Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Rachel Scott—a victim at the Columbine School Shooting—wrote, “I won’t be labeled as average.” Jeremy Willet, in a song that he has written called “Thirsty,” sings, “Change will only come when, we get up off the floor/And it’s in my blood, it’s the language that I dream in...”
Jeremy Willet is helping to bring awareness about global poverty, as well as a message of hope, to those that he meets. Quite frankly, he is not afraid to be a part of the life-saving change that is needed to save lives around the world—in fact, he embraces it.
This December, Jeremy and his brothers, also known as the rock band Willet which has been touring internationally since 2006, will be performing their fifth annual “Willet Snow on Christmas?” tour from Dec. 8-19 in 15 different cities on the U.S. East Coast.
The band is composed of three brothers from Maryland, including Jeremy Willet with vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards; Justin Willet on electric guitar and Jordan Willet on bass guitar. Jeremy Willet, 25, describes their music as having “heavy guitar hooks, melodic vocals and symphonic production” and “thought-provoking lyrics inspired from scripture from the Bible and global poverty.” He says that Chevelle, Switchfoot and Blindside are some of the band’s musical influences.
What an average tour day looks like for Jeremy:
Between 8am-10am: Wake up, read Bible, drink some coffee, and load up in van.
10am - 3pm: Drive to next city
3pm-4pm: Radio/TV/newspaper interviews
4pm-5:30pm: Set up for concert
6pm - 7pm: Prayer/Bible study before show
7pm - 8:30: Concert / autographs
9pm - 10:30pm: Tear down
10:30pm – Midnight: grab some food, drive to hotel/host home
Willet has also played at festivals that have featured bands such as Switchfoot, Relient K, and the Newsboys, and has been on tour with Electric & Musical Industries (EMI) recording artist Sanctus Real.
Jeremy said Christmas especially has deep meaning to him.
“Christmas to me is a celebration of the birth of our Savior and an extension of the rest of the year that we should be living our lives for Jesus,” he said. “Christians especially get upset when people call it a ‘holiday’ instead of saying ‘Christmas’, etc., but I don't get caught up in the wording or politics of it. Call it what you want, at the end of the day, it is all about who you believe in, and how you live your life.”
In addition to writing and playing music, Jeremy recently co-authored a book called “carried.” with friend and youth pastor Justin Hanneken.
“We wrote ‘carried.’ after a trip to Africa together in 2009,” he said. “It brings a unique perspective from a youth pastor that ministers in one location weekly, and a Christian touring musician that is in a different city each night. The book is all about how we should lay down our ‘kingdoms’ that we have built up—consumerism, materialism, patriotism—and instead, pick up our cross.”
Jeremy describes what happens at a Willet concert, and what he hopes people take away from the concert when they leave.
“At a Willet concert, people experience an hour of hearing/seeing our original songs performed live, sometimes synced with videos on a backdrop,” he said.
At every Willet concert, the band shares an update about an international community that they work in. Currently, Willet works in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Haiti and visits these countries several times each year.
“Our hope is that people walk away from a Willet concert with a sense of urgency to sponsor a child from one of the communities that we work in,” he said. “We have seen that when one person/family takes the time and sacrifice to sponsor one child living in extreme poverty, then an entire community is transformed. Over the past five years, over 2,000 children have been sponsored through Willet concerts.”
He says that Willet first decided to take on the endeavor of sponsoring children following their first trip to Ethiopia, Africa, in 2007. Jeremy said the songs that songs directly address child sponsorship are the entire record “Virus” that they released in 2008, as well as “Shelter” off their ‘Teeth of a Lion, Fangs of a Lioness” album.
“I sponsored my first child after meeting Food for the Hungry at a festival and hearing about their strategy to address both physical and spiritual needs in poverty-stricken communities,” he said. “Their vision to work with pastors, community leaders and the children is fantastic! When someone sponsors a child, they also provide funding for a missionary in that community to tell the children about Jesus!”
Jeremy says that he and his wife, Kat, have sponsored three children, and have had the chance to meet one of them.
“In 2011, we are adopting our first child from Africa as well,” he excitedly said. “We are so excited to become parents to an orphan!”
Jeremy says that he and his wife, Kat, have sponsored three children, and have had the chance to meet one of them.
“In 2011, we are adopting our first child from Africa as well,” he excitedly said. “We are so excited to become parents to an orphan!”
If high school students and their families would like to become involved with sponsoring a child this Christmas, Jeremy recommends either going to www.fh.org/willet or coming to one of the 15 cities on the Christmas tour listed at http://www.willetonline.com/.
The last song on Willet’s latest album "Teeth of a Lion, Fangs of a Lioness" is called "Steps." The lyrics are: "The more steps you take/The more that you leave behind/So who is following you now?" With this in mind, Jeremy sums up how he hopes to impact and influence others by the way that he lives.
“My goal is this—songs are important, music is fun, touring the world is a blast, but ultimately, all of that will pass away and be replaced by the ‘next thing,’” he said. “What really matters in this life is our relationship with Jesus, and how we love those around us. We do a lot internationally, but one of my favorite things to do in the U.S. is to go and meet homeless people under a railroad track in my hometown and take them out to dinner and talk to them. People living in poverty—domestic or international—deserve to be shown love. That is what The Bible is all about! That is what Jesus did! And...I want my life to look like Jesus.”
“My goal is this—songs are important, music is fun, touring the world is a blast, but ultimately, all of that will pass away and be replaced by the ‘next thing,’” he said. “What really matters in this life is our relationship with Jesus, and how we love those around us. We do a lot internationally, but one of my favorite things to do in the U.S. is to go and meet homeless people under a railroad track in my hometown and take them out to dinner and talk to them. People living in poverty—domestic or international—deserve to be shown love. That is what The Bible is all about! That is what Jesus did! And...I want my life to look like Jesus.”
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