Calvin College
Festival of Faith & Music
Daniel Smith 
Daniel Smith, the eldest sibling of five, closely-knit, brothers and sisters, has released music under a handful of different monikers since 1995. Originally creating Danielson as an art school project for his senior thesis, the idea quickly started to grow into the aptly named Danielson Famile. This group, which brought into the mix his four younger siblings along with a few friends from childhood, released the critically-acclaimed, Tell Another Joke at the Ol' Choppin' Block in 1997. Hailing from suburban Clarksboro, New Jersey, it is difficult to separate Danielson from their gooey visuals (costumes and graphics) and the spirited music, regarding which, Daniel says, “One enters your heart through your eyes, one through your ears.” In the past they have sported hand-made, old-fashioned doctors' and nurses' uniforms while performing as a “visual reminder of the healing taking place.” As Br. Danielson, Daniel has worn a nine-foot tall, hand-made nine-fruit tree to “bear the good fruit.” Since the senior thesis, Daniel Smith has released (under various names) Alpha and Omega, Fetch the Compass Kids, and Brother is to Son. In 2006, Danielson returned with Ships, an album to resolve all things past. Opening his arms wider than ever, Daniel made a list of all the artists who have worked with him over the years. To that list, he added other folks whom he had made plans to work with at some point. There's no avoiding that what began as a senior thesis project a decade ago has evolved into a world so rich with musicality and merry-making that the first six albums and ten years of touring pomp alone could nourish the most scrutinizing of thrill-seekers. Mythology-hounds, listening with headphones or at a party, have found Danielson to be as deeply rewarding in a literary-visual-musical way as canonical acts such as Sun Ra, Parliament and David Bowie.