Phil Wickham goes back to local roots

Phil Wickham returned to his hometown, San Diego, to perform songs from his new album titled “Ascension” at Crawford High School on September 18.

Wickham unassumingly came onstage with only his guitar to serenade approximately 300 people. PLNU freshman Brittany Prietto is a regular at Phil Wickham concerts, so she wasn’t about to miss this performance.

“Phil Wickham is an amazing artist, I met him before at a retreat and I am stoked that I get to see him again,” Prietto said.

Once the first song “Ascension” started playing through the speakers, everyone gathered around the stage and spilled into the aisles. PLNU freshman Tyler Marlow expressed his excitement,

“I love his music and I’m just happy to have the opportunity to be here,” he said.

About halfway through the concert, Wickham stopped playing and shared how he had damaged his vocal cords a few months ago. He couldn’t talk for six weeks, so he talked with his wife through the iPhone app, Siri, in order to tell her he loved her. By talking about his love for his family and how other people should show love, Wickham informed the crowd about his charity, Compassion International.

Wickham closed the concert with “This is Amazing Grace,” a song that has almost two million views on YouTube. He then prayed and sang one last line that, in turn, was a powerful moment for PLNU junior Avalon Pellegrini.

“He started singing ‘Lord, I need you’ and we continued to sing as Phil Wickham left the stage quietly,” said Pellegrini. “I felt like he left to avoid the crowd applauding him. Instead, he wanted to give all the glory to the Lord.”

Wickham will return to California this December when he goes on his Christmas tour.