Concert review: Josh Weathers and Bobby Duncan

I was talking to local music producer Nick Choate last weekend about his upcoming trip with Josh Weathers to India. Weathers famously retired from his band, but has come out of retirement, so to speak, to raise money to build an orphanage/girls home in India – and Nick is going along to help out. On Sunday, I saw an announcement that Weathers would be playing a show at the Live Oak, so I headed out to Fairmount to check it out.

When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was the sold-out sign on the sidewalk . People were gathered in the lounge listening to the audio feed from the concert hall in the back over the house speakers. I made my way to the hall where Weathers and Bobby Duncan were doing a song swap to a completely packed house. Weathers’ voice was as clear and powerful as ever. Duncan had more of a country vibe and is a great performer, but Josh stole the show. The man has a natural charm and an engaging stage presence – and once he started talking about the orphans, well, how can you compete with that?

“India dramatically changed my life,” Weathers told the crowd, “You can’t go and see what I’ve seen, and experience what I’ve experienced and come back and be the same person. If you can, then I don’t know – Lord help you.”

Weathers had traveled to India on a mission trip with his church and visited an orphanage. Many of the girls there were victims of sex trafficking who had been rescued from brothels. Some of them were seven years old, or younger.

“I’m not the same person,” Weathers continued, “after looking in the eyes of some of these kids – and seeing what real, true genuine love does to somebody. Those kids are the happiest, most grateful, most beautiful children in the world. That trip changed my life.”

So, Josh Weathers and his wife, Kady, decided they would build an orphanage, technically a girls home for victims of sex trafficking. Not an armchair superhero, Josh, Kady, and Choate will fly to India next month, dig wells, help the poor, and start building the facility.

The show was originally scheduled for 6-8 pm, but Josh announced early on that he would play much longer. It was well after 8:30 when I left, and Josh and Bobby were still playing, and the crowd was still loving it.

After I left, so I’m told, Josh Weathers met up with Leon Bridges on the roof of the Live Oak where Kenny Upton was performing. They took Kenny’s guitar and hijacked his show – and I missed it. That is why you never leave a Josh Weathers show before the last note is played.

If you would like to help Josh Weathers save the world – and who doesn’t – Check out the Go-Fund me page at http://www.gofundme.com/thehopehome

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Concert review: Josh Weathers and Bobby Duncan."