I know what you’re thinking. Reviews aren’t something you’re accustomed to seeing in the Suffolk News-Herald. But we’re always trying new things we think may be popular with our readers, and there’s no time like the present.

A friend and I had the opportunity to attend the Mark Schultz concert on Jan. 11 at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. (Full disclosure: The Suffolk News-Herald is a season media sponsor this year, and the tickets we used were comped as part of that. There was no request or requirement for a review.)

Before I talk about the show, just a few words about the Suffolk Center itself. Simply put, if you’ve never been there, you’re missing out. The performances are quality, the staff and volunteers are fabulous, and there’s not a bad view from any spot in the 530-seat Birdsong Theater. If you’ve never been, I strongly encourage you to visit www.suffolkcenter.org, check out the schedule for this winter and spring and find a show you think you’ll enjoy. The theater itself will be worth it!

Now, on to the show. Daniel Heffington opened up for Mark Schultz, and he’s based in Virginia and is actually a Windsor native. I fully enjoyed his music, which was faith-based and energetic. I love to watch musicians record intervals of different instruments, sound effects and vocal parts and piece together the song right on stage using their equipment. They truly are a one-man band, and Heffington was a master at it. However, he did veer away from the fancy stuff for a couple of songs and slowed it down a bit.

When Mark Schultz came out, I was interested to see what the atmosphere would be like. Schultz is a contemporary Christian artist, but a lot of the crowd was older. Would they get on their feet and move or simply enjoy the music in their seats?

As it turns out, the answer was mostly the latter, but it still looked like everyone was enjoying it. Schultz weaved humor, stories about his family, music videos and videos of his mission trips between and throughout his songs. A two-time Dove Award winner, he performed some of his newer songs as well as older ones, including one particular favorite of mine from about 10 years ago that I had completely forgotten about (and which, of course, has been stuck in my head since then).

I laughed, I cried, I worshipped, and I enjoyed an unforgettable evening. As I walked out, I heard one person comment, “That was better than church!” I doubt that person’s pastor would agree, but I know why they said it.