Exclusive, Josh Blakesley Shares His Heart Behind New Single ‘Come To The Banquet’

I am the music director of a church in north Houston. After the pandemic and people started trying to get back to some sense of normalcy, as a church we were talking a lot about how we invite people back. How to renew the invitation? There is an image in my mind of people coming out of the woods after a terrible storm, walking slowly toward the light of day. We want people to feel welcome again. Even me, personally, church is about the body of Christ and the community and the experience of Jesus through the people around us. So this whole idea just resonated with me. I kept thinking about the word “banquet”. I was hyper focused on the idea of ​​a banquet – getting together with your loved ones, getting together over a meal, and you’re joyful and happy to be together. All of these things together were rolling through my mind and manifesting in the song as an invitation, especially in my own church, to return to the Lord, the table. And let’s relive the joy together.

How did the recording experience surprise you the most, perhaps even exceeding your expectations?
I first brought the idea to a friend of mine, Tom Booth, who ended up being a co-writer on this song. The more we talked about it, the more it resonated with him too. We also realized that Tom and I had known each other for years and years and had never written together. It was just this strange opportunity right in front of us. So it was fun to write with him for the first time and then form this song with such ease. Taking all of that and sitting down in front of a microphone and an acoustic guitar to start molding and turning that into something was a beautiful experience. The recording experience itself is its own form of community because you bring musicians together. This song in particular I recorded with the guys I travel with a lot. We got to get in the studio together and put pieces of ourselves into the song.

🔴 Josh Blakesley releases new single “Jesus I Trust In You”

Is there a recurring lyric or theme that you’ve noticed among the listener responses you’ve received?
Much of what I hear is a “that’s the invitation” response. It’s strange because there is such division with so many things, with politics and different religions and different beliefs within our faith. I find it interesting that it is so difficult for Christians to come together and get along. So people have found common ground with that, which is what I’m really trying to aim for with the music that I write. I want it to be inclusive – not just for a particular faith or a particular idea, but truly for Christians who come together to say that Jesus is Lord and worthy of our deepest praise and honor. I hope this song has that kind of resonance with people.

How does this preview your upcoming music?

As I mentioned, I am leading worship at a church right now. I like to write specifically for where I am. I try to identify with what resonates with people in the church – what is this community she faces, what stands out with the burdens, trials, joys and excitement. It’s the inspiration behind the music I’m writing at the moment.

In addition to your music release, you also recently launched cult series The Way. Can you share what you have learned from the experience so far?
A friend of mine, Paul George, who is an author, speaker and leader in his faith, always has insightful things to say. So we got together and decided to put together this video series where people could pray at home. These are short videos (10-15 minutes) with music where I invite people to sing along with some of the refrains and choruses and spend time in prayer. There is a brief presentation on a particular topic; each video has its own subject, and the songs all relate to the subject. It is an opportunity for nightly prayer with family or groups of young people. It’s something new and different, so I’m excited about it.