The Grammy ® Award nominated act, Anthony Brown & group therAPy, has created an inspiring unplugged video of songs they are calling, “Worship in the Woods” (Key of A/Tyscot / FairTrade). Known for its Billboard No. 1 hits such as “Blessings on Blessings” and “Worth,” the crew set camp in some dense Maryland parkland to create this comforting 22-minute set of songs.
“Every new year brings out feelings of hope, vision and optimism that this year will be better than the last,” Brown says. “Little did I know that the world as we knew it, would change when the pandemic known as COVID-19 rocked our world. Not just one person, but every human on the planet has been affected. Tears and fear. Unbelievable amounts of grief and despair. Things I never thought I would see in my lifetime. Not knowing what the future would hold, I do what I always do when I’m faced with impossible situations. Every wilderness I’ve ever been in, in my entire life, has brought me to a place where I look up to God for answers and direction. So, this time was no different.”
With Brown seated behind a portable piano keyboard at a clearing in the thick of trees, he and five of his group members opened with “Another One” a song from their current album, 2nd Wind: Ready (Key of A / Tyscot / FairTrade). Later, Brown speaks directly to the viewers with this message, “I know some of you are going through a wilderness right now. If you’re going through your own wildness, don’t you think God is going to show up for you? … Those same seeds you gave to other people [God is] going to use those same seeds to replenish you… God has a harvest coming your way.” On that note, the group segues into “Harvest Song” from the group’s self-titled 2012 debut project which included their Top 5 smash, “Testimony.”.
At a point in the video, group therAPy members explain how COVID19 has turned their worlds upside down. Two members are schoolteachers who haven’t been near their students in months. One wanted to visit her 79-year-old mother in Ohio but says, “She is one of those people who are at great risk [of being exposed to the disease],” so she has stayed away. Another says the biggest role of his career in a national tour of the Broadway production of “Miss Saigon” ended when the national stay-at-home orders took effect. They close with “Trust in You” – a Top 5 hit from 2018 – which gas seen a boost in streams over the last few weeks as people search for songs of comfort.
View “Worship in the Woods” online at:
