Greg LaFollette Talks About New Music for Holy Week in This Exclusive Interview

Greg LaFollette has announced his seventh studio album, entitled Holy Week Volume Two. LaFollette self-produced its tracks at The Culture House, where he is the artist-in-residence. It will be released on April 4, 2025.

Holy Week Volume Two is both a chronicle of Jesus' last days as well as a call to transform the pain and suffering that we all experience into something redemptive. The record leads us through the traditional movements of Holy Week; beginning with the triumphal entry and ending with Jesus' brutal execution. In true form, LaFollette guides listeners toward a full spectrum of reality, campaigning for a "faith that allows doubt and a good life that is marked by suffering for the sake of others."

Q: Greg, thanks for doing this interview with us. Could you please tell us about yourself and your current ministry?

I'm an artist-in-residence at an arts conservatory in Kansas City called The Culture House, and I also work at Christ Church Anglican as a musical worship leader. It's important to have both of these spheres of ministry as a part of my vocation (artist and pastor), and I find that there's considerable overlap between them; things like promoting vulnerability, exploring trust, and personal formation.

Q: What prompted you to do two albums on the final week of Jesus?

The mainstream worship culture provides lots of songs exalting God's might and majesty, but the thing that seems most praiseworthy to me is the willingness to empty himself of his power and become like us. Paul put it plainly in the Kenosis Hymn,

 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death-
        even death on a cross!

In these records, I wanted to craft a movement that celebrated this monumental act of humility and invited us to walk alongside Jesus in this way.

Q: How is Vol. 2 different from the first album?

Volume Two is a narrative concept record. It starts with the triumphal entry (Hosanna In The Highest), journeys through Gethsemane (Now I Must Trust You), and ends with the crucifixion (Were You There).

The Volumes are similar in that there are hymn retunes and psalm settings on both albums. The most notable texts on Volume Two are O Sacred Head and Were You There. Both were treated with a more somber melody and intense production choices. The musicians on the record communicate so much emotion in the parts they played and sounds they chose!

Q: I particularly love the song "Psalm 88 (Darkness is My Closest Friend)." Why is reflecting on the Old Testament important when we think of Jesus's death and resurrection?

The Psalms have been the most consistently reassuring part of the Bible for me for a long time; teaching me that I'm not the first to have negative or complicated emotions toward God, giving me permission and even challenging me to be severely honest, and helping me remember God's faithful character.

This psalm in particular teaches us about the slow, patient work of our Father. At the end of the song, resolution has not been found, and God and the psalmist are still at odds. The last word in the original language was appropriately "darkness." This demonstrates to us that there are times like this in our real, lived reality. Tragedy is not far from any of us, and reconciliation can take longer than we like.

Jesus, being steeped in the Psalms, was formed by Psalm 88. The prayer conversation between Jesus and the Father in Gethsemane is the perfect template for genuine connection. You'll notice that before Jesus accepts his Father's will, he communicates his sorrowful desires ("My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.") It is so easy to cynically skip this step, but if we will follow Jesus' example, our acts of submission will undoubtedly deepen our relationship with God.

Q: What does this final week of Jesus mean to you personally?

The way Jesus transformed pain and suffering into redemption is the most amazing thing to me. Non-violence in the face of injustice and cruelty is so counterintuitive. He received hurt, loneliness, and shame; and gave only forgiveness and love. I want to be more like that.

Q: How do you hope this new record will help individuals and churches as we prepare for Easter?

I hope that it will not only help them remember and revere the love of Jesus, but also join with God in His sacrifice. There is a prayer in the Anglican tradition that speaks to this: Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

greglafollette.com/music

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