While people can listen to many recordings of Christian music artist Luke Yates, nothing tops a live performance. On April 19, Yates will be performing at the Rainier Chapel in a free concert of soul-stirring music and heartfelt worship.
With a career spanning over two decades, Yates hails from Spokane. As the second oldest of 10 children in a Christian family, he began singing and playing in church with his mother and siblings from nearly the time he could walk.
Yates is known for his smooth baritone voice and infectious sense of humor. He began his journey in the music industry at age 18, when he joined the nationally recognized gospel music men’s vocal band New Legacy Project, formerly known as the Blackwood Legacy.
“My family opened for the group, so they heard me play and sing,” Yates said. “Long story short, they asked me to join them on the road. I packed a bag, and God has provided it ever since.”
Under the mentorship of Gospel Music Hall of Fame member Rick Price, Yates honed his craft and has performed over 2,000 concerts across the United States. This year, Yates performs in about 10 concerts a month throughout the United States.
“Because my roots are in the old gospel hymns and country music, I’ve blended these into a pretty unique sound, a little country, a little traditional gospel ... flavored with some contemporary worship,” Yates said. “I also share my story of being a father with a growing family and balancing my call against my responsibilities as a dad.”
In a recent interview, Yates shared insights into his creative process.
“Without being too ‘churchy,’ I really do think inspiration comes from God,” Yates said. “But I also get inspiration from this amazing world He created and how our lives intercept. As you can imagine, running a farm, raising a family and being on tour doesn’t seem to leave a lot of time for ‘creating,’ but I get amazing inspiration from the world around me, and when you’re a musician, that generally interprets into music — at least it does for me.”
Yates added he has some amazing musicians working with him, with whom he shares ideas, and together they create new music.
Yates said his real mission is to just spread the word of God through music and create a time of joy.
“Hans Christian Andersen said, ‘Where words fail, music speaks,’ ”Yates said. “That’s how I feel. These days we get taught, preached at, criticized and judged all the time. And there’s a place for all of that because we learn from it, but I just want to give people a minute to breathe and join me on a journey of faith and discovery, reminding them of the transformative power of God through song.”
Yates said he goes to smaller churches because they are the backbone of the country’s heritage.
“They may not be able to pay some huge fee to hire a nationally known group, but they deserve to have excellent music brought in to encourage and uplift them,” Yates said. “So that’s what I do, the only way I know how to do it — one small church at a time.”
Rainier Chapel is located at 206 Binghampton St. SE. This is a non-ticketed, non-denominational event. For more information about Yates and his upcoming tour dates, visit www.lukeyatesmusic.com.
