The Petersens - May 3, 2023

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 3, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

I love music and have for as long as I can remember. As a young boy, I would sit in front of the record player and watch the platter spin around as I listened. I still remember my parent's records by Perry Como, Brook Benton, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Billy Vaughn, and Trini Lopez. 

When I bought my first radio, a small black portable transistor radio, I turned the dial to 950 KIMN and listened to what I was sure was the best radio station in the world. Ode to Billie Joe, Pleasant Valley Sunday, All You Need is Love, Heroes and Villains, and many other songs streamed through my head as I drifted off to sleep with my very own transistor radio under my pillow. I spent every moment I could listening to my radio.

As a teenager, I spent most of my money on music. I bought a stereo for my room. I installed a stereo in every car I drove. I purchased one of the first boom boxes I saw at my local Alco store. When I went to college, I had to study on my bed because my entire desk was covered with the hundreds of albums I owned.

My tastes in music have always been eclectic. During my high school years, I listened to the hard rock of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, and Black Sabbath, but I also loved The Carpenters, Bread, John Denver, and Melanie. My favorite music is still pop music from the 60s and 70s.

I spend hours on YouTube listening to music, so the algorithm suggests lots of new music in my favorite styles. As I have gotten older, my favorite music genres are folk, bluegrass, and Americana. One of my favorite YouTube artists is Reina del Cid. Reina posts a new video most Sunday mornings on her series, Sunday Mornings with Reina Del Cid. Each week I look forward to a new video.

Reina often collaborates with other artists on her Sunday morning videos. One Sunday in early 2020, the new video was the song, Delta Dawn. Reina was playing with a group of musicians that I had never seen before. In the notes for the video, she wrote, "I've been a big fan of The Petersens ever since I saw their cover of Jolene, and I was so thrilled it worked out to do a couple of songs with them while we were both in Dallas earlier this week on tour. They are as nice and genuine as they are talented, and it was a total honor to make music with them. I hope there will be more opportunities to jam in the future! Check out our cover 'Southern Nights' with the Petersens on their channel!"

I checked out The Petersens channel, and I loved it. Before too long, I had watched every video on their channel. I found out they had regular concerts in Branson, Missouri, and hoped I could go to a show, but it never worked out. Then one day earlier this year, a post popped up on my Facebook feed with a photo of The Petersens. One short sentence accompanied the photo. "The Petersens are coming to Mena April 28th."

When the tickets went on sale for The Petersens concert at Avalon Keep, I was among the first to purchase tickets. I contacted Michael and suggested a promotion for the concert. Richie's Discount Auto Glass would give away two tickets while promoting the concert. I eagerly waited for the night of the show.

It was a cloudy and dreary evening with a light mist falling as we pulled into the packed parking lot at Avalon Keep and tried to find a place to park. The show was sold out, and the beautiful Avalon Hall was bursting at the seams. The crowd eagerly waited for the concert to begin. 

The dobro followed a few bars of solo banjo, then the rest of the band joined in. "Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, I'm begging of you, please don't take my man." The music filled the room as the group's tight harmonies captivated the audience. The Petersens played a wide variety of traditional, pop, and country music. Matt, guitarist, and vocalist with the band, entertained the crowd with his quick wit and humor as he announced the songs.

As the evening progressed, the rain began to fall. Matt told the audience they had learned the next song for a concert in Portland, Oregon, but he thought it was appropriate for Mena. As the rain beat down on the roof, they began to sing, "It rains everywhere I go. Storms appear, and the winds they blow. I got nothin' but trouble to show, 'cause it rains everywhere I go." The heavy rains seemed like a cozy backdrop to the music.

A hush fell over the room when the dobro began quietly playing the first few bars of Amazing Grace. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see." There is something about the song that touches people's hearts. It is so familiar and yet so meaningful. It is the gospel in a nutshell. As the music continued, the audience reverently joined in. "When we've been here ten thousand years, bright, shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun."

Gentle Reader, God doesn't love you because of who you are or your actions. He tells you, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NKJV) God made you. He loves you. You can't make God love you more. You can't make God love you less. He loves you just as much on your bad days as on your good ones. The Bible has a word for this: grace. And it's amazing. "God's mercy is great, and he loved us very much. Though we were spiritually dead because of the things we did against God, he gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God's grace." Ephesians 2:4,5 (NCV)