Contemporary Christian group committed to touring
The group appears at the new APAC in Troy on May 14.
Phillips, Craig and Dean has apparently come to the end of its recording career. However, that doesn’t mean retirement for the contemporary Christian outfit headlining Faith and Friends Radio’s 11th anniversary concert at Arbogast Performing Arts Center in Troy on Saturday, May 14.
Phillips, Craig and Dean, which formed in 1991, is comprised of pastors Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig and Dan Dean. The trio has sold more than two million units since it’s self-titled debut album dropped in 1992. The group hit the Top 10 on the Christian album charts numerous times with albums such as “Where Strength Begins” (1997), “Let the Worshippers Arise” (2004) and “Breathe In” (2012). “You’re Still God” (2020) was the 16th and final studio album from Phillips, Craig and Dean.
Phillips recently answered some questions about the group, speaking from his home in Austin, Texas.
Q: Congratulations on celebrating 30 years as a group in 2021. How did it feel to reach that milestone?
A: Thanks, yeah, 30 years of Phillips, Craig and Dean is pretty incredible. I remember our main goal starting out was to create an album and, hopefully, sell enough to cover the costs. Our record company told me the other day we just about recouped on that first album.
Q: Is it true “You’re Still God” is the last album from Phillips, Craig and Dean?
A: Yeah, it could be true. It’s a great album to end on. There are so many great songs on there. For what it takes to gear up for a studio album and the year-anda-half-, two-year process of writing, I don’t know if we’re committed to doing that at this stage in life. Anything is possible, but this album said everything we wanted to say, so I think we’re good.
Q: How did the pandemic impact the group’s touring approach moving forward?
A: Well, it impacted everybody, not just in Christian music, but in the music industry as a whole. It all imploded, from the musicians and singers to the songwriters to the lighting guys, the bus drivers and everybody else. It was a domino effect that will take years and years to recover from. We’ll look back at these moments and say, “My goodness, that was unbelievable.” It cleared our calendar as it cleared everybody’s calendar. Things have slowly come back on. We’re completely committed to touring. We have a great band. We’ve been together forever, and we love that band.
Q: What can audience members expect from this concert?
A: We’ll be singing songs off the new album and also those old songs we’ve sure enjoyed for 30-plus years. We kind of ask people what they want to hear. People are wonderful on social media and different platforms to talk about how the songs spoke to them in hard times. When you hear those stories and we start doing that music, it’s so meaningful. It’s very, very humbling to know a song we sing brings a memory that’s so ingrained in somebody’s soul. We’re really grateful we can be part of the soundtrack of somebody’s life, so we’re looking forward to coming back to that area. We can’t wait to come see y’all.
Tickets for the Phillips, Craig and Dean concert are $20 and $30 adults. VIP tickets are $50 and include a preshow Q&A with the group. Faith and Friends Radio will next be hosting a dinner concert featuring legendary Christian music artist Phil Keaggy at First Baptist Church in Dayton on Friday, June 24. Tickets are $50 and includes dinner and the concert. Limited seats are available, so act fast.