AZNightBuzz.com : Singer likens tour stops to coffee klatches
Grammy-winning Christian pop singer Rebecca St. James compares her event in Tucson Saturday to having coffee with hundreds of girlfriends.
There'll be a few laughs, some singing, some confessing, lots of sharing with an audience likely to be mostly females — from 8 to 80.
"The deep stuff we talk about over coffee comes up," she said Friday from a tour stop in Montana.
St. James joins fellow Christian music artist Evie for the "SHE Tour," celebrating women of all ages and encouraging them to be "safe, healthy and empowered."
The name comes from St. James' best-selling book "SHE" and the teen version, the bookzine "SHE Teen."
St. James and Evie, who will be joined by British Christian singer Vicky Beeching, will lead the intimate three-hour evening. They hope that mothers and daughters come together. They might be surprised to learn that their problems — insecurities, love concerns, stresses — cross generations.
"The issues that mothers and daughters face are often very similar," the 29-year-old St. James noted, her native Australian accent softened by half a lifetime spent in Nashville, Tenn.
"They might play out in different ways, but each night we're talking about beauty and how we need to be encouraging in our own lives — beauty of the heart, instead of being obsessed about beauty on the outside," she added.
"It's just really quite uncanny how these issues cross the generations."
St. James can testify to this firsthand. Her mentor the past five years is Evie, a Christian recording artist who hit her stride in the 1970s and '80s. Despite their age difference, St. James and Evie have found common ground through music.
St. James and Evie have been doing the SHE events for two years. They usually do eight to 10 a year, from Australia to Arizona. (They stop in Phoenix Friday before coming here on Saturday.) They sing inspirational songs, answer questions, invite people to share anecdotes and inspirations.
"I have my band with me, but it's an acoustic night, sitting around on the stage," St. James explained. "In between the songs, Evie and I will share what's in our hearts."
