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Waterdeep’s been a mainstay in the indie scene for the last decade, and throughout their travels, they’ve won over an enormous national fan base. In fact, their growth as a band was at its pinnacle when they signed with Squint Entertainment, the label responsible for the crossover success of Sixpence None the Richer and the Christian market triumph of Burlap to Cashmere. Although that may have been the best thing for them, their grassroots fan base felt the group had lost some of its innocence due to the signing, followed by their most slickly produced album Everyone’s Beautiful.

In response to that backlash, the group’s latest album You Are So Good to Me: Waterdeep Worship and subsequent tour has been scaled back immensely to give them a raw sound minus the studio tricks and frills. And on the road, the tone is quieter and stripped back to set a worshipful tone rather than a more laid back coffeehouse or lounge like atmosphere. Another new element was the fact that only Don and Lori Chaffer of the band were on hand to warm up the crowd to an evening headlined by Fernando Ortega. 

When the Chaffers stepped onto stage at Trinity International University to a nearly sold out gymnasium, the crowd was mostly filled with Ortega fans, although a handful of groupies and students could be heard rooting for the duo. They opened the set with “You are Lovely,” featuring Ortega on piano. After some clumsy audience dialogue from Don to accompany his guitar tuning, the group turned in a poignant interpretation of “Sweet River Roll,” the big hit from the last album. Don recovered from his lack of oratory skills with a passionate interpretation of the lyrics accompanied by a Bob Dylan inspired harmonica solo during the final chorus.

The duo also performed “My God Has Come to Save Me” from the new disc, in which Lori took over on lead vocals. Her voice was filled with a bit of southern twang accompanied by varying pitches. “Let My People Go” was a duet between the couple, but the tale based on several Old Testament stories paled in comparison to an anthem like “Sweet River Roll.” The title cut off the latest disc ended the couple’s set and faired very well, as the audience was able to pick up on the words, despite their newness, to carry the chorus out into the night.