As part of their mission to welcome “everyone into spiritual family through songs and stories,” the Katinas, a five-man family band, will be stopping by the Howard Performing Arts Center (HPAC) on March 30. Their contemporary Christian music, which is worship-focused but inspired by a broad swath of genres, aims to embody God’s love and encourage their audiences with hope.
American Samoan brothers James, Jesse, Joe, John and Sam Katina began singing as children, eventually forming a worship group and performing at churches and fairs. Since then, their career has spanned 12 studio albums, decades of touring—with the likes of Amy Grant, Andrae Crouch and DC Talk—and a Dove award (annual awards given out by the Gospel Music Association to honor achievements in Christian music, similar to the Grammys).
Nearly inextricable from the Katinas’ music is family, a recurring theme in their lyrics. Growing up, their father was an alcoholic and abusive to them and their mother. This led to an estranged relationship between the sons and their father, though they had a bridge in their mom. In 1988, the matron Katina died due to breast cancer. This tragedy made the brothers realize how limited their relationship with their father was. After time, prayer and rehab, their father, now a pastor, called them to tell them his story, ask for forgiveness and reconcile.
In 1991, they released their first recording as the Katina Boyz on Maranatha! Music’s youth-focused sub-label, Arcade Records. Apparently wanting to target a broader audience, the brothers began searching for a mainstream label to sign to, with the help of acclaimed gospel duo BeBe and Cece Winans. They signed to Arista in 1993, moved to Nashville, and began to write songs. They didn’t stay with Arista for long, though. According to James in an interview with Crosswalk, the label wanted them to go in a different direction, one that went against the group’s standards. After calling the label to say that they weren’t going to compromise their morals, they left to sign with prominent Christian artist TobyMac’s Gotee Records, a label responsible for launching the careers of artists such as Out of Eden, Ryan Stevenson and Relient K. Since 2011, the Katinas have been releasing music under their own label, first titled Destiny Productions and now called Katina Ministries.
Beyond their music, the Katinas have a charity mission outreach called Love Squared (love God, love people). Originally an outlet for them to spread the gospel through mission trips, it has grown to also have a leadership outreach which works to inspire the next generation to pursue their God-given purpose. By performing fundraising benefit concerts, holding outreach concerts in low-income areas and serving through community projects to meet the physical needs of people in the neighborhood, the charity strives to “create and fund dynamic encounters with the Gospel for those in low income areas.”
If you’re interested in an energetic evening of Christian music, come to the HPAC at 7 p.m. on March 30. Tickets are on sale for $30 ($20 for students and $10 for children) and can be purchased here.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.