On Monday evening, Williams Hall filled with Oxford students gathering to hear guitarist Christopher Paul Stelling. I had looked forward to the concert, hoping for some time to unwind and destress and let the music wash over me after what I knew would be a long and stressful first day back from Spring Break. I had not at any time considered writing about this event because I had no idea how anyone could. How could one guitarist impact society? What value would this concert have other than pure entertainment? These were the questions on my mind as I walked into the building. I would leave the building with those answers.
Stelling’s style was all his own. From his wild shock of hair to his stomping boots to his music, he was all his own. I genuinely enjoyed the concert. Some of the songs that captivated my attention were Badguys, Destitute, Too Far North, and Hard Work. I enjoyed the music so much that I went back to my dorm and downloaded all of his songs. In fact, I’m listening to them as I write this very paper! As I listen, I am reminded of the style, honesty, and emotion that I witnessed during the concert.
There are many folksy, country, and blues musicians but there was an element of something deeper that creates a more meaningful and striking impression. The audience knew he was not just putting on a show. He seemed to be openly telling us a story through his music. I have a great appreciation for his originality. It was entirely refreshing to hear songs, not about the overly popularized subjects like sex, drugs, and love. Instead, Stelling writes songs about his life stories. He shares his experiences in his own style and seems to lose himself in the memories. His genuine and honest style adds both charm and overall quality to his own character and his music.
His qualities of openness, truth, honesty, integrity, and frankness are all things I admire in a person. Watching Stelling stomp around the stage, plucking away at his guitar, lost in the action of what he loves, I realized that a single guitarist could, in fact, have a great impact on our society. He is a living example of how to live life by being unapologetically true to yourself, your passions, and your work. We often hear people say, “Be true to who you are,” but very rarely does this attitude come across about letting that integrity come through in the workplace. Whether you’re into art, music, theater, business, law, medicine, or any other occupation, the integrity of the self adds deeper dimensions to you and the quality of your work. Let your passions guide your personal life as well as your professional ones.
Guitarist, Christopher Paul Stelling, gifted the Oxford College community with a refreshingly honest and unique presentation of his music. I hesitate to use the word performance because that implies an act, a forced sharing of a story that has little meaning to the performer. Stelling’s performance was totally open, and he very evidently lost himself in the movement of the songs he was telling. It took him to a place which he described as better than drugs, which he humorously added that he would know. His nonchalant openness and down-to-earth nature was truly impressionable and reminded me of how much I value integrity in all aspects of life. His music was pleasing to the ear, but his character and style were pleasing to the soul. His style reminds me to be true to myself as a person as well as a student and in the future, a professional. Integrity adds a degree of depth and quality to a person and their work, things which I aspire to achieve today, tomorrow, and in the future.