Honor & Glory
Appearing on Unity Main Stage Presented by Country Dairy – 2023 – Thursday, August 10, 2023
Honor & Glory is a band whose name epitomizes their purpose: an outpouring of honor, unwaveringly fixed on the victorious glory of God. This guitar-driven worship project never had to exist, a reality that makes Honor & Glory particularly unique. Each band member is a successful staple in the Christian rock industry, with the venture being helmed by Disciple members Kevin Young, Josiah Prince, Joey West, and Andrew Stanton. The lineup is rounded out by Dane Allen (LOYALS) on acoustic guitar and Marco Pera (Amongst the Giants) on bass. For each of the veteran musicians, Honor & Glory is a project born of pure devotion.
“This is all about Him,” singer Kevin Young freely confesses. “I’m not going into writing these songs saying ‘how do I make this song great?’ Instead, I’m saying ‘how do I use this song to share how God great is?’”
The project’s inception came organically through a conversation on Disciple’s bus, a spontaneous moment when the band members realized they were each using their time off the road to lead worship in local churches. It led to the musicians collectively asking a hypothetical question: “We’re leading worship anyway. Instead of doing it apart from each other, why don’t we just play worship music together?”
That origin in pure passion is instantly evident through the self-titled debut album Honor & Glory, a collection of songs that take a different approach from anything previously heard from the band members. “Battle Belongs” is Honor & Glory’s take on a Phil Wickham song, reimagined with towering guitar riffs behind a soaring theme of confident faith.
“It’s the battling perspectives. When all I see is the battle, you see the victory,” Kevin shares about “Battle Belongs.” “It’s basically a song bringing you to that point of ‘alright, I’m going to see things the way that You see them, Lord.’”
“Victory” reverberates with that celebration, a fiercely free recognition that as Christ-followers, we stand on the field of a battle that’s already been won. “Come Alive,” cowritten with Joth Hunt of Planetshakers, bounces through a riff-saturated sonic scape as it offers the exuberant cry of a heart that’s been resurrected.
The victorious, rock-driven sound that permeates this collection of songs feels custom-made to create environments for communal outpourings of adoration. That open invitation to the whole Body of Christ was birthed first from an attitude of collaboration in the studio.
In addition to writing contributions from all members of the band, Honor & Glory also drew on the talents of Bryan Fowler (TobyMac, Mandisa), Micah Kuiper (Newsboys, Jeremy Camp), Joth Hunt (Planetshakers), and Tommy Iceland (Jesus Culture, Chris Tomlin). Band member Josiah Prince, an acclaimed producer in his own right, helmed the album’s recording and production. The creative team was rounded out with mixing by Nick “Rad” Radovanovic (Skillet, Rhett Walker) and mastering by Mike Cervantes (Tenth Avenue North, We Are Messengers).
“God of My Story” is a compelling example of what that coalescence of skill created. Cowritten with Bryan Fowler and Micah Kuiper, “God of My Story” is a powerful and personal song of testimony. Reflecting on the song, Kevin Young offers “When I look back on my life, the successes and failures and everything in between, I can see the handwriting of God through it all, and a constant reminder of his overwhelming faithfulness.”
Honor & Glory has already been bringing these reverent offerings of testimony and praise to stages at festivals and churches, creating a distinctly unique experience. “One thing I always told my team when I led worship in church was that our job was to lead worship,” Kevin Young explains. “The only way you can lead anybody to do anything is by you doing it first. I’m not performing. I’m not trying to stir up a crowd or be the lead singer of a band. I’m just worshipping.”
