Catholic Transcript Online

The Christian rock band eXaudio performs at the 2009 Catholic Youth Spectacular at New Britain Stadium. From left are Brian Hartley, Steve Kibbe and Matt Bureau.

BLOOMFIELD – When some 2,000 young Catholics process onto the spacious grounds at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary on Sept. 12, they will be singing “When the Saints Go Marching In,” along with a Christian band called eXaudio. It will be the opening of the fifth annual Catholic Youth Spectacular, and will feature music by eXaudio and Christian singer Jesse Manibusan, said Shawnee Baldwin, coordinator of the event.

“We used eXaudio last year for the first time,” said Ms. Baldwin, who coordinates youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Hartford’s Office of Religious Education. “They have a song about Mother Teresa that is on a CD of theirs. They write a lot of their own music, and they’re local.”

Cathy Hartley, promotional agent and sometime vocalist and tambourine player with eXaudio, said the group was formed about five years ago when Steve Kibbe, of Hampden, Mass., was looking for a way to get people to hear some Christian songs he had written. “He wanted to sing about the Lord and our Catholic faith,” she said.

Learning that Brian Hartley, Cathy’s husband, played bass guitar and sang, Mr. Kibbe called him. Mr. Hartley at first turned him down, but Mr. Kibbe called back and offered to come over and bring his music. When Mr. Hartley heard how inspiring the music was, he came on board.

Mr. Hartley then called his cousin, Matt Bureau, another bass guitarist and vocalist. Both are from the Hartford area. They called a drummer they knew, and eXaudio was born. The group is currently without a drummer, so they have reshuffled their repertoire to focus on acoustic music.

Music is one reason the Catholic Youth Spectacular attracts teens and young adults from all over the Archdiocese of Hartford. Last year, 1,700 young people represented 67 parishes for a day of fun, food, song and worship at New Britain Stadium.

Ms. Baldwin said this year’s theme is “Empowered by the Spirit: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives” and focuses on the saints. There will be a saint scavenger hunt and saint Stations of the Cross. Other attractions will include a giant picnic, field activities, a rosary walk, a “Catholic Idol” talent show and, of course, entertainment with Mr. Manibusan and eXaudio. The day will end with reconciliation and a Mass with Archbishop Henry J. Mansell as the principal celebrant.

Mrs. Hartley said eXaudio is not worried about Mr. Manibusan’s upstaging them. Mr. Manibusan, the keynote speaker this year, is a Catholic lay evangelist who engages audiences through music, comedy and stories. He was named Artist of the Year by the United Catholic Music and Video Association.

“He will be doing his own set, and later we’ll be performing together,” Mrs. Hartley said.

She explained that eXaudio takes its name from a Latin verb meaning “to listen to clearly and to hear favorably.” She said, “We try to teach people about our faith through our music.”

“Mother Teresa,” written by Mr. Kibbe, is one of their most popular songs, she said, and one she identifies with because she is short, like Blessed Teresa was. “I introduce the song by saying she was a feisty little lady who loved God,” Mrs. Hartley said.

Her husband said, “We’re a pioneer Catholic band in Connecticut. We’re trying to create a music scene here for Catholics. We grew up hearing mostly secular music, but we’re trying to bring [Christian music] up from the underground.”

Mrs. Hartley said, “It’s a little tough being a Catholic group. We advertise ourselves as a Christian band, except when we promote directly to Catholic groups, and then we call ourselves a Catholic band. It’s usually a little more difficult to promote ourselves as Catholic. There is a lot of Christian music, but Catholic music, that’s the real deal.”

The Hartleys are members of St. Paul Parish in Glastonbury and both teach the faith to sixth-graders at St. Augustine Parish in South Glastonbury, which is linked to St. Paul’s.

Amazingly, although the band has a large youth following, adults are often less inhibited when listening to its Christian-based music. “We’re not hard rock or rap,” Mr. Hartley explained. “We’re more rock and pop and Reggae and blues and country. It’s what the adults grew up with.”

Still, at last year’s Catholic Youth Spectacular, several young fans followed them around. Some even jumped onto the stage and joined right in, she said.

“Young people sometimes think it’s not cool to love Jesus,” she said, “but we got them going.”

Ms. Baldwin said she hopes to have every parish and every Catholic school represented at this year’s Catholic Youth Spectacular. She encourages everyone who signs up to bring five friends. In her promotional video at www.youthspectacular.net, she says, “The only thing missing is you. See you in September.”

The Catholic Youth Spectacular will be held rain or shine from 2 to 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at the Archdiocesan Center at St. Thomas Seminary, 467 Bloomfield Ave., Bloomfield. The registration deadline is Aug. 27.

Ms. Baldwin is handling inquiries and registration at (860) 243-9465, ext. 20, or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .