No Sex, No Drugs, and Jesus? Inside the Biggest Christian Rock Festival in America

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/no-sex-no-drugs-and-jesus-inside-biggest-christian-rock-festival-america

Deep in central Pennsylvania, the roads are usually quiet, but today Route 747 is gridlocked. Cars crawl towards the Agape Farm on Rapture Street, which is tucked away in a small woodsy valley outside of Mt. Union. Handwritten signs along the road read "Welcome Creation," beckoning each caravan toward a weekend of worship. Just past the intersection of Hallelujah Highway and Glory Lane, the sound of "The Star Spangled Banner"—performed by the band Audio Adrenaline—echoes across hundreds of tents. Like the firing of a gun, it announces the advent of Creation, America's largest Christian music festival.

Let there be rock.

On and off over a long weekend, tens of thousands of teens will pack the field in front of the main stage, clad in neon tank tops and cutoffs and shirts bearing religious slogans and band logos. They are here to worship and enjoy the spectacle on three stages and dozens of musical acts like Ark of the Covenant, the Seeking, Living Sacrifice, and Rapture Ruckus.

[mikeysnot]

1. What! No Stryper?

[MrSlayer]

2. This is a market I'm looking to tap.

My son and I have bands in ten different genres. Our Christian Metal band is called Most Precious Blood. We write Old Testament fire and brimstone songs. No uplifting crap, it's all the cool stuff from the bible. It's really Death Metal cloked in religious overtones.

We'll hit this festival eventually.

[TlalocW]

3. That would be interesting

The whole problem with Christian Rock is that at least 90% of the music is about worshiping Jesus, which by definition it almost has to be, but if you're not as... religiously insane as these kids but still Christian and actually enjoy variation in music, it becomes tedious. Yes, I know Jesus is the way, the light, etc. The last 8 songs have told me that... I remember in high school a friend had an extra ticket to a Carmen concert (who I guess was hot back then in the Christian music biz). It was him singing while being accompanied by a guy on an electric keyboard, and it was freakin' loud and atonal. I sat through 2 songs, not able to understand anything, while everyone around me had their arms up in the air and was swaying back and forth as if in religious fervors (my friend was not). I excused myself for the bathroom and spent the next 2 hours napping underneath a statue about a quater-mile from the concert (could still hear it through the walls and the distance). Friend was kind of upset with me, and we argued about it. He's naturally gifted when it comes to playing music on different instruments and singing (and at the time I was no slouch), and I asked him, "Can you honestly say that you stayed in there because the music and sound were pleasing to the ears, or was it because you knew the songs and the message and didn't want to upset Jesus by admitting Carmen sucked musically?" He started laughing about that and ceded the argument.

TlalocW

[cbayer]

5. I heard some of that kind of christian rock when I was on a road trip recently.

I really couldn't tell what genre it was until I really paid attention to the words.

Even then, it would sometimes really ambiguous.

Best of luck to you and your son.

[cbayer]

4. Christian rock is an interesting phenomenon.

I guess it's always been around in one form or another. Revivals always had music, didn't they?