Music Festival Day 3

Sunday afternoon brought the last day of the Christian Music Festival. Thankfully, there was no rain on the radar, so we could relax and enjoy the concert a little bit more. J

 

Dad wasn’t able to go with us Sunday evening, because he had a few things to catch up on at home. But the rest of us went. When we arrived, we had dinner and visited with some friends we met.

 

The first singer we saw was Plumb. I actually enjoyed her more than I was expecting to. I now have her song “Chocolate & Ice Cream” stuck in my head. J

There was a pretty long break between Plumb and the Sunday night headliner, Building 429. Josiah took advantage of that time to play in the bounce houses. The twins and I visited some of the missions booths and talked with people.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Then the twins decided to go bungee jumping. I opted out and took pictures instead.

Building 429 started around 9:30 p.m. We thought the Newsboys concert the night before was packed; but we were sorely mistaken. J People were literally standing so close that if you moved an inch either way, you bumped into someone. But as we found out, that’s because Building 429 is really good!

At one point, the lead singer (Jason Roy) walked out on a thin metal rail into the audience. We were standing right next to him! That was pretty cool, and I’m amazed he didn’t fall.

Photo Credit: Roma.

After the concert finished, the band was encored. But at the end of the song, they blew out the sound system! Jason Roy had a few closing comments to make, and tried shouting to the audience while the sound guys frantically looked for a working microphone. The audience shouted back that he should use the megaphone (a prop used in a few songs.) He had the “lightbulb” look and started using that. He said that this was the most ridiculous thing that had ever happened to him. J Thankfully they were able to fix it quickly and they did one more song!

Photo Credit: Roma.

Getting home from the concert that night was crazy. We left around 11:30 p.m., but we sat in the parking area for 20-30 minutes just waiting to get out. Having thousands of people trying to get out of the same place at one time caused quite a traffic backup. Needless to say, it was a late night for us. But we enjoyed the concert so much, and really hope the festival becomes an annual event! To be able to hear so much music for free is great for our size family! J

 

Music Festival Day 2

Day 2 of the music festival was even better than the first! And that was despite all the bad weather. We actually left later than we intended for the festival, because Dad and Ben were waiting for our grass to dry before they mowed it that morning. By the time we left, we had missed Gateway Worship, which I really wanted to see.

 

But when we arrived at the festival, we found out that we hadn’t missed them, because they were cut from the program. The start of the festival had been delayed by two hours that morning because the ground was so muddy following the storm the night before. To get back on schedule, they had to cut out a few bands. It made me feel a little bit better that I hadn’t really “missed’ them.

 

We did arrive in time to see the Rhett Walker Band. We really like their song “When Mercy Found Me” and we enjoyed hearing more of their music. They are all definitely proud southerners!



Some of us went down towards the front to get some pictures and be a little closer to the action. :-)

Ben and me enjoying the music.
Photo Credit: Roma.



It was amazing how many people stuck it out at the event despite the mud and rain we had on and off all weekend!
Photo Credit: Roma.

Partway through the Rhett Walker Band’s performance, the skies opened. They started playing “When Mercy Found Me” as their closing song. The wind picked up a LOT, and we kids quickly made our way back up to our blanket. We had memories of a stage collapsing at a Sugarland concert in Indiana a couple years ago, which killed several people that were up close. Obviously, we did NOT want to take any chances!

Trying to stay dry during the last song.

As soon as they finished the song, we were directed to return to our vehicles until the storm passed. Josiah and Dad were already at the car because they had gone up to the bathrooms during the last song. On our way back, we bought some Kettle Corn to snack on while we waited (I’m not sure what that says about our priorities, but I think I’ll leave it alone! :-))

 

The worst of the storm had pretty much passed by the time we got to the car (go figure.) We sat for awhile and watched the radar on Dad’s phone. After about 20 minutes, we got back out. They were still drying off the stage and getting things set back up, so we took the opportunity to go through the merchant and vendor tents.

 



In the music merchandise tent, we got to meet the Rhett Walker Band! They were all really nice and down to earth.
Photo Credit: Betsy.

As we were in one of the tents listening to a sales pitch, I heard “Never Going Back to Ok” come in over the loudspeaker. I panicked a little because the next band ,The Afters, was starting, and of course they would start off with my favorite song! Some of the kids and I rushed back to the main stage while a few others stayed behind.

The Afters were really good, and not too loud, thankfully. :-) We actually met some friends down by the stage and stood together.
Photo Credit: Roma.

One really cool moment during the festival happened while The Afters sang their hit song “Light Up the Sky.” A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky, just for that song! It was so very appropriate, and was a great reminder that God’s presence was with us.
Photo Credit: Betsy.

Once The Afters finished, we went and got some dinner to eat at one of the concessions stands. Then we split up; Mom went back to the blanket, the boys and Rubia went to do a few of the fun things (bungee jumping, bull riding, and rock-climbing) while Roma and I looked in some of the tents.

 

Ben getting ready to ride the bull.
Photo Credit: Mark.

The Afters were supposed to be giving out autographs around 8:15 p.m. Roma and I saw the sign, and got almost in the front of the line. We waited, and waited, and waited some more. At 9:05 p.m., we finally gave up. The Newsboys were supposed to start at 9:30 p.m., and we did NOT want to miss the start of anymore concerts.

