Honestly, nothing beats a hometown show. When a band plays for their home crowd, the whole room shifts. The lights hit harder, the energy rises, and every single voice comes together as one. It’s an incredible dynamic: a room full of people who know every lyric by heart, feeding that passion right back to the stage. You can hear that exact bond loud and clear throughout Behold The Beloved’s live concert DVD, Homegrown.
We were first introduced to BTB back in 2019 when they played a worship night at our church. Since then, they’ve grown incredibly, both musically and lyrically. We’ve seen them many times since, and each show is even better than the last. When we heard they were recording a live DVD, we knew we had to be there. The doors opened at The Junction Center at 5 PM, two hours before the show started for some pre-concert interviews & B-roll. We arrived an hour early to get a good spot at the front. There was no opener for the show, so BTB primed the crowd for the recording by playing a fun video encouraging everyone to give it their all. Then, John Stafferi from WJTL took the stage to introduce the band and pointed out that there was a newlywed couple in the crowd who had just gotten married earlier that day. Talk about dedication!
The lights dimmed and from the very moment the show started, Behold The Beloved gave all of the glory to God. The words on the LED screen faded and we were hit with a wall of sound and a flurry of CO2 blasts, as Jeff Lehman, Jason Stauffer, Sean Green, and Sheldon Stauffer took the stage to the opening riffs of their hit, “Trenches.” I have never heard a crowd so loud, screaming every lyric to the song. “Toxic Lullabies” had the crowd jumping along to the intro. Sheldon’s drum beats hit so hard on the pre-chorus. The band looked like they were having an absolute blast, running around stage and jamming together. Every once in a while, you were reminded that this was a live recording when you’d catch a glimpse of the cameraman following Sean and the others around on stage.
They kicked into the next song, “Ready To Die” off of their latest album, Harsh Realities. This song packs a punch when you hear it live! Sean took a break to welcome the crowd, declaring, “It is good to be home!” He reflected on their time as a band and how far they’ve come, giving all of the glory to God. They launched right back into the music with “Untouchable,” then flowed right into “Dear Martyr.” While we were promised surprises throughout the night, no one saw it coming when Josh Bramlett of The Protest ran out on stage to sing the second verse. Josh is a force on stage, pairing his energy with Sean’s and interacting with Jeff and Jason. They took a break after the song to share memories of how The Protest and BTB started working together. They also announced for the first time that Josh was in the recording studio with them the day before recording a version of “Dear Martyr” with his guest vocals, to be released in 2027.
Then in another total surprise, Sean turned the mic over to Josh and the band launched into one of our favorite songs from The Protest, “Greater.” I can’t imagine how much work goes into practicing and preparing for a full concert DVD, but on top of that, the band even learned a song that wasn’t theirs! The guys in Behold The Beloved crushed it and it was great to hear “Greater” live again, the third time in a few months for us. Immediately after, they showed an early interview with BTB and John Stafferi on the big screen, one of their first radio interviews about their single “Remedy.” The entire crowd went “Awww!” and commented on how young the band looked. “Remedy” was released in 2018, around the time that we were first introduced to the band. Of course, they launched right into the song and the crowd screamed every word along with them. Jeff stepped up to center stage to shred the iconic high-energy guitar solo.
They took things slightly down a notch with their very first worship cover, “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),” originally by Hillsong. Behold The Beloved has made it abundantly clear that worship is at the heart of what they do. Their worship covers translate well into their rock style, but keep the pure heart of the songs. Spliced in the middle of the song was the chorus of Aaron Shust’s worship song “My Savior.” Once “Oceans” wrapped up, Sean stepped to the front of the stage to talk about how they have fans always begging for songs from their older albums. He made a joke that their discography isn’t that big, they’re not old like Disciple! He made it clear it was all in good fun. But to appease the fans, they paired three older songs in a medley, “Shock The Water,” “Jericho,” and “Abandon Ship," with a Sheldon drum solo built in. It was great to hear those songs live again, since they can’t fit every song into their shows.
Sean stepped up to the mic again to thank everyone who has been involved in the history of Behold The Beloved. From the fans to their extensive support team who helps to produce and promote their music, to the artists who have supported them, like Kevin Young, Andrew Stanton, Josiah Prince (Disciple), Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless), and Josh & Jarob Bramlett (The Protest). They thanked their Patreon members for supporting them monthly. He wrapped up the long list by thanking their families for standing beside them the whole time and a huge thank you to Sean’s wife Kelly for being their manager for all these years. He spent some time talking on the stage about how God has a purpose for our lives, even when we feel broken.
