The AudioFeed Festival is set to hold in Urbana, Illinois from the 1st to the 4th of July, 2023. AudioFeed Festival debuted in 2013, emerging as the spiritual successor to Cornerstone Festival, which happened for the final time in 2012.
What began with a group of people longing to have something to fill the void left in the absence of Cornerstone has evolved over the last 10 years into a festival with its own identity. This identity is best summarized in our mission statement: Cultivating a cross-ideology community around Jesus and music.
Tickets can be purchased through
the AudioFeed
website. Kids aged 11 and under are free, and on-site camping is included with the price of admission ($100 USD).
Bio: Jacob Goins is a songwriter and folk musician from Andrews, North Carolina. Born in Transylvania County and raised in Clay County, he considers it one of the central blessings of his life to continue to live and breathe in the land he has always called home; his art grows from this land. He and his wife Lauren, married two years this May (2023), are working to build a life that allows them to share this art with a spirit of generosity, which they know is the same spirit with which it is given to them.
The majority of Jacob’s catalogue is yet unreleased, and he is labouring with patience to record and share it. He considers it his favourite and most developed material.
Introduction
I discovered Jacob Goins’ music back in 2021. I was moved by the simplicity of his compositions, his acoustic approach and his emotionally stirring vocals.
While working on this interview, it became clear to me that he is a very introspective and passionate man with a love for the Lord, music and making genuine connections with people. In this conversation, we hear about Jacob’s thoughts on AudioFeed and some personal updates on his life and music. Enjoy!
The Conversation
Q: Hi Jacob. How do you feel about playing at the AudioFeed Festival 2023 and how are your preparations going so far?
I am so excited, honoured and thankful to be a part of AudioFeed again this year. It’s definitely the central event for Lauren
[Editor’s Note: his wife]
and I every year and I am really thankful to be asked to play there again.Preparations have been going great. I guess our preparations have been in playing shows. We’ve played a show a week in the month of May and we have several more planned for the month of June
[Editor’s Note: Interview was conducted late May, I know we're late...sorry about that]
.We are going to be playing some with Boha Tribe, our good friends Bobby and Hannah Morrison in Texas, and we will be doing a short run of shows with Kevin Schlereth up in the mid-west; one is with Chris Bernstorf, and another is with Pete & Bergie, who are our good friends, Chris and Hannah Peters. All of these artists will be playing at AudioFeed so it will be fun to connect and play shows with them before going to AudioFeed together. I expect that our setlist for those shows will largely influence what we play at AudioFeed. Those are our preparations and we’ve very excited.
Q: Beyond your artistry; as a believer and a lover of music, what does AudioFeed mean to you?
I love AudioFeed as an attendee. When I’m trying to describe it to folks in my community here in North Carolina, I equate it to the Appalachian Trail Community as I see the similarities there; a group of people coming together around a common love that is so deep that it creates instant friendships.
You spend a few days with a person or few people and you come away with a deep friendship even though you don’t see them again for about a year. Yet, when you see them again, it feels like you’re seeing a brother or a sister and it’s kind of a family reunion. It’s kind of a magical thing to me that I haven’t experienced anywhere else. People that know the Appalachian Trail Community know exactly what I’m talking about.
Another thing I love about AudioFeed as an attendee is the diversity of styles. The amount of eclectic bands there is amazing and I come away from every single set having learnt something. I love the conversations that happen especially the late night ones. It really does feel like a safe place; whether you are a Christian or a former Christian who has been hurt by the church, you can discuss that with others and how to move forward.
Also, I think of my good friend, Teel Short, who has hosted late night jam sessions where we sit in a circle on metal chairs and play Paul Simon songs, Sufjan Stevens songs or blues music. I love it because people come from different places around the country bringing their own musical backgrounds and styles and you get to learn from them.
Anybody who knows Kevin Schlereth or any of the folks running the festival know that they are not in it for financial gain at all. They are doing this because they love the community, and believe in the model and power of having a festival that is centered around the person of Jesus and His message of loving others wherever they are at and it’s just so beautiful to me and I believe in it wholeheartedly.
Q: I started listening to your music in 2020 soon after the Song of the City EP dropped. Towards the end of the year, you released In The Twilighting and I have strong attachments to some songs off that EP. Your music has a strong emotional core and you have a unique way of conveying these feelings. What can fans and new listeners expect from you at the Fest this year?
At the festival this year, I would say that anybody listening can expect me to be honest. I have found that whenever I am playing shows, I can’t exactly predict what is going to be on my heart in the moment. It’s all about what the Holy Spirit is doing in my heart. Somehow, the songs that I have written have always supported where my heart is at and what I want to communicate in a specific set.