 

After getting wet earlier, poor Josiah was pretty cold as the temperature dropped. He looked quite good in his plastic rain poncho. :-)



We were so excited to see the Newsboys again! This time when we went down to the front, it was packed. We were almost shoulder-to-shoulder with people
Photo Credit: Roma.

Mom took this shot via the big screen. The drummer of the Newsboys is so fun to watch. He really gets a workout by the way he plays!
Photo Credit: Betsy.

Some friends joined us down at the front, and we had a lot of fun together. We got quite a workout too, between jumping and waving our hands in the air! :-)
Photo Credit: Roma.

The concert ended quite late, and we all crashed into bed as soon as we got home, wet, muddy, and sweaty. :-) But we were still excited for more music the next day!

 

To be continued . . .

Music Festival Day 1

This past weekend, our family had the opportunity to attend a Christian music festival! We’ve wanted to go to a festival for years, but never had the opportunity. That is, until now. J Our time at the festival was exhilarating, which was probably good considering we went to bed around 1 a.m. every morning, and some of us still got up at our normal times (or even earlier) due to other things going on that weekend.

 

The festival started on a Friday night. Dad had a business dinner to go to, and wanted Mom to go along with him. So instead of our usual pizza and movie night, we parted ways. We kids went out to Chick-fil-A for dinner, which was definitely ok with us. J

 

Rubia and Roma at Chick-fil-A.

 

To kill time while we waited for Mom and Dad to finish the business dinner, we went over to the Christian bookstore for awhile, and then to another bookstore. We kids can all get lost in a bookstore. J Seriously, our family can park in a bookstore for hours and no one complains!

 

Mom and Dad met us there after their dinner and then we all drove to the festival. Thankfully it wasn’t too far, although I admit “close” is a relative term when you live in a state that is 268,820 square miles! J

 

The ranch where the festival was held was absolutely beautiful! The rolling fields were perfect for the event. We parked way out in the free parking area where some of the campers were and walked to the main stage area.

 

A lot of people were camping at the festival grounds, and everyone was quite comfortable in their lawn chairs and blankets, despite the fact that stormy clouds loomed overhead the whole night.



The headliner for Friday night was Sanctus Real. We’ve never seen them in concert before, but we really enjoyed it! We had our blanket about halfway up the hill facing the stage, but some of us went down close to the stage to take pictures. It’s also fun to be up with the “fun” crowd. J

Photo Credit: Roma.

Probably the coolest part of the concert was when the lead singer of Sanctus Real, Matt Hammett, came down into the audience during a song and shook hands and gave high-5’s. Ben, Roma, and I all shook hands with him!

 

The show ended a little earlier than planned because of thunderstorms rolling in. On our way home, we drove straight through the storms. It was a Texas-strength downpour, and we were only driving 35 mph on the freeway for most of the drive home. We were just thankful that we were inside the car and not outdoors! Tired as we were when we got home, we were looking forward to another fun festival day on Saturday!

 

To be continued . . .



Newsboys Concert

A couple of weeks ago, our family went to a Newsboys concert! We’re always on the lookout for inexpensive Christian concerts to attend since taking 7 people to a concert can get pricey.

There were actually 5 bands at the concert: The Jason Eaton Band, David Bashta, Anthem Lights, Rush of Fools, and the Newsboys.

During Jason Eaton’s part of the concert, they had two huge balloons going around the audience. The kids really enjoyed that!

Photo Credit: Roma.

Jason Eaton was followed by David Bashta who sang some worship songs. Anthem Lights came next, and they were quite lively. Rush of Fools was one of my favorite bands of the evening.

Then it was time for the Newsboys! They were really good, but their sound has changed quite a bit since the members of the band changed several years ago.

The Newsboys are known for their spinning drum set. During one of the songs, the drum set started spinning around while he was still playing! It was pretty incredible!

Photo Credit: Roma.

My only complaint about the concert was that it was WAY too loud. We were sitting 11 or 12 rows back, and the sound was still deafening. We should have brought ear plugs!

After the concert, I had the opportunity to meet the members of Rush of Fools.

We also met the members of Anthem Lights. They were really nice and took the time to introduce themselves and ask our names.

Photo Credit: Mark.

We really enjoyed the evening despite the fact that it was so loud!

Classical Guitar Concert

Awhile back, the ladies in our family had the opportunity to attend a classical guitar concert. Since Rubia is learning how to play the acoustic guitar—and we own a classical guitar—we were especially interested when we heard about the concert.

Paul Vondiziano is a very talented musician! I was amazed at how quickly he was able to move his hands and fingers while he played. Most of the songs he played used plucking versus strumming. The neat part was that he didn’t use picks!

He played some music by Luis de Milán and Bach. He also played two suites that he composed himself. One of them—excuse me for being blunt—was NOT enjoyable. It was atonal and rather depressing. The other one was much more upbeat and more pleasing to listen to.

We had an interesting conversation on the way home about interpreting art forms. We do not believe that art can ever be neutral; it always expresses something about us and even about our philosophy and theology. When we listened to the atonal, dirge-sounding song, it may have been reflecting something going on in the life of the composer at that time. He wrote the piece almost 20 years ago; he said it was a time when he was “searching.” Perhaps he was searching for the peace that comes through a relationship with Christ. He may have been experiencing trials of the world that led him to write such a disjointed, agitated piece of music. His more recent piece reflected a more centered, serene state of mind and heart.

We were glad that we had the opportunity to go to the concert! It makes me wish I was better at playing the guitar! J