As I sat in the library one afternoon, I could hear music coming from the study room behind me. I quickly recognized the song from the same album I’ve had on repeat for the past two days — Dane Joneshill’s debut album, “Everything That Rises Must Converge.”
Joneshill is a Searcy local who released his debut album on Jan. 19, 2018.
“I’ve been writing songs for 20 years and have always waited to make an album,” Joneshill said. “Something about now felt like the right time. I could not hang onto those songs anymore.”
Joneshill has created an album that is intimate and pure for a stunning debut. Each song is created with passion, goodness and an outstanding amount of talent. His music holds many of the same qualities of bands like NEEDTOBREATHE, with a soothing sound and raw lyrics that help you see straight into the heart and mind of the artist.
It is obvious that at the center of Joneshill’s heart and mind is loving others and making the most out of the life God gave us.
“A lot of them are about the struggles peoples find themselves in sometimes, not knowing how to wrestle their experience with pain, with the promises of God,” Joneshill said. “Hopefully that is there in all of these stories, people wrestling with that, looking for the light and just trying to hang on.”
“What will you do with your wild and precious life?” is the first line of the song “Fragments.” The song is about one character wondering about what he has done with his life. He had all of these things he wanted and intended to do and places he wanted to go. But life chips away at him. He gets surrounded by darkness and ends up feeling like he’s nothing. One night he sleeps and he dreams all of these grand and hopeful aspirations, realizing he still has things to hold onto.
“I thought that was a beautiful picture of just hanging on,” Joneshill said.
Joneshill’s music was not only created for his own enjoyment, but for others to find peace during darkness, hard times and to hopefully find Jesus through it all.
“I think in some ways the record was just the most empathetic thing I could do, just extend it to people and go, ‘I hope that things will be better. I hope that somehow it will come back together in something else that is beautiful and helpful,” Joneshill said. “That was the theme in the back of my head as I wrote songs the last few years.”
“Everything That Rises Must Converge” is a breathtaking work of art. It is an album to get lost in. Each song is tender and true, and can inspire you to see goodness in the hard times. “I hope that anyone can listen to the songs and at least feel two things,” Joneshill said. “I hope they can say, ‘I’m not totally alone’ and ‘There’s a hope worth at least looking for. They can at least hope that there is hope.”
The album is being sold locally at Midnight Oil and Wild Sweet Williams. You can find the album on any music streaming site and it is available for download on Noise Trade.
