The Howard Performing Arts Center is excited to welcome Grammy-nominated group Gungor at 7 p.m. Oct. 21.

For this musical collective, defining their music is not as easy as attaching simplified labels like “pop,” “folk” or “alternative.” The Denver-based group describes their sound as “more an honest, musical response to the idea that the world is beautiful, yet also very complicated.”

“The demand for Gungor has been strong throughout the community, from people spanning multiple generations, and the excitement surrounding their upcoming performance is palpable,” said Erica Griessel, director of the Howard Performing Arts Center.

Gungor credits the response to their music to listeners who are intelligent enough to appreciate lyrical metaphor and allegory, along with intricate compositions and uncommonly paired instruments in pop or rock music. Michael Gungor, the group’s namesake, producer and leader of the collective, said, “It’s been nice that there seems to be this little niche that we’ve found where people are excited to explore these things with us. Music doesn’t have to fit the mold to move people’s hearts, and at the end of the day, that’s really what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to make honest music that opens people’s hearts.”

Their latest album features Michael’s wife, Lisa, a gifted musician and songwriter in her own right. They describe their third major release, “Ghosts Upon the Earth,” as a celebration of the beauty of life even in the midst of darkness and pain, leading the listener through a rollercoaster of emotion that eventually leads back to wonder and thankfulness for this beautiful gift of life.

Tickets for Gungor can be purchased by calling the Howard Performing Arts Center box office at (269) 471-3560 or (888) 467-6442. Tickets for reserved seating are $25, faculty and staff tickets are $20 and Andrews University student tickets are $5. Special rates apply for groups and Flex Series tickets. Learn more by visiting www.howard.andrews.edu.

The Howard Performing Arts Center is a 850-seat concert hall on the campus of Andrews University, Berrien Springs.