the engaging edge of the music they are sung to.

And yet, whether All Sons & Daughters were impressive or not wasn’t the point of Friday’s concert. As Jordan said part way through the set, “tonight’s not about us; it’s for you — it’s for worship.” Working under the theme of “a night of worship,” the concert was a time for the band and the audience to come together to praise God and worship his name.

All Sons & Daughters also led the audience in worship through non-musical means. At a couple points in the set, Leonard and Jordan paused to read Psalm 13 and Psalm 22:22-31. The band also set up prayer stations on either side of the stage for people to use over the course of the concert, of which many did.

Jordan and Tim Timmons also spoke during the intermission about their ties to Feed One, an initiative of Convoy of Hope to help combat world hunger that Jordan called a “tangible” opportunity to help those in need.

With countless arms lifted heavenward, hundreds of voices filled the room in praise of God’s glory — a wonderful sight and sound.