Local band The Color continue to draw attention across North America and have now played their biggest concert yet.

The Color played in front of a packed Rogers Arena crowd in Vancouver, BC last night. They shared the stage with CHVN artists Hillsong Young & Free, and Phil Wickham. The concert was part of the Greater Vancouver Festival of Hope, put on by the Billy Graham Evangelical Association.

"It felt pretty surreal," said guitarist James Shiels in an interview Saturday morning. "That place was packed. Not an empty seat in the house."

For the band, it was an opportunity to play alongside some of their favourite artists. "We (The Color) have been playing [Phil Wickham's) song, "This is Amazing Grace" since it came out a number of years ago. It was an honour to share the stage with him."

And despite the large venue and crowd, the band seemed to be comfortable heading on to the big stage. "Surprisingly we didn't deal with much nervousness." The large venue did provide some new experiences, though. "We didn't realize how crazy it would be to deal with the echo in the building. You hear everything almost a full second after you play or sing it and it really messes with you. So during sound check we were pretty surprised with what that was like."

The band members agreed, though, that as amazing as playing such a big show was, it was about more than music. Shiels said in a Facebook post, "Such an honour to be a part of this evening. It's so much more than just playing in front of lots of people. As cool and exciting as it was, it just doesn't compare to seeing thousands of people hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ! THAT is awesome and the reason it's such an honour to be here and play a small part in what's going on."

Shiels says it was a surreal experience to watch 750 people respond to the gospel. "We thought we were having a party last night, but I can only imagine the celebration in Heaven as people flowed from all areas of the arena to the floor, wanting to publicly declare their desire and need for Jesus in their lives. It was powerful!"

The band travels back to Calgary today where they will continue their The Surprise Tour. They are also excitedly preparing for a brand new album to be released this spring. You can find more details at The Color's website (thecoloronline.com).

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