Twin Cities musicians and Catholics, Connor Flanagan and Abe Gross first met several years ago. Their friendship grew into a partnership as they recently put together Dayton Avenue Music Label, working to record and help fellow artists build their careers while creating a spirit of collaboration and encouragement.
“One of our slogans has become “Kingdom over competition,” Flanagan told Patrick Conley, host of radio show “Practicing Catholic,” in a segment set to debut 9 p.m. Nov. 5 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “Unfortunately, in the Catholic music space, there’s a lot of competition,” Flanagan said, with people getting attached to a conference, event or gig. “It’s kind of, I have to get mine,” he said.
Connor Flanagan
“We’re just trying to (emphasize) that there’s no room for comparison or competition in the Kingdom of God, and we’re better together than apart,” he said.
Building a career in music has grown to include more than recording songs, Flanagan and Gross said. Dayton Avenue has a logo and clothing line; it works with music videos, social media and in-person events. They call their endeavor a creative music group, because “we really want to place a high emphasis on using all of our creativity to help launch and pour into an artist,” Flanagan said.
Dayton Avenue Music also has Christ as its center, Flanagan and Gross said. The heart of the effort, Gross said, is bringing the Gospel to people through music.
Abe Gross
“One of the ways we see that, I’ve just noticed if you’re out and about on a bus, if you’re catching a plane, everybody’s got headphones in. Like you (Conley) said, it’s ubiquitous and we’re trying to do as much as we can with the skills and gifts that we’ve been given by God to influence that space. That, really, is part of the core of what we’re trying to do, is influence that space, where everyone’s listening to music all the time. And the ways that we can actually go out there into the culture and create culture, around the Gospel and around what we’re trying to do in our lives is really important.”
To learn more about Dayton Avenue Music Label, including how it was named, how Joe Masek, executive director of Cana Family Institute, is involved, and about the community of musicians it is building that is founded in faith, family, shared meals and prayer, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic.” It also airs at 1 p.m. Nov. 6 and 2 p.m. Nov. 7 on Relevant Radio.
This particular program also features Patty Rosno with Elevate Life, an organization that assists and equips a network of pregnancy resource clinics with marketing, the latest in medical standards and communications, and Dave Hrbacek of The Catholic Spirit, who talks about ways hunting and love for the outdoors intersect with faith.
Listen to all of the interviews after they have aired at
soundcloud.com/PracticingCatholic
tinyurl.com/PracticingCatholic?(Spotify)
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