Phillips recently answered some questions about the group, speaking from his home in Austin, Texas.
Q: Congratulations on celebrating 30 years as a group in 2021. How did it feel to reach that milestone?
A: Thanks, yeah, 30 years of Phillips, Craig and Dean is pretty incredible. I remember our main goal starting out was to create an album and, hopefully, sell enough to cover the costs. Our record company told me the other day we just about recouped on that first album. (laughs)
Q: Is it true “You’re Still God” is the last album from Phillips, Craig and Dean?
A: Yeah, it could be true. It’s a great album to end on. There are so many great songs on there. For what it takes to gear up for a studio album and the year-and-a-half-, two-year-process of writing, I don’t know if we’re committed to doing that at this stage in life. Anything is possible but this album said everything we wanted to say so I think we’re good.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Q: How did the pandemic impact the group’s touring approach moving forward?
A: Well, it impacted everybody, not just in Christian music, but in the music industry as a whole. It all imploded, from the musicians and singers to the songwriters to the lighting guys, the bus drivers and everybody else. It was a domino effect that will take years and years to recover from. We’ll look back at these moments and say, ‘My goodness, that was unbelievable.’ It cleared our calendar as it cleared everybody’s calendar. Things have slowly come back on. We’re completely committed to touring. We have a great band. We’ve been together forever and we love that band.
Q: What can audience members expect from this concert?
A: We’ll be singing songs off the new album and also those old songs we’ve sure enjoyed for 30-plus years. We kind of ask people what they want to hear. People are wonderful on social media and different platforms to talk about how the songs spoke to them in hard times. When you hear those stories and we start doing that music, it’s so meaningful. It’s very, very humbling to know a song we sing brings a memory that’s so ingrained in somebody’s soul. We’re really grateful we can be part of the soundtrack of somebody’s life so we’re looking forward to coming back to that area. We can’t wait to come see ya’ll.
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Credit: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Tickets for the Phillips, Craig and Dean concert are $20 and $30 adults. VIP tickets are $50 and include a pre-show Q&A with the group. Faith and Friends Radio will next be hosting a dinner concert featuring legendary Christian music artist Phil Keaggy at First Baptist Church in Dayton on Friday, June 24. Tickets are $50 and includes dinner and the concert. Limited seats are available so act fast.
Contact this contributing writer at 937-287-6139 or e-mail at donthrasher100@gmail.com.
HOW TO GO
What: Faith and Friends Radio’s 11th anniversary concert with Phillips, Craig and Dean
Where: Arbogast Performing Arts Center (APAC), 500 S. Dorset Road, Troy
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, May 14
Cost: $20 and $30 adults, $50 VIP tickets, which include pre-show Q&A with the group
More info: www.faithandfriendsradio.com
Artist info: www.phillipscraiganddean.com
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