UNC student musician opens for Christian folk-rock band The Gray Havens

Students and families flocked to the North Carolina Study Center on Battle Lane Friday night for an evening of music at UNC Chapter of International Justice Mission’s “Just Music!” benefit concert.

Sophomore Michelle Hugo said IJM is a faith-based global human rights organization that works to combat violence affecting the poor, such as human trafficking, forced labor and kidnapping.

“As an on-campus chapter, we do a lot of advocacy, awareness and fundraising,” she said.

First-year Katie Davenport said the chapter has been planning this event since January in order to raise funds for IJM.

“I think it would be cool to see how we’ll continue to grow and fight for people who can’t speak for themselves,” Davenport said. “It’s a really great time for students to come out, hang with their friends, listen to good music and eat good food, but do it while supporting a good cause that’s bigger than ourselves.”

The event featured senior Nathan Vincent Lozada, a songwriter who opened for Christian folk-rock band The Gray Havens.

Lozada, who goes by the stage name Nathan Vincent and is majoring in business administration, began writing his own music not too long ago.

“I’ve listened to music pretty much all my life, but around 16 or 17 years old, I just picked up a guitar and started writing songs,” he said.

Lozada said songwriting bloomed out of boredom.

“I grew up in a really conservative Christian home,” he said. “I wanted to write songs that I guess reflected that, but wasn’t Christian music per se. I think a lot of music that I write has religious overtones. I think it was important that I share what I believed in and also a part of what I experienced.”

Despite his knack for writing, Lozada didn’t start performing his songs until he was 18 or 19 years old.

“My freshman and sophomore year, I went to open mic nights at local places, like Local 506 and Cat’s Cradle,” he said.

“It’s a nice environment because there’s a bunch of old guys who are like, ‘Great job, dude.’ I don’t really know whether or not my music sounded good, but I was like, ‘Thank you for your compliment, sir.’”

Before “Just Music!,” he had only performed shows for his friends — and especially not as the opening act for a well-known band.

He described opening for The Gray Havens as a mix of excitement and nervousness.

Recently, Lozada released his debut single, “Snow Song.”

“I wrote the song in January,” he said. “It’s funny it’s called ‘Snow Song’ because I was in the Philippines at the time. The Philippines is not a snowy area, but it was an environment where you’re incredibly claustrophobic.”

However, this wasn’t a setback — in fact, it inspired him.

“To me, it was a longing to be alone and isolated and really be in tune with the quiet of it all,” he said. “It helped me write ‘Snow Song.’”

Vincent said he hopes to release a five-song EP around May, before graduation.

“I take off all of my Fridays and work in the studio from 11 (a.m.) to 4 (p.m.), and then we do the recording from there,” he said. “Everything right now is just in its raw stages.”

With graduation approaching, Vincent is unsure of what the future holds for him as a songwriter.

“Senior year has been a test for me because I already have a job offer in Texas,” he said. “I can do the music thing on the side, and if that really takes off, I’d like to do it full-time.”

Regardless of whether or not he pursues music full-time, Vincent will keep writing songs for himself.

“At the end of the day, I think it is about finding my own voice,” he said.

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