Tokens goes weekly with broadcasts on WSM, holiday specials planned

For the first time in its six year history, the Lipscomb-based variety show Tokens is being broadcast weekly. The show can be heard on world famous country station WSM 650 AM on Sundays from 6-7 p.m. The broadcasts are currently pre-recorded from earlier episodes. These broadcasts will continue until the first live show of the fall on Nov. 24, followed by two holiday specials on Thanksgiving night and Christmas night, concluding the weekly broadcasts. For those unfamiliar with Tokens, the shows feature a variety of acts across various fields to provide a night of music and comedy that even touches on social issues. The show was created by Lipscomb’s own Dr. Lee C. Camp, a Bible professor on campus. To Camp, the mix of talented acts performing together, especially during the holiday specials at the Ryman Auditorium, provides for unique atmosphere for the audience. “The Ryman is just a magical place,” Camp said. “That show itself is always very, very special because of the kind of show we’re doing there. When you’re able to weave together theology and really good music and roots/Americana music, all of that is what the Ryman Auditorium has always been about. So that night is always very special at the Ryman, and it has an almost magical feel about it. And I’m always delighted to have people come and enjoy and participate in it.” Tokens has been able to bring in many big names and talented artists over the years, including Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Hal Holbrook and many others. This luxury came about thanks to the musical connections made by the...

Tokens brings music, laughs to Alumni with ‘The Birds and the Bees and Loving Thee’

Thursday night, a mixed crowd of Lipscomb students and those from around the Nashville community got a taste of a locally-spun variety show hosted by campus’ own Dr. Lee C. Camp. Tokens, described by Camp as a “theological variety show,” brought its newest broadcast to Alumni Auditorium, taking on a potentially uncomfortable-yet-always eye-opening subject with “The Birds and the Bees and Loving Thee”. The new recording was a bold, high-spirited celebration one of Christianity’s most ‘hush-hush’ topics. Unafraid to reach deep into the Bible to share some of the “post-Sunday School” offerings (i.e. Song of Solomon), Camp used the show to take an awkward subject and make it light, funny and most importantly, discussable.  Not only did this episode of Tokens offer some of Nashville’s finest musicians and storytellers a platform to share their talent, but the audience was given enlightening insight into the true meaning behind a few noted passages and their true intent: to shed a light on our longing for God’s love. Camp kicked off the show and appeared periodically as the event’s emcee. The host and his sidekick and leader of the house band (The Most Outstanding Horeb Mountain Boys) Jeff Taylor, provided snarky and well-supported banter throughout the program. Some of Camp’s ‘fact-sharing’ segments had audience members gleefully cringing. The great harmonica player Buddy Greene joined the band for the evening’s show. Starting the night off right was the duo of Sugar + the Hi-Lows, a folk rock team. Their peppy “Two Day High” brought a finger-snapping energy into the auditorium, with the house band backing up in fine fashion. They also performed a...

SGA President Grace announces spring concert, off-campus dining progress

SGA President Patrick Grace has confirmed a few major developments for Lipscomb students, including a potential breakthrough in the long-awaited possibility of off-campus dining. To start, Grace confirmed that there will indeed be a spring concert taking place this semester. “We have a spring concert. It should be in the middle of March,” Grace said. “We’ve got a band kind of in agreement in principle.” Grace says that SGA will make an announcement next week as to who will be playing as soon as it’s set in stone. The spring concert has long been a successful tradition at Lipscomb, with singer-songwriter Mat Kearney headlining the show last spring. Alongside the spring concert, the SGA will help sponsor a new edition of Tokens, a show founded by campus’ Dr. Lee Camp on March 7 in Alumni Auditorium. SGA is planning to release tickets for free to the student body. Grace described the show as “sort of a theological, variety, folk music radio broadcast.” SGA will be holding auditions for a student act to play during the show on Friday, Feb. 15, in the afternoon. The tryouts will be held in Ward Hall. “I’m looking forward to [the auditions] because we’ve got some real talent on campus,” Grace said. Off-campus meal plan in negotiations, could be ready for fall semester The SGA president said he and Dr. Scott McDowell,Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Campus Life, have been in negotiations with Sodexo and human resources to potentially create a plan that would allow for Lipscomb students to use their dining plan at off-campus locations. Grace said he has a level...