Chris Tomlin and Blessing Offor stopped by The Bobby Bones Show before their Good Friday Nashville Show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville tonight (April 7).
Tomlin who is a Christian music singer, songwriter and worship leader is about to do his seventh annual Good Friday Nashville concert at Bridgestone Arena. Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado will return to deliver a special message too. As well as special guests Jenn Johnson, Blessing Offor and more. Good Friday Nashville is a concert for all the surrounding churches in the area to gather and worship for Easter weekend. Offor will be performing his song “Tin Roof” there this year, and there couldn’t be a timelier song to play during the challenges Nashville has been going through after the Covenant School shooting. This year's concert is going to highlight and benefit the Covenant School and local law enforcement.
Tomlin recently signed Blessing Offor to his label after he heard his song “Tin Roof,” and thought it was one of the best written songs he’d ever heard. While Tomlin was making his Chris Tomlin and Friends album that featured songs with many well-known artists, it hit him that he wanted to do something to make the album really stand out. He kept going back to Blessing’s song “Tin Roof,” so he asked him to be a part of the record as the final song on it so people could discover him. He got in touch with Blessing and met him at his apartment where they started playing piano together and talking. He learned Blessing’s story and found out he was blind. Tomlin was inspired by his resilience and how full of joy he was even though he had had so many hardships and he knew people needed to hear his music because people can relate to his incredible story and gift.
Blessing co-wrote “Tin Roof” with Natalie Hemby, and said it only took them 45 minutes to complete. He is from Nigeria and moved to The United State when he was six and hasn’t been back since. The inspiration for the song came from him saying he missed the sound of hearing rain on a tin roof. Blessing was born with glaucoma in his one eye, and his uncle who had been playing soccer in America, suggested that he come live with him to help it. Then one day when he was playing basketball in his backyard, his friend wanted to play with water guns and accidentally hit him in his good eye with it and blinded the other eye. At that same time, his family got a piano, and he took all that outside energy and put it towards learning how to play. He looks back now at how an awful situation brought so much good and led him to where he is today.
Tomlin is known as the most sung artist with many of his songs being played in churches and places of worship across the country. He said when he goes into a church, and he hears them playing his music it’s a really special moment for him because he knows they chose the message in his song because it was important for them.
While in studio Tomlin performed “Good Good Father,” and Blessing Offor performed “Brighter Days.”
Good Friday Nashville will expand to a global audience through a livestream on YouTube and Facebook beginning at 7pm Central.