It’s Tuesday, day two of the Kingdom Bound music festival at Darien Lake Theme Park. Here’s a quick recap:
I had a great interview with Denver Bierman, frontman for the band Denver and the Mile High Orchestra. You might have seen them on Fox’s “Next Great American Band” competition last fall, where they took third place in the competition where fans picked the winners. Denver gave me the scoop in the band’s experience, so watch for a story on that soon, including what it was like to have his daughter Boston born during the filming of the show.
Jeff, the drummer for Big Daddy Weave, took a few minutes to share about the band’s trip to Ecuador and how it influenced their latest album, What Life Would Be Like, which was my Pick of the Week a few weeks ago.
I got to spend a little time with some of my favorite Canadians, the guys in Downhere. (I actually just invited myself along on their radio interview at the Family Life broadcast tent because time was so short I wanted to catch up when we could.) Their flight was delayed this morning getting into Buffalo, a problem a lot of artists had yesterday and today, with bad weather all across the Midwest. (Someone said Wrigley Field had to be evacuated yesterday because of tornado warnings? Is that true? I missed the news being out at the park all day and I’m really too tired to look it up right now …) Downhere missed their first set because of the delay and spent the time doing radio interviews before their evening set.
Downhere played a few songs from their new album, Ending Is Beginning, which releases September 23, and I have to tell you that I’ve had a sneak peek at the whole album and it’s good stuff. Really good stuff.
Then Denver and the band kicked out a fun set, with everything from a funky big band version of “All Hail The Power of Jesus Name” to a cover of Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September.” For those of you who complain that all Christian music sounds the same, give Denver and the Mile High Orchestra a spin.
And Big Daddy Weave reminded me again why I love that band. Thoughtful, insightful, and often convicting lyrics served up with enough mercy and grace to soften even the hardest heart.
I didn’t stay for the Jaci Valesquez and Salvador set, because I had a long drive home (and a blog post to write). But I’m sure it’s my own loss, because I love Salvador.
And who knows what surprises I missed? I heard that last night, Third Day took requests from the audience. How fun is that?
Tomorrow, I have some time scheduled with Hawk Nelson. That’ll be fun …
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posted August 7, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Salvador and Jaci Velasquez went on despite a wild rain and lightning storm, and the highlight of their concert was Jaci singing her signature tune, “On My Knees.” You could tell she was singing it with conviction, power, and passion. Everyone I talked to after the concert said that song stood out during her and Salvador’s set. It was also nice to have the playful banter between Jaci and her husband, Nic Gonzales, of Salvador. It reminded me of Sonny and Cher or Ricky and Lucy. This was Jaci’s first time back at the festival in 11 years and it was nice having her visit– a visit from an old friend
posted August 7, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Thanks, Mark! I was trying to figure out how many years I’d been covering Kingdom Bound for various publications. Jaci Velasquez played the first year I attended, and then the next year I started coming as media. So 11 years coming to the festival, 10 as media. WOW. I can’t believe that much time has gone by! No wonder I’m so much more tired now than I was then, LOL!
Joanne
host of the Gospel SoundCheck