I don’t know if I have enough music that covers a wide range of emotions or if it’s just that the Holy Spirit knows the tools that He has given me, and the tools that I have, and He shows me how to use them. That’s probably more likely.
For what folks can expect at AudioFeed, I’m not sure exactly what songs I’m going to play but I know that it will be honest to where I’m at in the moment, what I want to communicate on that day and what I feel that the Lord wants me to communicate on that day. I always want to be as prepared as possible to play whatever songs that it seems like I need to play based on what the Lord has laid on my heart.
Even if they are old or brand new songs, I try to have my entire catalogue ready and He [the Lord] is really faithful to cast new light on every song so that I can cast new light on it and communicate different things with these same songs that may have had singular themes at the time I wrote them. The songs that He gives me continue to unfold with meaning that He gives to them and it is amazing. So, I’m going to do my very best to be ready for that moment and we’ll find out where it leads together.
Q: Are you working on new music? If yes, what can we expect from you in the near future?
I am working on new music. I could tell a long story if I wanted to but I will spare you that. I will say that since the release of In The Twilighting in November 2020, I have gotten married and become a trades person to support my wife and I. I have also done production with and for other folks.
In the midst of all things, I went through a period of struggling to find much value in my work. I would say that I was attacked by lies of my own fabrication and also lies of the evil one that I believed for a time. I convinced myself that I didn’t have a reason to sing anymore. Praise the Lord that I am out of that season now.
However, I emerged from it with a handful of songs about not being able to write songs and a sizeable amount of instrumental music. So, I want to release that because my wife and I spent most of last summer travelling and playing house shows and we played those songs. It started out as an experiment with us wondering what would happen and whether a few people might relate to those songs.
We were kind of blown away by the amount of people that did even if they weren’t musicians who had experienced some form of writer’s block. I think a lot of people can relate to seasons where you feel empty internally and you have nothing to give and you succumb to those lies. Upon finding that there are many folks who relate to that, I have become very passionate about encouraging anybody who is in that place.
Right now, I’m working on a mostly instrumental album for those who have lost their song in various forms and that tends to be at the core of what I like to share at shows these days. That is, reminding people that they have been given a song by their Creator — even if it’s not a musical song — and He wants that to flourish because it does have value. Lord willing, I’ll have an album out at the end of this year; that’s what I’m hoping and praying for but we’ll see. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that growth happens at my Father’s rate and not at my own so I’m working on that slowly and steadily now.
Q: On a final note, can you share a lesson or word from Scripture that has been a source of comfort to you in recent times?
In the last question, I talked about how I went through a season of artistic drought that was due to how acutely I was looking at the lives of others and comparing mine to theirs, and seeing — again acutely — where my points of lack were. The Scripture that has been on my mind in this time for quite a while now is at the very end of the book of John, where the Lord appears to His disciples the last time, makes breakfast for them, and has that very emotional conversation with Peter about his betrayal. It’s an amazing story and it brings me to tears every time I engage with it.
However, after that conversation, Peter asked the Lord, looking at John who apparently had been the faithful one and Jesus’ beloved disciple, “Lord, what about this man?” after being the guy on the spot. Then Jesus said, “If it is My will for him to remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
That Scripture has really struck me and the Holy Spirit has used it in my heart to say, “Your job is to follow Me, I am leading you personally”. He has been showing me that in so many ways and I think that is true for all of us; He is our personal Shepherd and the plans that He has for us and the places that He leads us — whether they are comfortable or not — are what’s best for us and for His glory. I needed that reminder to let go of my ambitions and to really seek to follow Him; starting out my day asking Him, “What do you have for me today? What do you want me to work on today?”
I do that falteringly, but those have been my efforts lately. When you look at Jesus’ life, He wasn’t personally ambitious but was always seeking His Father’s will and I want to seek to do the will of my Shepherd and to follow Him as closely as I can, letting go of my ambitions.
A big thank you to Jacob Goins for taking out time to answer these questions.
Tickets can be purchased through
the AudioFeed
website. Kids 11 and under are free, and on-site camping is included with the price of admission ($100 USD).
Listen to Jacob Goins here:
Apple Music • YouTube • Deezer • Other Links
Connect with Jacob Goins here:
Instagram • Facebook
Connect with AudioFeed Festival by following:
Instagram • Twitter • Facebook
Did you enjoy this piece? Let me know what you think below.
If you’re not a paying subscriber and want to sign up for additional postings and to join conversations, here’s how: