By Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

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Darren Mulligan makes no bones about what his job entails – and it’s not selling records, blowing up on social media, or even making money.

“Concerts and record sales and Gold records and all that stuff – that's all bonus territory, but it's not the bread and butter of our lives. The bread and butter of our lives is living in relationship with God and each other,” the We Are Messengers frontman said in a phone interview.

Mulligan explained, “You see, true revival is not marked by the number of people attending a show. True revival is marked by repentance. True revival is marked by pursuit of holiness. True revival is marked by taking care of widows and orphans.

“And so, our concerts are an outward expression of how we love Jesus. But they're the least important part. The most important part is: Will we love those who society hates? Will we love our enemies? Will we take care of the least of these? And so, if the concerts are leading to that change in people because they're experiencing Jesus, praise God. But if people leave the same as they came in, better we didn't have a concert at all.”

Now, if this all seems super serious – well, it is. But that doesn’t mean a WAM concert isn’t a blast. In fact, the Ireland-bred Mulligan has been particularly adept at crafting “bangers” over the course of the band’s two most recent full-lengths: 2024’s “Where the Joy Is,” and “Halfway Home,” which is set for release in September.

Of the former, Mulligan said, “It was such a fun record to make.

“I guess it was a season in my life where I had no idea what joy looked like or felt like anymore. God did something really special in my life. I really found a sense of peace and hope and contentment and satisfaction in him that I had never had. And so, that record was just the overflow of a life that was genuinely changed. I think the audience really resonated with that.

“We know, as a band, that if we're having a good time on stage, the audience will have a good time. The audience also knows when you're pretending. They know when you're grinding it out. But as a band and as a team, we have nothing to pretend about. We have everything we need in Jesus.”

And speaking of the latter, Mulligan noted, “We do not write albums that we think people will like. We write albums we love. We write songs that we love. And we perform in a way that is particularly rowdy and raw and unpolished. We're not cool, but the songs are really contemporary, and sometimes we're ahead of the curve. Sometimes we're pushing things within the format and in the genre, and that carries its own risk from a career perspective. But what we see at the show is people going, ‘I didn't know that music could feel like this, that is telling me about Jesus.’ ”

“I get excited about new music – I always have,” Mulligan said. “I suppose this really is the middle. You know, we're 12 years in with this band, and I decided I didn't want to write another record in Nashville. Not in this season. I didn't want to compromise by doing the same thing that we've done in the same rooms and the same studios.

“So, we went and wrote this record on a riverboat in London, in Sweden, in Scotland, in Ireland, in the fifth floor of a building in New York City, and we just chased down a sound that felt new, and we chased down words that felt honest and raw. And so, it's a really honest, raw record. It's not a punk record in how it sounds, but it's a punk record in what it says.

“What's truly revolutionary is not what people think it is. What is truly revolutionary is following Jesus. That's punk rock. There is nothing more punk rock than surrendering your life to the king and taking up your cross and loving the people he asks you to love. This record is about that.

“What's it like to be a man who's in his 40s? He's not old, but he's not young; he's in the middle. What's it like to be a man who's wrestled with shame and guilt? What's it like to be a man who's halfway home? What's the rest of this journey going to look like?

“So, the record's about looking at what was before, looking at what is, and looking at what is to come – and in all of it, hoping that Christ remains (first) through all of it.”

Darren Mulligan of We Are Messengers (Image courtesy of Proper Management)

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WAM will return to Darien Lake next Wednesday, to perform at Kingdom Bound.

Mulligan shared, “I just love the entire area. I love the people. They're about as Irish as you can get across the Atlantic. They're going to tell you what's on their minds. They're not going to pretend. They're rowdy. They're really engaged. And so, when we bring, like, even our Celtic Christmas record, you know, the show sold out in a couple of days, and it was packed and it was beautiful.

“And then Kingdom Bound – we’ve played this festival more than any other festival anywhere in the world. I tell them every year we're going to skip a year, and then they keep inviting us back!

“It's one of those festivals that I find it very hard to say no to because it's incredibly run. They've got a real heart for the gospel, and honestly, they've been there for us since long before anybody knew about We Are Messengers or cared about what we do. I want to honor Kingdom Bound and the organizers and the people that have shown up for us year after year. So, we're coming back one more time!

“I'm really excited for it – it's one of the highlights of the summer for us, is playing at Kingdom Bound.”

We Are Messengers is online at https://wearemessengersmusic.com/.

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WATCH:

 

Josiah Queen, for KING & COUNTRY to headline Kingdom Bound 2026

3-day Christian music festival returns to Six Flags Darien Lake

Kingdom Bound Ministries press release

The Kingdom Bound Festival, one of the largest and longest-running Christian music festivals in North America, is set to return to Western New York's Six Flags Darien Lake from July 27-29. Tickets for the annual three-day music festival are available at KingdomBound.org as well as at the gate.

