The stage lights rose after a mini-intermission. Men slowly walked on stage, heading toward instruments – drums, bass, keyboards. Then, as they got settled in, the main attraction walked on stage toward the mic in the middle of the spotlight to excited audience applause — Ethan Butler. The twenty-four-year-old singer-songwriter was headlining his first ever show at Armitage Baptist Church; he advertised it as returning to “the place where it all began.”
Ethan’s first public performance was the Armitage Baptist Church Talent Show and All-Church Sing. He sang the first song he wrote, “You Are My God,” just several months after learning how to play guitar. Now, eleven years later, Ethan is making a move to start his musical career. The idea for the concert at Armitage came about when Ethan wanted to play a small show as a birthday celebration. But instead, Ethan’s dad, Moody Church pastor Charles Butler, suggested Armitage as the venue and even offered to contact the pastor on Ethan’s behalf, as he was previously a pastor at that church. With the venue set, Ethan had a great helper in Stephanie Bettig, who helped with the finer points, like various administration and technical details. Ethan said that the whole event just blew him away – from the support of the band (who are all attenders of Moody Church, including his dad and his brother Bryan) to the staff of the event (which included his brother Chris handling the sound system) to all of the people who were present at the concert.
Ethan was born into a musical family. His dad sings and plays piano and his mom, Donna, sings as well. Ethan is the fourth of five children and he remembers always being surrounded by music growing up — choir practice, vocal lessons — but he didn’t start a serious pursuit of music until he picked up the guitar at the age of thirteen. The first song he ever played on the guitar was “Amazing Grace.” After that, he was hooked. He would play for hours, alone in his room; he loved discovering the sounds he could make. His parents bought him a Yamaha guitar for his birthday, but only a month later, they, along with Ed Atcott, a mentor of Ethan’s, bought him an Ovation guitar — a guitar he still uses in performances.
Ethan calls himself a center city artist, which is to say he creates a fusion of acoustic pop and jazz. His musical style comes from the music he listens to as well as his cultural influences, from growing up in Chicago to trips to Costa Rica, and his religious background.
Drawing from Maroon 5 to Coldplay, Israel Houghton to Kirk Franklin, Ethan’s music can come at a whim. He hardly ever purposefully sits down to write a song — it just seems to come to him. The melody appears and then the structure of the song follows. He records what he plays and listens to it as he reflects on experiences or conversations he’s had that goes with the music. He starts off with broad concepts and then narrows them down to specific lyrics to fit the song he’s created. He tries to create songs that speak to people in some way; perhaps making them question things they’ve never thought about, or making them aware that they’re not alone in whatever struggle they’re going through at the moment.
A general theme of Ethan’s songs is relationships — not necessarily romantic relationships, although Ethan isn’t shy about sharing those experiences. One of his favorite songs, “Blue Gray”, was written last summer about a relationship that didn’t end the way he had hoped, but he had to make a choice about whether to be bitter about the situation or to be grateful for the experience of knowing the person. He chose to be thankful and rejoice in what happened rather than be wrapped up in how it ended. His songs are also about relationships with family, friends, and people he comes in contact with on a daily basis.
Ethan says the Gospel isn’t explicitly stated or shown in every single song he writes, but the overarching idea in his songs is the emotional life of a Christian. The Christian life is all about the constant struggle in relationships — relationships with each other, unbelievers, sin, and God Himself. Songs that deal directly with Christ and believers include “Failed,” “Child’s Prayer, ” and “Father Use Me.”
If Ethan wasn’t a musician, he would be involved in missions. Ethan already has a heart for missions — he’s visited Costa Rica numerous times and Brazil once — but he would extend that love of travel to help place Christians from the United States and missionaries in Spanish-speaking countries, while supporting them in bridging the various cultural and language barriers. This past July, Ethan went to Costa Rica to visit Moody Church missionaries Jeff and Michelle McQueary, work with local youth groups, and strengthen relationships he has built over the last two years. He has also translated his song “Father Use Me” into Spanish and Ethan hopes to use his second language in songs more in the future.
Even though Ethan has had several shows over the last three years, he has more recently made a push to set himself up as a solo artist. In addition to the show at Armitage Baptist, he created a Facebook page in May of last year and he now has over 400 likes. He’s also set up a YouTube channel that features nine music videos, most from live shows or open mics. His most popular video, “Only You,” now has over 1,000 views. Ethan is currently working on an album, something people pester him about at his shows.
Since that first show in January, Ethan has performed at various open mics around the city and as also headlined another show — a fundraising effort for Team World Vision. He has a few more shows in the works and at least two upcoming performances scheduled. The first is an all-ages show on Saturday, August 3, which will be at Uncommon Ground on Devon Avenue. Ethan will be performing at 10 pm; reservations for a table are suggested, as space is limited. The second is MoodyFest, a music festival the Artist Circle puts on at the end of summer.
The show in the back room at Uncommon Ground will be a more intimate setting than the one in the sanctuary at Armitage Baptist Church: tables will crowd the space, waitresses will weave in and out, and noises from the dinning room will wander in. But Ethan Butler will take the small stage and do something he says he just loves doing: play his guitar and sing his heart out.
Use the links below to connect with Ethan:
Facebook
YouTube
Uncommon Ground Performance
Photo credit: Jordan Eskovitz, JE Imagery