(Note: For some reason the original published version of this article was an earlier draft. This is the completed version. ~ JZ)
I don’t remember the first time I heard Andrew Peterson. I’m sure it was sometime in the late nineties1, but to be honest, I wasn’t quite ready for him yet. This isn’t to say Andrew Peterson’s music is inaccessible to people in their early twenties, I just wasn’t personally ready for him.
Then again, maybe his music wasn’t ready for me.
In the nineties, Andrew Peterson’s music was good, but in an era where Caedmon’s Call was ruling the college coffee house Christian set2, and where Chris Rice ruled Christian radio34. I guess there wasn’t room for another singer songwriter at the time.
But truth be told, Andrew Peterson’s best work is happening now - over twenty years later. I originally took notice of him when someone shared the video for “Dancing in the Minefields”, from his 2010 album Counting Stars, and as schmaltzy as it was, I was moved. Because I’m a sucker for a good song about the ups and downs of marriage.
After that I took a deep dive into his work, and became a huge fan.
A modern day renaissance man, Peterson is an author, an illustrator, and musician, who, along with his brother Pete, started The Rabbit Room, which “cultivates and curates stories, music, and art to nourish Christ-centered communities for the life of the world.” I’m not a paying member of the Rabbit Room, but I have supported them as best I can over the years, buying books, music, and even attending the online version of Hutchmoot,5 their annual gathering of likeminded believers6.
But the best part about Andrew Peterson? He’s a Counting Crows fan.
I found this out in the greatest way possible. In February of 2015, I had the privilege of attending an Andrew Peterson show, and he played a few tracks from his then upcoming album, The Burning Edge of Dawn.
During his performance of “The Dark Before the Dawn”, he began to sing the refrain from “A Murder of One”, from The Counting Crows August and Everything After. I was surrounded by a lot of homeschool families, and older congregation members, and my wife was next to me. None of them seemed to catch that little Easter egg, but I was giddy.
For years, I hid my love of some secular music from almost all of my Christian friends. It was shameful not to listen to something that didn’t glorify God lyrically, so I would listen to it in secret. I gradually would bring some of this to light, starting softly with a bit of U2, and then going full bore into talking about my love of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Weezer, and the Counting Crows.
So when I heard one of my favorite Christian artists, quoting a song from one of my favorite secular artists, I felt seen.
After the show, I immediately made my way to the table where he was going to be selling books, CDs, and other merch. I was first in line, and while he looked exhausted, his eyes lit up when I mentioned how I appreciated the nod to the Crows.
We then went on to have a short conversation about our shared love of that record, the beauty of the poetry and the music, and how younger people don’t seem to understand its appeal.7 It was a wonderful moment that I will cherish forever.
All that to say, The Burning Edge of Dawn is an awesome collection of songs that walk that razor thin edge between darkness and hope. Much like the horizon line, just as the sun is about to make it’s ascent.
The aforementioned “The Dark Before the Dawn” opens the album up, preparing the listener for the journey they are about to go on. Beautifully describing just how difficult it is to be a Christian struggling with depression - something I know all too well. It’s that dichotomy of knowing the hope that our faith provides, but feeling so hopeless in the grip of our own darkness.8
Every subsequent song on the record sticks to that theme - the light and the dark, the battle between hope and hopelessness. There’s also a song to encourage his daughter - something all dads need to do - called “Be Kind to Yourself”. It’s kind of this album’s answer to “Dancing in the Minefields” - perfect for sharing with your men’s Bible study groups when talking about parenting.
“The Sowers Song” closes out the record with a summation of its theme - where Andrew pleads with God to abide in him while he is “furrowed like a field, torn open like the dirt”. That even his brokenness, the Lord would have a harvest.
That’s one of the hardest prayers to pray, isn’t it? I for one am thankful that he’s given me the words for that prayer.
Further Listening: If you’ve been listening to Christian radio at all over the past couple of years, you’ve no doubt heard Chris Tomlin’s cover of “Is He Worthy?” - do yourself a favor and find a copy of The Resurrection Letters, Vol 1 from 2018. The Peterson version, in my opinion, is a thousand times more authentic and moving than the Tomlin one.
His “Chasing Song'“ was a staple on Christian radio too, but I had no idea who he was. At that point, singer/songwriters were white noise there.
Ironically, Andrew Peterson co-wrote “Mystery of Mercy”, which was featured on the Caedmon’s Call 2001 album, Back Home. It shouldn’t be all that surprising, since they toured together a lot back then.
He really did, at least in my mind. I must have heard his “Cartoon Song” a million times back then, and my anger with his dismissal of “Beavis and that other guy”, when I was quite similar to “Beavis and that other guy”, grew with each listen. While people were laughing at his spot on impressions of Kermit the Frog and Astro from the Jetsons, I was thinking, why can’t “Beavis and that other guy” get saved?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Rice seemed to walk back some of the stuff in that song, or at least addressed criticism of it on his website a few years back. I can’t find the original post, but here’s a blog post about it. https://www.crosswalk.com/culture/music/chris-rice-and-the-great-cartoons-controversy-1383756.html
I have no idea what “hutchmoot” means, but it was a delightful weekend filled with music from several independent singer songwriters, breakout sessions about poetry, fiction writing, and many other creative things. But the highlight for me was an incredibly moving keynote address by Steve Taylor, who I will be writing about later this year, if I keep going on this list.
For all of its strengths, and it’s welcoming nature, the only criticism I have of the Rabbit Room, and it’s not a slight on them in the least, but I feel quite dumb when among their people. They all seem to be classically trained literary types, and I’m just a dumb guy who tells stupid jokes and likes the occasional discussion about Lord of the Rings or Narnia.
He told me a story about when he was on tour with a band that was much younger than him, playing that CD in the tour van, and they were unimpressed. He didn’t mention who the band was, but shame on them.
I’m currently battling a serious bout of depression, brought on by stress, the lack of sunlight, and did I mention stress? This is the kind of song that gets me through that stuff.