Kingdom Bound 2026 is presented by Houghton University. It will feature more than 50 artists and speakers across four stages, headlined by four-time Grammy Award-winning duo for KING & COUNTRY, breakout sensation Josiah Queen, and CCM favorites CAIN. The lineup also includes Passion Worship, We Are Messengers, Ben Fuller, Rachael Lampa, Leanna Crawford, Hope Darst and Jon Reddick.

Every ticket to the festival also includes access to the rides and waterpark attractions of Six Flags Darien Lake. Special ticket discounts are available at the gate for Six Flags Darien Lake season passholders.

“We are so excited to gather once again with friends from across the United States and Canada,” Festival Director Donna Russo said. “Kingdom Bound continues to bring families and friends together for three days filled with praise, teaching, fun, camping and Christ-centered community.”

In addition to music, the festival also features a variety of additional programming including seminars, art classes, kids and teen programs and kids theater programs.

More information about Kingdom Bound 2026, including the full lineup, tickets and information, can be found at KingdomBound.org. 

More about Kingdom Bound Ministries: The producer of one of the nation's leading Christian music festivals, Kingdom Bound Ministries has been in operation for more than three decades. With a focus on Biblical truth and a reputation for excellence in ministry, Kingdom Bound is more than a music festival, as it has tackled relevant subject matter such as depression, youth, the opioid epidemic, health and wellness, parenting, self-esteem, the influences of modern media, and a host of other contemporary topics.

Learn more about the ministry at www.KingdomBound.org.

••••••••

Darren Mulligan of We Are Messengers (Image courtesy of Proper Management)

Darren Mulligan Q&A

Q: I was surprised to see in the press release that you hadn't done a show in Ireland in 12 years.

Darren Mulligan: Yeah, no, we hadn't done a show in the longest time in Ireland, but we did one; we played back home – played at Belfast – and it was packed out. It was beautiful.

You'd be nervous about playing in your home, you know? Like, I wouldn't get nervous playing in Red Rocks or the Forum or Kingdom Bound or wherever, but I get nervous playing in front of the people that know me the best. But it was actually really beautiful. My mom and dad were there, and my brothers and sister, and just a lot of people who supported us over the years. Really glad I did it.

Q: The last time we spoke, we were talking about “Where The Joy Is,” so it's been a minute. You were very excited about that album. I think I was actually one of the first people that you told the name of the album. You said it was filled with bangers – and you weren't lying.

We were talking about that before it was shared with the world. Now that it's been out and you've been touring behind it, how was it received? Are you happy with it? Are you happy with the impact it's had on your audiences?

Darren Mulligan: Oh yeah. It was such a fun record to make.

I guess it was a season in my life where I had no idea what joy looked like or felt like anymore. God did something really special in my life. I really found a sense of peace and hope and contentment and satisfaction in him that I had never had. And so, that record was just the overflow of a life that was genuinely changed. I think the audience really resonated with that.

We know, as a band, that if we're having a good time on stage, the audience will have a good time. the audience also knows when you're pretending. They know when you're grinding it out. But as a band and as a team, we have nothing to pretend about. We have everything we need in Jesus.

Concerts and record sales and Gold records and all that stuff – that's all bonus territory, but it's not the bread and butter of our lives. The bread and butter of our lives is living in relationship with God and each other.

And so that record was special, but so are they all because they're all just really documenting where I am in my walk through life with Jesus. I'm probably not where I was when I wrote that record, but I'm somewhere new, and that's cool, too.

Q: Like you said, the success and the numbers and that, it’s all sort of just the icing on the cake. But your band has had a lot of success. You have had a lot of success. You have a lot of fans that have been with you from the beginning. I don't know what the breakdown is, night to night at your shows, between new fans and existing fans. But for the new fans, are they surprised that Christian music could sound like that – that it can be so much fun? I know you've got a great message, and I know you're always looking to bring in the people who have probably never heard that kind of thing before. When you get feedback from those new fans, or from new Christians who have been changed by your music, what is the reaction? Are they surprised?

Darren Mulligan: (Laughs) I think they are.

We do not write albums that we think people will like. We write albums we love. We write songs that we love. And we perform in a way that is particularly rowdy and raw and unpolished. We're not cool, but the songs are really contemporary, and sometimes we're ahead of the curve. Sometimes we're pushing things within the format and in the genre, and that carries its own risk from a career perspective. But what we see at the show is people going, “I didn't know that music could feel like this, that is telling me about Jesus.”

I think, as Christians, we should be the most creative. We should be the most free. We should be the most willing to take risks to share this message. And the last thing we need is Jesus to look worse than I already make him through my life (laughs). So, I want to live a life that reflects the goodness and kindness of God, but I also want to make music that reflects the incredible creativity of God.

