At Veritas Community Church in Columbus, Ohio a one of a kind Christmas tour rolled through town recently. Eric Owyoung has become well known over the years as a prolific producer and musician, first with the band Something Like Silas and currently with Future of Forestry. One of the best shows of the year is his brainchild, and I got to see it.

Columbus’ own Fever Fever opened the show that was smaller than normal on being plugged in, but nonetheless on talent. “Mystery of Love” from the Kingdom EP opened the show, followed by a cover (I didn’t recognize it…so kill me. ha) and their most popular song thus far, “Beautiful Dream” which has been featured in a Nike commercial that aired during the Olympics in the UK. The five piece wrapped up a 20 minute set with tunes that proved their place that evening as a top-notch warm up act.

Pas Neos, an electronic rock group from Kansas City with connections to the International House of Prayer played one of my favorite sets heard “cold” this year. I was completely unfamiliar with their music prior to that evening, and by the end of their set people were literally flocking to their merch table, buying their full discography. I’ve never seen that before. Suffice to say that the band put on a set that was literally therapeutic and uplifting. Their new full length Who Do You Say I Am? accomplishes the same – no surprise, since that album made up most of their set.

Future of Forestry ended the evening with a delightfully long set of music. Chills I think must have run down everyone’s back as the array of colored spotlights lit up the band and the lyrics for “Young Man Follow” flashed upon the wall amidst the chest shaking beats of the bass drums. “Slow Your Breath Down” was another highlight of the first part of the set, as was “Closer to Me,” an honest crying out to God penned by band mastermind Eric Owyoung. Eric took a minute to explain the purpose of Future of Forestry’s Advent shows – to bring the room into the presence of God, and experience a profound sense of peace in the midst of the madness that often defines the holiday season. He introduced “Pie Jesu,” as the first of the Christmas half of the set, translating the timeless lyrics to English before the song started; “Sweet Jesus…give them rest, give them rest…” Plenty of classics permeated the set, the more notable ones including “What Child is This?” along with “O Holy Night,” “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” and an original, “The Earth Stood Still.” After a quiet end to the main set, the band quickly reemerged for an encore, playing an unforgettable nearly eight-minute long version of “Little Drummer Boy,” culminating in a four men on drums breakdown that had Eric whacking away on a traditional Japanese Taiko drum. “Silent Night” turned the spectators’ minds away from the spectacle and back toward Christ, and the evening came to an end. This was easily the best show I’ve been to this year outside of the MUTEMATH show in March.