Lighthouse Club hosts Remedy Drive concert, works to fight human trafficking

Christian rock band Remedy Drive performs in Weller Chapel on Friday night.

Photo credit: Nora Betts

By Nora Betts

Managing Editor

Concordia students and community members joined the fight against human trafficking with a fundraising rock concert by Christian band Remedy Drive on Friday night, singing along to lyrics exposing the realities of modern-day slavery and the hope of making an impact.

Senior Logann Gillespie has been a fan of Remedy Drive for years and said the band’s message shone through in the energy of the event.

David Zach, lead singer of Remedy Drive. Photo: Nora Betts.

“I’ve been to rock concerts before, but when you know that there is meaning and faith behind the music, there is a different energy not just in the crowd, but you could see that there was a different energy in the band and in the music,” said Gillespie. “When you believe in what you are singing and what you are saying, there is a difference. It’s more than just a performance.”

Around 80 people came to Weller Chapel for the concert that raised awareness and funds for anti-human trafficking efforts by Concordia’s Lighthouse club, as well as boots-on-the-ground rescue work by Remedy Drive’s initiative called Daylight United.

Lighthouse is Concordia’s chapter of the International Justice Mission, an organization dedicated to stopping human trafficking and helping human trafficking victims. The concert was hosted in conjunction with “Dressember,” where Lighthouse participants wore dresses, skirts, or ties every day of December to raise funds and start conversations.

Remedy Drive’s lead singer, David Zach, said he loved to see the Dressember participants and other students making their individual impacts in the fight against human trafficking.

“That made me very hopeful tonight, to see everybody wearing skirts and dresses and singing these songs of freedom alongside us,” said Zach.

Zach thanked Lighthouse President senior Brynn Holtmeier for helping him set up the event and for spreading the news on campus. He emphasized faith and hope in Jesus Christ as motivators for anti-human trafficking efforts.

“[I’m hopeful] knowing that I can competently pass the torch to Brynn’s generation, knowing that there’s people that believe enough in the teachings of Jesus Christ from Nazareth who said there’s freedom to captives and liberty to prisoners, and that people who follow Him would be involved in activities that free captives,” Zach said.

Junior Bailey Bianco participated in Dressember and appreciated the opportunity to see Remedy Drive in concert for the third time in her life.

“I saw Remedy Drive twice at the National Youth Gatherings when I was still in high school, so it was really cool to get to see them again, and they brought the same amount of energy,” she said. “It’s even more cool being a participant now of Dressember and getting to actively help fight trafficking in a seemingly small way.”

Remedy Drive sells merchandise made by survivors of human trafficking, with proceeds going toward anti-human trafficking efforts by its Daylight United initiative. Photo: Nora Betts.

Bianco said that participating in Dressember, coming to the concert, and hearing about the work of Remedy Drive and Daylight United “looped everything full-circle.”

Holtmeier said that Remedy Drive had reached out to Concordia’s Pastor Ryan Matthias and Lighthouse club leaders about putting on a concert. She had been in conversation with Zach since August, planning the event.

“I think it went really well,” Holtmeier said. “It had a lot of moving parts, and everyone just seemed to really step up and put it together. Everyone turned out and was excited for this, and I think this created a really great buzz and, like [Zach] said, just a light and encouragement for people to join us.”

“To do a charity concert like this during our time is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” she said.

Sophomore Malia Schleusener said she knew about Lighthouse since some of her friends and her sister, Kyla, were participating in Dressember. She had never heard of Remedy Drive before the event, but she enjoyed the concert vibe and said it was “a good opportunity to raise awareness for human trafficking.”

“It was super fun, everybody was up front and just screaming, so that was fun,” she said.

The band consisted of lead singer David Zach, bassist Philip Zach, and drummer Tzion Doxzon.

The opening act for the concert was Crushing Snakes, a rock band from The Rock Lutheran Church in Seward that performed covers of Christian songs.