The Time @Jennifer_Knapp Wore My Ball Cap

Order/Download Jennifer Knapp’s new record ‘Letting Go,’ coming out on May 11. It packs the same powerful folk-rock vocals 9 years later, with honest, humble lyrics that reflect on faith, love, and her conflicting relationship with Christian culture.

As a college student active in just about every student organization on campus, naturally I was asked by my friend Jonathan Blundell to help out with security when Jennifer Knapp was in town for a concert.

I wasn’t exactly experienced in the role of concert security. But, as an Austinite I figured I’d been to enough rock and roll shows to play the part. So I positioned myself front and center with my back to the stage, arms crossed, and kept an eye out for troublemakers.

About halfway through the show, I heard Jennifer say, ‘What are you doing?’

Confused, I turned around and she was looking right at me.

‘Yes, you. Why do you have your back to me?’

And then she held the mic out for me to answer.

‘Uh.’ (Incredibly embarrassed.) ‘I’m the security guy.’

At that point I realized how strange what I was doing must have looked. I wasn’t wearing a black t-shirt with the word ‘SECURITY.’ There wasn’t anything separating me and the rest of the crowd. I was just the one random dude with his back up against the stage during a concert.

‘You sure do have a lot of girls around you.’

Again, she held the mic out for me to respond. I don’t know what I said. I think what came out was an awkward sounding, ‘Yeah, I’m used to that,’ or something.

As she began her next set I turned toward the stage. I was still feeling embarrassed and awkward and was just hoping the concert would end soon. My friends around me were teasing me, saying she was hitting on me.

Then, a few songs later, she looked right at me again and gave me a playful smile.

She thanked the crowd for a fun evening and announced her last song. As she began playing she walked to the front of the stage, reached down, and snatched the cap off of my head. I had been too embarrassed to notice her flirtatious behavior up until that point when it hit me that a cute folk-rocker girl was up on stage wearing my hat. My imagination was set in motion and I tried to figure out a way to talk to her after the show.

To be continued…