But the Christian contemporary music A singer unleashed something much more powerful to the crowd of 600 on Tuesday night at the Landmark Theatre. With each original song, Mullins bared his soul.
His lyrics of worship had the devoted audience singing along, clapping hands and dancing with glee. Mullins and his five-piece Ragamuffin Band split the evening between new songs from his latest Reunion Records release Brother's Keeper and the hits that have made him one of the top voices in his field.
In 1986. Mullins started out as the opening act for Amy Grant's "Unguarded" tour.
At the Landmark, he thrilled the crowd with powerful renditions from the progression of his career since. His voice was obviously a bit ragged from a cold, and he had a cup of beverage as a constant companion.
Nevertheless, his emotion rang through with the conviction of a man who knows he's right.
Mullins showed his sense of humor, too, before introducing what he called his scariest song, fit for a Halloween night.
"This is a song about breaking up," he told the crowd. "Before I wrote it, I noticed there weren't a lot of Christian songs about breaking up. As if we don't have to go through it."
And about that musical sense that Mullins likes to downgrade. He doth protest too much.
On guitar, keyboards and particularly the xylophone, Mullins certainly stood out.
So did Carolyn Arends, the opening act, and Ashley Cleveland, second on the bill.
Arends, a newcomer to the field, showcased a voice as clear as a bell and uptempo acoustic guitar work to be admired. Even her ballads 4 had an uplifting lilt.
Cleveland, a veteran in folk music circles, soared with a powerful and compelling gospel torch.
She worked through three guitars during her set, and needn't have apologized.
"I grew up in the '60s listening to Stephen Stills, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young." she said. "If particular tuning was good enough for them, it was good enough to me."
Mullins was wise enough to invite Arends and Cleveland back for a spine-tingling finale on traditional "It Is Well with My Soul."
And all three of them were smart enough to sit back and listen as the crowd took the evening home in a voice worthy of the moment.
The Details:
What: Rich Mullins with Carolyn Arends and Ashley Cleveland
Where: Landmark Theatre
Crowd: 600
Length: 2 hours, 50 minutes.
