Over the past eleven years Justin McRoberts has carved out a niche for himself in the independent music scene as a songwriter, storyteller and an advocate. He is one of those rare artists who blends artistry, honesty and humor seamlessly.
In much the same way that Anne Lamott has written “music lets us meet in places we couldn’t get to any other way,” Justin McRoberts believes songwriting and storytelling help people to see clearly. ”In and through art,” Justin writes “we can learn to understand ourselves and our world more completely; less fragmented or uninspired, but rather as part of a cohesive, Divinely-orchestrated story.” Sharing his songs and stories with an audience is where Justin’s gifts are most fully realized. His live shows strike a delicate balance between intellect and emotion, which allows him to approach difficult subject matter with his listeners. While his audiences are diverse, from playing for congregates in a small rural church, to young professionals in DC, most of Justin’s schedule is made up of appearances on college campuses in the continental US.
McRoberts’ 2008 release, entitled Deconstruction, stands as a landmark release for the 36-year-old. Laden with the same disarming honesty he is known for in his recordings as well as live, the album is shaped by the classic “call from the desert” overtone that seems to pervade McRoberts’ story. Without becoming heady or overbearing, Deconstruction is a healthy re-examination of entrenched religious, consumer and cultural ideologies. The record’s arrangement supports its theme in limiting or even tearing down what is superfluous in order to more intimately engage in what is essential.
Most recently, Justin has recorded a collection of covers entitled Through Songs I Was First Undone. The track list ranges from Aimee Mann to Nine Inch Nails and from Tom Petty to George Michael. Once again approaching difficult but important subject matter, Justin writes about this project. “I believe there is as much of God in the songs of Glen Phillips as there is in the songs of Phillips, Craig and Dean; as much of the Kingdom revealed in the songs of Tom Waits as in the songs of Chris Tomlin. It is my opinion that to believe otherwise is to believe in a god too small to truly be God.”
Central to Justin’s work is advocacy on behalf of the poor and oppressed through Compassion International. “Not only do the poor need us,” he writes “we need the poor to remind us what being human is about. In the same way that the poor learn to identify themselves with their lack, the wealthy learn to identify themselves with their wealth. It is in the meeting of the two that we can recognize ourselves and one another as human.”
