There is a movement of bands doing radical things in the touring sphere, all in the name of spreading a message of faith. A long time ago, we highlighted the avant-garde band White Collar Sideshow, soon to be releasing The WitcHunt. Today, we highlight two more groups.

Braddigan

Yes, it’s that Braddigan. It’s the guy from Dispatch, the most successful indie band of all time (they sold out Madison Square Garden one time). Braddigan felt convicted to leave the arena behind in favor of the trash dump. Brad Corrigan, formed his new collective, Braddigan and traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to the city landfill, where the outcasts and worst of the vagrants live. Bad smells, unclean used needles, and goodness knows what else everywhere provided the backdrop for a new, radical form of ministry. At a chapel service in 2009, he told me and the 2300ish other Wheaton College students present about the power of one (with the support of the Holy Spirit), and the importance of living in the “new.” It was a message that moved many, some to the point of kneeling at the altar with unashamed proclamations of renewed devotion to the Lord’s will. This is the passion that drives Braddigan, who has returned to touring with Dispatch for the time being.

Benjamin Dunn and the Animal Orchestra (featured photo credit: official Facebook page)

This underground collective is the latest musical project of a husband and wife who tour in unlikely places. They are as much about teaching as they are about playing music. Their latest single “My Name Is Eustace” soars with the passion of Sigur Ros and the punch of an angst-ridden M83. The song has already won on RadioU’s Battle of the Buzz and found acclaim with Christian alternative fans. The band tours internationally and is poised to make an impact on their scene in the near future. In an era where bands struggle to break out, Dunn and company’s thinking outside of the box may be just what they need to break out – though in their case, this will mean getting their message to as many people as possible, rather than raking in monetary success. Check out their “About” statement:

The California natives, Benjamin and his wife Stephanie, have spent the last 8 years traveling across not only America but to the far corners of the world, sharing their unique sound and loving the poor along the way as they frequently tour grabage dumps and leper colonies. They just recently finished a log-time dream of creating an orphanage and home for children from the garbage dumps and leper colonies in India.

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