This led right into the song “Am I Broken.” We were anxiously anticipating this song, because we knew there were some special guests for the night. We were not disappointed. As the band kicked into the second verse, Jon Micah Sumrall of Kutless ran out on stage to sing his part of the song. It was incredible. We had not seen John Micah perform live in over a decade. The crowd went absolutely wild! Sean talked for a few moments about how meaningful it was to have Jon Micah sing with them and how he was fangirling a little bit. The stage went dim and a mic and guitar were brought out. Jon Micah gave a very special acoustic performance of Kutless’ hit song, “Strong Tower.” It gave us chills to hear it live and stripped down like that.
This led directly into another video break, this time with the very first video of BTB announcing that they were starting a band, back in 2013. Cue another round of awws from the crowd at how young they appeared. They played several throwback videos from over the years, leading right into their high-energy hit, “Playing With Fire,” off of their album, No Surrender. The track keeps its fiery energy right up until the bridge, then pulls back for a stripped-down chorus before driving into the rest of the song. The audience was singing every word so loudly that Sean was almost drowned out.
The lights dimmed and a spotlight shone right on Sheldon on the drums. He kicked into an epic drum solo, featuring increasingly difficult beats. You could tell he was having fun with it. He would switch to a slower groove and pretend to be bored, then launch right back into an explosive double bass beat, using the entire drum kit. He dove right into the intro of “Come Alive,” featuring more CO2 blasts. We were holding our breath in anticipation of the second verse. Kevin Young from Disciple is featured on the recording. Three years ago, we saw Kevin perform it live with BTB right at The Junction Center and we were hoping for a repeat. Unfortunately, Kevin didn’t come out. We were a little disappointed but jumped right back into rocking to the song.
Josiah Prince of Disciple graced the screen next, showing his support for the guys. Josiah worked with the band on their latest album, Harsh Realities. Sean gave him a shout out for all the vocal coaching and production he’s helped him with. Sean referenced Josiah’s influence on the band in our interview with them last year. They kicked things back up with “Clenched Fists,” a song we’ve seen them play live many times. It was fun to see the full production, with CO2, lights, and the LED screen. As always, Jeff killed it with his incredible guitar solo in the middle of the song. You can’t help but enjoy watching Jeff and Jason interact on stage while playing off of each other on guitars. It truly feels like a brotherhood.
The band pulled it back again for another worship song, this time a cover of Brandon Lake’s hit, “Gratitude.” You could feel the presence of God in the room as every hand was raised, worshiping the Creator of the Universe. It ended in an acapella moment that gave us chills. Of course, no concert is complete without the crowd’s chant of “One more song!” They didn’t drag it out too long, but obliged us with another amazing Jeff solo, leading right into “Powerplay,” their hockey-themed hit. The crowd was eating up the driving guitars and screaming riffs. Sean pulled out the YAHWEH flag and displayed it proudly on the stage, reminding everyone of who this is all for.
In the pause between songs, Sean took off his Powerplay jersey and handed it to a very excited kid in the crowd, joking how sweaty it was. They wrapped up this incredible live recorded concert with another reminder of what the band is all about - worship. The worship song, “Tremble” by Mosaic MSC has been their closer for many of their concerts and it was fitting that they ended with that song. It was another beautiful moment of worship across the entire crowd.
What an electric night! The energy in the room was absolutely unmatched. Almost everyone in the room has seen Behold The Beloved many times, we recognized faces from previous shows. BTB did a great job of keeping everyone involved and entertained. You never knew what was coming next! It was so fun to see all of the old footage and interviews from their thirteen years together as a band. The stories and the special guests made it a truly unforgettable evening. We can’t wait to see the final footage of their Homegrown DVD!
Homegrown Setlist:
Trenches
Toxic Lullabies
Ready To Die
Untouchable
Dear Martyr (with Josh Bramlett)
Greater (The Protest)
Remedy
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)
Medley: Shock The Water, Jericho, Abandon Ship
Am I Broken (with Jon Micah Sumrall)
Strong Tower (Kutless)
Playing With Fire
Come Alive
Clenched Fists
Gratitude
Powerplay
Tremble