Christian music festival

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Main articles: List of Christian music festivals and Christian music

A Christian music festival (also known as a Jesus music festival or simply a Jesus festival) is a

Jesus Christ, the core appeal of a Christian music festival remains the artists and their music.[3][4][5] Critics point out that the dichotomy of business and religious interests can be problematic for Christian festivals. In similar ways as the Christian music industry in general, festivals can be drawn away from their central theme and gravitate toward commercialization and mainstream acts in an attempt to draw crowds.[1][6][7][8]

Creation Festival, 2007

Though Christian music festivals had been held prior to it, 1972 is seen as a pivotal year for Christian music due to the

representative organization
for the festivals themselves.

While

drug use.[3][9][11][12][13][14] Even at the Explo '72 festival, which was attended by 150,000 or more people, police reported a trouble free event.[15]

In the United States

In the early days of the

Monterey Pop Festival.[5][14][17] One of the first events, the Youth for Christ sponsored Faith Festival, was first held in 1970 in Evansville, Indiana.[14][18] The event drew enough attention that the following year it garnered coverage by CBS and attracted about 15,000.[14] Artists at the Faith Festival included Pat Boone, Gene Cotton, Danny Taylor, Crimson Bridge, and "e", a band which included Greg X. Volz.[19] The attention that the Faith Festivals drew made them prototypes for future Christian music festivals.[20]

Also in 1970,

Ichthus Music Festival, which is presently the longest running Christian music festival.[5][21] The Hollywood Free Paper, a publication about the Jesus people movement, sponsored festivals in California and other areas of the United States.[18][22] In 1971 the "Love Song Festival", sponsored by Maranatha! Music, was held at Knott's Berry Farm.[14] Attendance was reported to be 20,000, a park record at the time, and artists included Love Song, The Way, Blessed Hope, and the Children of the Day.[19] In late 1971 Christianity Today summarized four festivals that had taken place during the summer season.[22] The same article described the artists who appeared at a Santa Barbara, California event, including Gentle Faith, Tom Howard, Ron Salsbury, The Bridge, and Randy Stonehill, as being "veterans of Jesus rock festivals".[22]

1972 is seen as a pivotal year for Christian music festivals due to a

Andrae Crouch, and Johnny Cash. Explo '72 was a watershed event for the fledgling Jesus Music genre, and was the most visible event of the Jesus People movement.[25] It is also the largest Christian music festival ever recorded;[14] some critics even credit Explo with jump-starting the Christian music industry.[6][17]

Early Christian music festivals were noted for their conservatism, often limiting their

drug possessed due to his musical style and his announcement of an impending tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top.[26]
Matthews was later dropped from the tour roster.

North American Christian music festivals in 1975
Jesus Festival
Salt
Fishnet
Sonshine
Jesus Midwest
Lodestone
Road Home
Joyland
Ichtus
Son
Maranthana
class=notpageimage|
Christian music festivals in 1975.

The number and size of Christian music festivals continued to grow alongside the Christian music industry. By the mid 1970s festivals had appeared in all parts of the country.[14] Tim Landis went on to found the Creation Festival in 1979, which was designed to appeal the youth,[21] and has become one of the largest Christian festivals in the United States. For several years Creation was held at the same venue as the Jesus Festival, the Agape Farm, only a few weeks apart.[1] More specialized festivals appeared to fill niche markets within the industry. The first completely rock music oriented festival was held in 1981.[27][28] Called Illinois Jam, it featured artists including Barnabas, Servant, Randall Waller, and Randy Stonehill. Christian metal festivals also emerged, particularly in the late 1980s. One such festival was held in Carson, California in September 1987.[29] The lineup was entirely Christian metal bands and included Guardian, Barren Cross, Vengeance Rising, and many smaller bands.[29]

Cornerstone main stage, 2007

While the members of

Seven Up was to cola: the unfestival."[8] Their slogan in 1984 was "More Rock And Roll Than Anyone Has Dared";[8] Artists included Kerry Livgren, Resurrection Band, The Choir, Joe English, and the Sweet Comfort Band.[8] Cornerstone was one of the premier Christian music festivals,[4][6] and was most influential promoting groups on the fringe of Christian music.[17] The last Cornerstone Festival was held in 2012, citing the difficult economy.[30]

The

extreme sports and a carnival-like atmosphere.[2][31] Throughout the 2000s, the attendance at United States festivals grew significantly. According to one source, the number of Christian music festivals attended by more than 5000 youths grew from five in the year 2000 to 35 in 2006.[10] As a result of this growth, many US festivals have formed a collective organization, the Christian Festival Association
, to represent their interests.

LifeLight Communications started an annual LifeLight Music Festival in 1998 which now occurs over Labor Day weekend on farmland near Worthing, South Dakota.[32]

Worldwide

EO Youth Day in the Netherlands

Christian music festivals now exist throughout the world. The Jesus Music

Greenbelt festival, founded in 1974 by Americans and British in the United Kingdom, was at one time the largest recurring Christian music festival in the world, and has always been focused on the arts as well as music.[33] Germany is host to several festivals; four of the most notable are Christmas Rock Night, Freakstock, Himmelfahrt-Festival and Rock Without Limits.[citation needed] In greater Europe notable festivals include Flevo and EO-Youth Day in the Netherlands,[citation needed] Seaside Festival in Norway,[citation needed] the Big Boss' Festival in Switzerland,[citation needed] the Song of Songs Festival in Poland,[citation needed] Festival Lumen in Slovakia and Frizon Festival in Sweden.[citation needed
] In 2014 the first Christian music festival is being held in Hungary (named Cross Sound).
better source needed
]

A

St. Petersburg, Russia.[36] Dubbed as a "Christian arts festival", the event included acts to appeal to all ages from a variety of styles, largely representing greater Europe and North America. The event also included orchestras from the UK and Russia, and Russian headliner Boris Grebenshchikov. The shows, which were organized by Youth With A Mission, sold out 10,000 tickets well in advance.[36]

From 1992–2014, New Zealand hosted the Southern Hemisphere's largest Christian festival, the annual

Parachute Music Festival
. It attracted a large number of non-Christians.

