Sons of I Am to Play Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp Open House Saturday

Local Christian band Sons of I Am is bringing their unique sound to the Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp, located at 3127 W. County Rd. 800 South in Greensburg, as part of the camp’s first annual free-will donation homecoming open house beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday.

“It is very campy,” says Art Dayton, lead singer of Sons of I Am, describing the ambiance of the event. “It is just like being at camp.”

As visitors travel the winding, gravel lane that leads to the property they’ll see a number of cabins dotting the way, Dayton says. The lodge, located at the end of the drive, helps set the campy atmosphere, Dayton adds, as the area is heavily wooded, quiet and getting a cell phone signal, well, that’s a stretch.

In addition to music, the roughly 65-acre camp will also host a range of activities Saturday, including swimming and putt-putt golf, Dayton says. The entire camp will be open and there will be plenty of snacks, he adds.

Dayton says he is no stranger to the Baptist faith as he has always been affiliated with the church. Last year, the band played a gathering at the youth camp that made quite the impression according to Hannah Eberts, administrative assistant with Southeastern Baptist Youth Camp.

Recalling the 75th Anniversary Celebration, Eberts says Sons of I Am performed as the event’s grand finale.

“It was a big open house,” Eberts says. “We had three musical groups come out to play and Sons of I Am were one of them. They were gracious and ran the sound for the other groups who were before them. Everyone like them and we wanted to have them back this year.”

Eberts says the camp is calling this event “homecoming” for several reasons.

“There are many who grew up coming here and haven’t been back in many years,” Eberts explains. “Or they came to know the Lord here and when they come back to camp here they feel like they are coming back home.”

Homecoming will become an annual event moving forward, Eberts says.

Organizers also hope the event builds awareness of the camp because there are still some who don’t know it is there, she says.

Sons of I Am bass guitarist Le Morris says she’s looking forward to playing for a live crowd after being on hiatus for a while due to the pandemic.

Aside from seeing new and familiar faces, Morris admits she’s also looking forward to the camp’s delicious popcorn and playing some new tunes, including a cover of Elevation Worship’s “Graves Into Gardens.”

“It is a fast-paced tune,” she says. “I like faster paced rock songs. We all grew up in the 70s and 80s, so we have an affinity for the hairbands.”