For singer Lauren Daigle, possibly the most engaged audience she’s ever performed in front of is one that couldn’t leave the concert venue afterward.
The Lafayette, Louisiana native has been traveling the country for her “Look Up Child” album tour, and a recent stop at a maximum security prison gave her a whole new perspective for why she does what she does.
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In October 2018, Lauren entered the Statesville Correctional Prison in Crest Hill, Illinois, to perform for the felons who call the facility home. In a Facebook post she shared after, she confessed that looking out at the sea of faces before her, she felt moved in a way she’d never experienced before:
Yesterday was one so unexpected. It was a day that was more than I can articulate. It was a day my eyes had never seen and will never be able to unsee. We sang songs with inmates whose voices carried deeper in to our hearts than the echo of a microphone will ever release. I saw hope in the face of the hopeless, joy in the wake of sorrow, wealth in the gap of depravity, and life in the midst of death.
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These people have stories, and they also have souls. I watched heaven befriend those who are often forgotten. With each day that passes, may I never take for granted what it is to walk around as a free man.
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The short video Lauren shared showed the Grammy-nominated singer belting out her emotional single, “How Can It Be” as prisoners swayed and moved in the aisles. She’s truly learning to “walk the walk” and accept all people as they are, and not as they should be.
Lauren’s kindness and empathy towards some of society’s most vilified individuals shows that she’s hoping to spread love and light with her music, and the men inside Statesville certainly could use a lot of both.
Watch Lauren’s emotional video below, and don’t forget to share this important message with others.
a day more than I can articulate
Yesterday was one so unexpected. It was a day that was more than I can articulate. It was a day my eyes had never seen and will never be able to unsee. We sang songs with inmates whose voices carried deeper in to our hearts than the echo of a microphone will ever release. I saw hope in the face of the hopeless, joy in the wake of sorrow, wealth in the gap of depravity, and life in the midst of death. These people have stories, and they also have souls. I watched heaven befriend those who are often forgotten. With each day that passes, may I never take for granted what it is to walk around as a free man. I held a bottle of cold coffee upon pulling out of Statesville Correctional Prison. My hand had never remembered that bottle being so cold…
Posted by Lauren Daigle on Saturday, October 6, 2018