Australian-born Christian pop duo for King & Country is bringing its “Relate” tour to Tampa’s Amalie Arena this fall.
Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone have had a crazy year after watching their latest proper studio album, 2018’s Burn The Ships go gold and debut at no. 7 on the Billboard 200. COVID-19 hit soon after that, but not before the band snuck in a 2019 set at Amalie.
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Nonetheless, the boys were not going to allow a pandemic to step in their way. They did a tour of drive-in theaters last fall, and a new Grammy was added to the band’s resume, upon recruiting Dolly Parton herself to guest-sing on a re-recorded version of their hit, “God Only Knows.” (No, not the Beach Boys song. Calm down.) Luke had vocal cord surgery a few months ago, too, but he must have healed up nicely, as there are still no plans to slow down.
By the way, this agnostic, Jew-at-heart writer does appreciate Joel and Luke’s joint ability to write melodies that don’t sound over-manufactured—as well as being able to pen out lyrics that do not always resemble the main message being spread through Christian music.
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