Calvin Inclined

On the right is harpist, accordionist, and transgendered icon Baby Dee, one of the artists performing at this weekend's Festival of Faith and Music at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Say this: Calvin doesn't play it safe. They could have invited Dana Scallon, on the left[1].

So Kate and I are hitting the interstate Thursday morning, heading off for three days of goodness. It's certainly the most intriguing mix of music and thoughtful presentation I've ever encountered: everybody's favorite bar band/roots rockers/Springsteen revivalists The Hold Steady, rapper Lupe Fiasco, mainstays Over the Rhine and David Bazan (Pedro the Lion), Baby Dee, Vic Chesnutt, Julie Lee, Kenneth Thomas, Princeton professor/theologian/cultural observer Cornel West, visual artist Makoto Fujimura, cultural critic Andy Crouch, and a couple dozen of my favorite thinkers/authors/friends. It's like a party where a thousand of the most interesting, creative people you could imagine show up. I can't wait.

[1] For the record, I don't know Dana. I have nothing against Dana. I'm sure she's a lovely woman. She simply projects a slightly different image than Baby.