The Blind Boys of Alabama

Brothers and sisters, let's talk about the Lord. Like many of us, perhaps your faith in the higher power(s) is lapsed, questionable, agnostic or even non-existent. My fellow wanderers in the wilderness, welcome to the flock of those who might believe but haven't found a church or sect that feels like home -- and rejoice, because the genuine spirit from above is coming to town. Meet the Blind Boys of Alabama, who transform anywhere they perform into the holiest temple of whatever deity you do or don't worship. In recent years, the Boys have made church music from such secular elements as songs by Tom Waits, the Rolling Stones, Funkadelic and Prince -- and the results have been astounding. It's God's own soul music, whether it segues into Funkadelic's "Me and My Folks" or the reading of the 23rd Psalm. Of course, anyone with at least a smidgen of spirit is bound to be taken with the Blind Boys (appearing tonight with Susan Tedeschi), whose rich and vibrant gospel harmonies sound divine even to heathen ears.