Grace Baldridge, also known as the musician Semler, announced she will be joining Christian rock band Relient K as their opening act on the band’s upcoming “Um Yeah Tour.”
Semler, who is openly queer and writes about her Christian background, joins the tour when it starts in February.
“Um, yeah. I’ll be joining @relientK on tour this year. I fully can’t believe it. Tickets are selling really fast so make your move and see you on the road,” Baldridge tweeted. Baldridge added that “Relient K is about to have a bunch of gays at their shows this spring now.”
Um, yeah. I’ll be joining @relientK on tour this year. I fully can’t believe it. Tickets are selling really fast so make your move and see you on the road!https://t.co/dS4ZplBkeG pic.twitter.com/seESv4hRiK
— Semler (@gracebaldridge) January 5, 2022
Semler came to popularity in 2021 after two of her EPs landed in the number one spot on the iTunes Christian Albums chart. At the time, her EPs took the top spot from Grammy Award-winning Christian singer Lauren Daigle’s “Look Up Child.”
Semler is the daughter of an Episcopalian priest and has been open about struggling with same-sex attraction as she grew up in the church. Her music sometimes includes explicit language.
In one song, called “TobyMac,” she talks about trying to make a mixtape for a girlfriend, but only knowing songs from Christian bands such as DC Talk, Relient K and Switchfoot.
“I wanna make my girl a mixtape of love songs she’d know were just from me. But the only songs I know are Christian, so I have to think strategically,” the lyrics read. In the same song, Baldridge writes that “Relient K f**cking got my a** through college.”
In another song called “Youth Group,” she sings about youth group lock-in events that are popular among Christian churches.
“Youth group lock-ins are really strange concepts that youth group leaders seem to really like. It’s like, ‘Let’s take some repressed hormonal teenagers and put ’em in church and hope they find Jesus overnight,’” she writes.
Semler has also caught the attention of other bands she loved growing up.
On her Instagram, Semler posted an image of her seventh-grade journal, which included a drawing of Relient K and DC Talk’s names, calling it the “power of manifestation.” DC Talk’s Kevin Max replied to Baldridge, saying, “Congrats and based on that notebook, a DC Talk tour with you should be next.” Former Caedmon’s Call singer Derek Webb then posted, “um need one more opener?”
Photo courtesy: Pexels/Wolfgang
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
