NEW PHILADELPHIA – Who knew New Philadelphia's Daily Grind Cafe is a favorite of For King & Country band members? I discovered that fact when I met the band on Thursday, as they were in town to headline the 2024 Alive Festival.
Various members of the popular Christian band walked in to the café, as if regulars making a daily stop. They made themselves right at home, occupying various art-deco era tables as well as the cafe's original barstools adorned in red pleather — a holdover from its former life as Aberth's bakery in the 1940s when customers could sit and order a phosphate at the bar.
Luke Smallbone, one of two lead singers with his brother Joel, along with his daughter, Evie, 3, took a few minutes to enjoy beverages and spend a little time taking care of business on a laptop without so much as a shoulder tap or selfie, as you might expect in a larger metropolitan area. This was Evie’s first tour, the youngest of four siblings ages 11, 9, 7 and 3.
Meanwhile, at another table sat the tour manager, Mark “Chico” Dicicco, with his son Adler, 6, and musician Vince DiCarlo, along with his son, Nico, 4. After some cordial small talk, having three sons myself, we immediately struck familiar conversation about working and raising boys.
With conversation eventually turning to how they chose this coffee shop, DiCarlo said, “You get to a places like this that are so familiar, you just get so comfy with places and local shops. We try to avoid Starbucks.”
When it came time to leave, their potential to hire an Uber was not happening, and they asked for a ride for three members and one of the children. I happily obliged as I normally would to just about anyone.
Vince DiCarlo, who seemingly plays every instrument imaginable from synthesizer to the keytar guitar, and from percussion to bass, said the entire band lives within about an hour of the greater Nashville area. And so the windy, rural drive from New Philadelphia to Atwood was pleasantly familiar.
Bypassing the considerable traffic backup because of their time crunch, we eventually pulled up beside the tour buses and immediately found ourselves onstage for a sound check. The band had just come off a month-long Australian tour.
The Smallbone brothers are among seven siblings native to Australia who along their parents moved to America in 1991.
While on stage, the three children of Smallbone, Dicicco, and DiCarlo played, mingled, and watched their fathers all get to work in devotion and praise to God.
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When some of the technical kinks were ironed out and everyone felt good about sound check, DiCarlo politely excused himself as it was time to put Nico down for nap. We had a good laugh because at a certain age children begin refusing naps. DiCarlo said that it wasn't much of an issue yet, even inside the spacious, well-equipped tour bus. "I tell Nico, it's going to be a long night and if you want to see the show, you have to nap," he said.
For King & Country performs Christian pop alternative rock soft rock music and is based in Nashville. They have won multiple Grammy and Billboard Music awards and has appeared on on CBS Sunday Morning, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, TODAY, and CMA Country Christmas. They are known for songs such as "God Only Knows" and "What Are We Waiting For." For more information, follow them on Facebook .
T-R staff photographer Andrew Dolph can be reached by phone at 330-289-6072, or by email at adolph3@gannett.com . You can also find him on Instagram @dolphphoto .
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Alive Fest headliner For King & Country make the Daily Grind Cafe a must-stop
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