Members of L27, two white men, both wearing white pants, one wearing a red Hawaiian shirt and the other a gray t-shirt, sing into microphones on stage.
LZ7 performing at Big Church Festival at Wiston House, West Sussex, UK in May 2019.

In Brazil, in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará annually happens Halleluya Festival, which brings together music from the various attractions theatrical performances and dance. Is among the largest Catholic music festivals in the world, and in its latest edition the record crowd of 300,000 people in one day, and more than 1 million people over the five days of the Festival. The event is held by Catholic Community Shalom. The Halleluya Festival has editions in several Brazilian cities such as Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and also outside the country as in Rome.

In the United Kingdom, Delirious? keyboardist Tim Jupp founded the Big Church Festival in 2009. The Festival, which began as Big Church Day Out, is held annually in Wiston, West Sussex, England.[37] Performers have included Switchfoot, Reuben Morgan, Mary Mary, and Stu G.[38][39][40] The Festival attracts approximately 25,000 people annually.[41]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christian music festivals.

Notes and references

  1. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  2. ^ a b Fry, Martha J. (2002-10-26). "Rock 'N' Roll Revival". The Tampa Tribune. p. 4.
  3. ^
    county fair and rock concert rolled together. Though the festival offers a number of well-known Christian speakers, and though some of the music groups appeal for a commitment to Jesus (there's a counseling area roped off on the hillside), the atmosphere is not intensely religious. Music is the core attraction, and that old line from The Rolling Stones
    would apply: 'I know it's only rock 'n' roll, but I like it.'
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-306-81457-9
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-8131-9086-X
    .
  6. ^
    ISSN 1079-6479
    .
  7. ^
    ISSN 0009-5753
    .
  8. ^
    ISSN 0275-2743. Archived from the original
    on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
  9. ^ a b Hogan-Albach, Susan (1999-06-09). "Festival crowd mixes up mud, rock music and faith". Star Tribune. p. 01B. 'I can bring my kids here, and I don't have to worry,' said Mark Hill, 38 of Ham Lake, who took his three children to the festival for a family vacation. 'There's no alcohol or swearing. It's clean and wholesome.'
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-670-03791-5
    .
  11. St Louis Post-Dispatch
    . p. E1. This is the 22nd year of the Cornerstone Festival, which is run by a Chicago evangelical community called Jesus People USA. About 25,000 fans are paying $125 to go to a tent in the middle of an Illinois cornfield and listen to three days of Christian rock 'n' roll -- an oxymoron even 20 years ago. They don't bring drugs or booze, and if they bring a swimsuit, officials ask that it be modest. Christian music fans now come in all shapes and sizes: teenage boys in kilts with dark eye-makeup and nail polish and sorority girls in midriff-baring T-shirts that read "Pornography rapes the mind."
  12. Albany Times Union
    . p. B3. There's no drugs, no alcohol - you just get high on Jesus
  13. ISSN 0009-5753
    . 'It's all good, clean fun,' says Aleena Thornton of Lake Zurich, Illinois. 'There are no fights, no alcohol. Everyone respects the zipper on your tent. It's the only place where you can see such a variety of Christians all gathered for the same reason--Jesus. You can dress differently and have different-colored hair and still be accepted.'
  14. ^
    ISBN 0-8499-2858-3
    .
  15. ^
    ISSN 0024-3019
    .
  16. ISSN 0009-5753
    .
  17. ^
    ISBN 978-1-55022-421-4
    .
  18. ^
    ISSN 0009-5753
    .
  19. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  20. ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  21. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  22. ^
    ISSN 0009-5753
    .
  23. ^ For more reported attendance figures, see talk page.
  24. ISBN 1-56563-679-1
    .
  25. ISBN 0-313-30268-5
    .
  26. ISBN 9781565636798
    .
  27. ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  28. ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  29. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  30. ^ A Special Announcement From Cornerstone Festival Cornerstonefestival.com. 2011-07-02. Retrieved 2013-09-21
  31. ^ Mulson, Jen (2001-06-08). "Godapalooza; Festival fuses Christian music with extreme sports". The Gazette. p. GO 14.
  32. ^ Reinecke, Sarah. Lifelight attendance probably a record, financial goal close. Argus Leader. Sioux Falls, S.D.: Sep 8, 2010.
  33. ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  34. ^ "CrossSound Összművészeti Fesztivál". Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  35. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  36. ^
    ISSN 1524-7848
    .
  37. ^ Cummings, Tony (4 February 2015). "The Big Church Day Out: The rise of Britain's premier Christian music event". Cross Rhythms. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  38. ^ "Switchfoot Added To Big Church Day Out Line Up". Louder Than Music. 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  39. ^ "Big Church Day Out 2017: Hillsong Worship's Reuben Morgan, Mary Mary, Tim Hughes added to BCDO bills". Cross Rhythms. 14 March 2017. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  40. ^ Whitall, Helen (1 June 2018). "Big Church Day Out South 2018: A live report". Cross Rhythms. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  41. ^ "Big Church, Big Success: Major attendance at Big Church Day Out 2016, plans for South and North events in 2017". Cross Rhythms. 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2023.

External links

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