David Huff of David and the Giants and two generations of the Sonlite Band will perform a pair of live shows Saturday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at 6 p.m. in the Irby-Courvelle theater at Evangel Temple to highlight an album recorded by Meridian’s Adam Box of CMA’s current Duo of the Year, Brothers Osborne.

The album, simply called “Sonlite II,” is the result of a five-year back-and-forth between Box, his sister Leslie Box Sims, and childhood friends Daniel Boles, Jeff Boles, Jared Culpepper and Dusty Culpepper about re-recording music that their fathers wrote in the early 1980s.

Box, co-owner of Cadence Music Group in Nashville, Tennessee, had the unique privilege of producing the album that extols the music and lyrics that cradled his own musical career. The local musician cut his teeth playing drums at the Evangel Temple church in Meridian through high school and college before pursuing a career in music.

Who is the Sonlite band?

The original Sonlite Band was a fixture in the local music scene for a decade winning Q101’s “Battle of the Bands” on two occasions in the early 1980s, playing both Christian rock music and country. As with most bands, many musicians came and went, but the core four of Mike Boles, David Boles, Thomas Box, and Kim Culpepper have played music together for more than 30 years, mostly as the stage band for the Evangel Temple church.

“The songs of the Sonlite Band had a major influence on my aspirations of becoming a professional musician. Those songs were timeless and are still relevant today,” Box said.

“I’m thankful to use my resources to continue the work that our fathers started, accentuate the genuine message of the lyrics and showcase their original vision that deserves its place in musical history,” Box continued.

The purpose of the musical endeavor was not to recreate the band itself, or even the one album that the band released, but to recapture the music before it was forgotten. Several of the songs are being recorded for the first time, and some are being re-recorded because the originals were lost.

Dusty Culpepper, who plays fiddle on the project, said family commitments and the five-hour distance between Meridian and Nashville made the project challenging.

“We had to work around Adam’s tour dates, take several trips to Nashville and add additional instruments here in Meridian,” Culpepper said. He said several relatives and friends contributed to the project, but the bulk of the work fell on Adam Box, and Daniel and Jeff Boles. 

“I can’t say enough about what the three of them have put into this,” Culpepper said. “We all have full-time jobs, and Daniel and Jeff and have five small children between them, and they have put together an incredible compilation that represents four or five genres of music.”

The concerts will also feature legendary Christian artist and fellow Mississippian, David Huff, whose musical career spans 40 years. Huff began as the lead singer of “David and the Giants,” then continued as a solo act in 2000 after the group disbanded in 1997.

Aimed at continuing to spread his message of God’s love through music, he has produced six successful solo albums on his label, Giant Records, including his latest called “Born for This.”

Tickets are $10 advance, $15 on the day of the show. They can be purchased at Evangel Temple or at itickets.com.