So, you know, people love it and, truthfully, Josh, you know me: I'm always going to give it straight. We could have made a lot more money dumbing things down and making things a little bit more paint by numbers, and a little easier. We could have sold even more records and sold even more tickets if we had given people what they wanted. And by people, I mean industry people. But we refuse to do that. And we're free men – and free men don't put themselves back into slavery to mediocrity.

We're going to keep chasing that. Great shows, great music, and really love the people we said we were going to love: prostitutes and beggars and thieves and the outcasts and the immigrants and the marginalized. We write songs for God, and for them, and for us.

Q: That's an awesome answer.

I'm wondering, then, about your reaction at these shows. I asked you about your fans' reaction, but I'm wondering about your reaction. I'll preface it this way: I went to a large Christian concert at an arena in Buffalo a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't believe there were that many Christians in the building that were celebrating Jesus and so free in their worship. It was really inspiring for me, because you watch the news and see the way things are in the world, and it doesn't feel like there's a whole lot of good in the world.

Every night when you're on tour, what does it feel like? Like I said, in the midst of this negative season that we're in, what does it feel like to be in that environment night in and night out?

Darren Mulligan: Well, two sides to that.

The first side is it is really encouraging to know that you're not on your own in your faith. To know that there are millions of believers throughout the world who are kind and forgiving and merciful, who are trying to make their communities better places because of the gospel. That's amazing. That really is amazing.

But the second thing we have to be careful of is that we don't equate numbers at events with true change and true Christian living.

So, it's one thing to be excited in a building when you're with other Christians singing songs and having all the feels, but it's another thing to be a believer in the dark, in the dead of night, when you get to choose to follow Jesus or not to. You see, true revival is not marked by the number of people attending a show. True revival is marked by repentance. True revival is marked by pursuit of holiness. True revival is marked by taking care of widows and orphans.

And so, our concerts are an outward expression of how we love Jesus. But they're the least important part. The most important part is: Will we love those who society hates? Will we love our enemies? Will we take care of the least of these? And so, if the concerts are leading to that change in people because they're experiencing Jesus, praise God. But if people leave the same as they came in, better we didn't have a concert at all.

Q: Well put.

Tell me about “Halfway Home.”

Darren Mulligan: I get excited about new music – I always have.

I suppose this really is the middle. You know, we're 12 years in with this band, and I decided I didn't want to write another record in Nashville. Not in this season. I didn't want to compromise by doing the same thing that we've done in the same rooms and the same studios.

So, we went and wrote this record on a riverboat in London, in Sweden, in Scotland, in Ireland, in the fifth floor of a building in New York City, and we just chased down a sound that felt new, and we chased down words that felt honest and raw. And so, it's a really honest, raw record. It's not a punk record in how it sounds, but it's a punk record in what it says.

What's truly revolutionary is not what people think it is. What is truly revolutionary is following Jesus. That's punk rock. There is nothing more punk rock than surrendering your life to the king and taking up your cross and loving the people he asks you to love. This record is about that.

What's it like to be a man who's in his 40s? He's not old, but he's not young; he's in the middle. What's it like to be a man who's wrestled with shame and guilt? What's it like to be a man who's halfway home? What's the rest of this journey going to look like?

So, the record's about looking what was before, looking at what is, and looking at what is to come – and in all of it, hoping that Christ remains (first) through all of it. Right.

A special record to me – but they all are. But this one's different. This one’s different in where we wrote it, how we wrote it, and what it sounds like. I think it's definitely pushing the boundaries again, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Q: We've been fortunate enough to have you guys out this way on a semi-regular basis, which I unfortunately can't say about every Christian artist. We appreciate that you guys are brave enough to come to New York and come to Buffalo.

What do you like about Kingdom Bound, and what do you like about the fans out this way?

Darren Mulligan: I just love the entire area. I love the people. They're about as Irish as you can get across the Atlantic. They're going to tell you what's on their minds. They're not going to pretend. They're rowdy. They're really engaged. And so, when we bring like even our Celtic Christmas record, you know, the show sold out in a couple of days, and it was packed and it was beautiful. And then Kingdom Bound – we’ve played this festival more than any other festival anywhere in the world. I tell them every year we're going to skip a year, and then they keep inviting us back! It's one of those festivals that I find it very hard to say no to because it's incredibly run. They've got a real heart for the gospel, and honestly, they've been there for us since long before anybody knew about We Are Messengers or cared about what we do. And so, I want to honor Kingdom Bound and the organizers and the people that have shown up for us year after year. So, we're coming back one more time!

I'm really excited for it – it's one of the highlights of the summer for us, is playing at Kingdom Bound.