Recently in Christian music festivals Category

I unfortunately missed this year's Kingdom Bound music festival at Darien Lake Theme Park this week, mainly because I thought the event was this weekend (but my apparently impaired mental faculties are fodder for discussion another day).

Right now, I'm kicking myself for a couple of reasons, not the least of which is that Kingdom Bound gives me a chance to hang out with friends who are playing - like the guys in downhere, for example - as well as my friends from Kingdom Bound (hello, Lisa, Donna, Mark, Wendy!). Rats.

But I was also really looking forward to seeing the Newsboys perform with new lead vocalist Michael Tait.

One of the biggest Christian music festivals on the east coast starts on Wednesday, when Creation Fest Northeast kicks off on Agape Farm in Mount Union, PA.

The very first Creation Festival was held in 1979 with the goal of creating a youth-oriented event unlike any other. In 1998 the organization added Creation Northwest; that festival is held at the Gorge Amphitheater in George, Washington, one of the nation's premiere concert venues. Creation Northwest takes place July 22-25.

This year's Creation Northeast features artists like Chris Tomlin, Skillet, Third Day, Hawk Nelson, PIllar, Thousand Foot Krutch - the list goes on and on.

Camping accomodations are available. For more info, visit the Creation website.

To find out about Christian music festivals in your area, visit the Christian Festival Association website.

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If you've bought tickets to the Celebration Fest scheduled for May 16 in Foley, Alabama, or you've agreed to sell tickets for the event, here's a head's up: you've probably been scammed.

Foley, Alabama police arrested 37-year-old Justin Anthony Gray, the festival founder, this week on charges of "Theft of Property by Deception." Gray allegedly was securing sponsorships and selling tickets to a festival that wasn't actually going to happen.

"Either he's conning people or he is just a terrible planner," Lt. David White with the Foley Police Department told WALA-TV. With just days before the event is supposed to take place, WALA reports,:

"The property owners of the land where Celebration Fest was supposed to take place had not been contacted. The stages and sound systems had not been secured. There were no set infrastructures set for the event, such as utilities, fencing or parking areas. The bands listed on the web site had been contacted by Gray but had not been secured, no contracts had been signed by Gray and no deposits had been made to the booking agents."

If you had been recruited to sell tickets, have purchased tickets or if you have any information concerning this case, you're being asked to contact Investigator Tony Nelson with the Foley Police Department. The number for Administration and Investigations is 251-952-4010. You can also visit the website for the Foley Alabama police department.

If you're looking for a legitmate Christian music festival, you can start by checking out the website for the Christian Festival Association. Just because a festival isn't on the list doesn't mean it's a scam; there are dozens and dozens of small town festivals that take place all summer long. But it's a good place to start.

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The Christian Festival Association is once again partnering with Word Label Group to host a nationwide search for the best new talent in Christian music.

The 2009 National Talent Search will start with 19 regional competitions at Christian Music Association-affiliated festivals taking place this summer. Those 19 winners will then be invited to Nashville in September to participate in the national finals.

The overall winner will receive a development deal with the Word Label Group family of labels, which includes Fervent Records, Myrrh Records and Word Records.

Participating festivals include:

I've written about how Christian music has become this huge parallel universe, but more and more the subculture is coming into the mainstream as the rest of America sees there dollars to be made from the Christian community.

The Orlando Sentinal reports that Tampa's Busch Gardens has announced that they will host a Christian music series, kicking off May 9. The paper reports that artists like Steven Curtis Chapman, Relient K, Sara Groves and Sanctus Real are scheduled to appear. Disney World and Universal Orlando already host competing events in September, and Busch Gardens decided to tap into the market with a summer event.

For more information about Busch Gardens, visit the theme park's website.