The born again newsboys are out on their second headlining tour with new lead singer, former dc Talk front man Michael Tait.

If you’re wondering whether it’s worth it to see the band without Peter, my verdict after seeing the second show of their tour is a strong “yes.”

The show wasn’t the largest, with an almost filled out crowd of about 1,000 people in attendance, so the level of performance grandeur didn’t bring in a lot of extra points (although still a few if you’ve never seen a newsboys show before), but the quality of the music stood up on its own.

I do have to admit, though, that something is still hard to process for me when I see pictures of Michael Tait together with the name “newsboys,” that is, if I allow myself to associate our African American brothers with music a bit more funky and soulful than the average newsboys tune.

However, if you get familiar with Tait’s material from DC Talk and his solo projects, then you’ll find out that he’s a far cry from anything black gospel, and in my opinion, a pretty darn good replacement for Peter Furler, if anyone ever was.

That said, Tait definitely brought some soul to the newsboys set, opening the concert with an excerpt from Taio Cruz’ “Dynamite” (the G rated version) and doing band introductions at the finish to the tune and chorus of “Play that Funky Music.”

The band’s rendition of “He Reigns” was also more soulful than the Furler version, even as Tait directed the crowd to sway side to side “like a giant black gospel choir.”

In spite of some newness though, the overall performance was definitely newsboys. Favorites like “Shine,” “Something Beautiful,” blended in seamlessly with newer material like “One Shot,” and “Miracles,” and the tour/album title track “Born Again,” which don’t stray too far from the traditional newsboys sound.

The band’s chemistry was also great all the way through, culminating in an abridged version of the “Breakfast Song” for a closer and an encore of the dc Talk classic “Jesus Freak.”

While I’m sure the older members of the band miss Peter, they performed like they’re ready to keep the current line-up for another decade or so.

The only other thing to note about the Born Again Experience tour would have to be the opening act, Disciple, which is a great opening band if you’re a rock music fan like myself, but which might be a little intense if you’re planning to bring the little ones to the show.

Conclusively, the new lineup might be tough for die-hard newsboys fanatics to swallow, but for those who enjoy the group on a more casual basis, the Born Again Experience is definitely one to check out.