Local Worship Band Pursing their Passion for the Right Reasons

Worship music has recently become a force in the Christian music industry. Countless albums are recorded and sold each year by an ever growing roster of artists that continue to push the medium forward. While it would be easy to assume that at least some of these artists play worship music because of the money that can now be made with it, some still play simply to uplift the name of God.

One such band is Smyrna’s own Let Fire Fall.

Singer Justin O’Kelley and drummer Brendan Rogers, both 23, formed the band in May of last year after forging a musical bond together over the last three years. The band also features Alex Downtain, 17, on lead guitar and Aaron Churchill on rhythm guitar.

O’Kelley, who also plays acoustic guitar, said that his band doesn’t have any goals of turning the music they play into a career - they just enjoy leading people in worship through song. There is no other reason for the work that they do.

“We play wherever we can play,” he said. “We really enjoy playing worship and spreading the word about Jesus.”

Let Fire Fall’s rock-based sound is described by O’Kelley as falling somewhere between the corporate sound of Chris Tomlin and the creative elements David Crowder. Though, O’Kelley explained that his band’s music is more guitar driven than those artists. While Let Fire Fall perform songs by both Tomlin and Crowder, as well as other well known worship artists, they also write and play some of their own original songs. Occasionally, they have been known to revive an old hymn or two - done in proper rock fashion, of course.

O’Kelley said that he looks up to Tomlin for the fact that he leads so many people in worship at Passion City Church in Atlanta each week and does so with integrity.

“People can look up to him,” he said. “He shows what it means to be a worship leader. I’ve seen him lead many times and it's not about him. It's about what he is there to do, which is giving God the glory for everything.”

O’Kelley said he takes the same approach when Let Fire Fall performs.

“You are singing with people, not there for them to look at you. As long as you are doing it for the right reasons then people will see that.”

On April 22, the band will be performing a concert of praise at , bringing things full circle for O’Kelley. While he is now a member at Buckhead Church in Atlanta, O’Kelley grew up attending Smyrna First Baptist for 18 years. He and the other members of the band hope to start doing concerts there every other month. These concerts would continue a tradition the band had previously had at Life Point Church, where they performed monthly.

The band doesn’t just limit themselves to leading worship at churches, however; they also perform weekly at an open mic night at in Smyrna. O’Kelley said he is grateful for the support Let Fire Fall has received from the Smyrna community and that people seem to be enjoying their music.

As for the future of Let Fire Fall, O’Kelley said that he and Rogers are seniors at Kennesaw State University and are trying to figure out the paths that their lives should take. While there is no plan to make a career out of the band, he said that if opportunities continued to come their way, he believed the band would at least consider them. For now, he explained they are content with what God has for them.

The band is currently looking for new venues to play and is seeking a new bass player. Visit Let Fire Fall on Facebook or call O’Kelley at 678-602-1478 for more information.