“We make our moves in mysterious ways
We’d rather burn up than stick to the shade
Not of this world so we live on the run
We keep our eyes set on what is to come”
“Unstoppable” - TobyMac

A veteran of the Christian music scene, TobyMac released “Eye on It,” his sixth studio album, in 2012. “Unstoppable” was the sixth track of the album. Overall, the album won the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, becoming TobyMac’s second Grammy win of his solo career.

TobyMac began his Christian music career in the mid-1980s with DC Talk, and the group took off as one of the pioneers of modern Christian music, winning four Grammy Awards, before the members chose to move on to solo careers and to different endeavors in music.

TobyMac, whose given name is Kevin McKeehan, has enjoyed by far the most successful solo career, still recording and touring as he turned 60 this past October.

While there are other great songs with the title of “Unstoppable,” most notably versions by The Score and Sia that have jumped up charts in the last two decades, the story of TobyMac’s music journey and his response to life with music was something to highlight this week.

This past week, May 4-11, has been National Music Week, sponsored by the National Federation of Music Clubs. The theme this year is, “Music is…Unstoppable!”

You likely noticed some letters to the editor this week from local music educators and music lovers, supporting music in our community, and one thing that caught my eye in those letters is how often music was referred to as a coping mechanism in the tough times of life.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk with TobyMac (as well as throw him onto the stage during a show when I was working security, leaving me with a singer on the stage, but his shoe in my hand - folks working security with me that night still joke about that, “you threw him up there so hard that he came right out of his shoe!”), and he is an extremely “normal” person for someone who has spent the last 40 years making a career from music, spending thousands of days in that time on tour, producing dozens of award-winning albums, and living a life that many of us would only wish for.

That doesn’t mean his life has been perfect, and often, the ups and downs of his life have come through in his music, most notably the song “21 Years,” written as a tribute to his son Truett, who passed away in 2019 due to an overdose at 21 years old.

Music has been an integral part of my life beyond any memory of life, and a big reason happens to do with another celebration going on this weekend, Mother’s Day.

This week, my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday. At literally half her age, I envy the vigor she has in life at 90, with many people tremendously surprised at her age when I mentioned her birthday this past week. On Sunday and Wednesday this week, my daughters had piano recitals, and, of course, Grandma Mac was proudly in the crowd to listen.

I can’t tell you the first family sing-a-long that I participated in, but I can tell you that music has been a huge part of both sides of my family - and still is. When my grandfather passed away two years ago, my family was spending time together after the funeral service, which included multiple musical pieces from family members, and soon, someone sat down at the piano, and we were all singing together along to the piano.

My father’s mother has passed, but one of my first memories of her was visiting her at the church organ after service. She frequently encouraged musical pursuits and loved to hear me (or any of her grandkids) sing at Easter and Christmas Eve services. One of my lasting memories will be in her final months of life, one of the last times she played organ for church, she asked me to sing a solo while accompanied by her on the organ. That was in July, and by January, she was gone.

My mother has emphasized the importance of music in our lives throughout my life, living the example of playing piano for church and even accompanying my brothers and me during music contests and accompanying our school choirs in middle school and high school. She drove to Minneapolis multiple times during college to watch me participate in various college choirs.

While my children are adopted, we’ve joked that music “comes naturally” to them as part of the family, but I know that there’s a legacy involved that passed that passion and love for music from generation to generation.

Music has so many amazing attributes that have been lauded by letters to the editor this week already, but one that continues to affect my life is the generational passing of music, using music to tell stories across generations.

You don’t have to be a talented performer to enjoy music by any means. The melodies of a bird chirping or coyotes howling in the night is as much music as pulling a bow across the strings of a cello of puckering your lips to create music through a trumpet or belting out a high note in your vocal range.

Music is everywhere, passed down across nature, across the generations. It truly is an unstoppable force of the world!

...and Happy Mother’s Day to all of you amazing mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and beyond!