This past Sunday we took our youth group to Winter jam. It's the third year in a row that we have went, and as always it was a FABULOUS show. This year's headlining band was my daughter's all time favorite band — Skillet! I caught some amazing photographs from the weekend that I wanted to share with you and tell you about her wonderful dream come true moment.
We got there pretty early and were #5 in line to get in the door. The youth group was SUPER pumped because that meant that we were going to get awesome seats. In fact, our seats were right up front, right on the side of the catwalk — within touching distance of all the artists and bands. That 3 1/2 hour wait in line was SO worth it.
First up was the Q&A session with some of the bands. Blanca was there, John and Seth from Skillet, and then the lead guitarist for Building 429. This is the time that the crowd gets to ask questions to the artists and they share about their inspirations, etc. My daughter was mesmerized as John spoke and shared his heart and passion for Jesus and the music that he loves.
The smaller concerts started after the Q&A sessions was over. This is one thing that I love about Winter jam. They take smaller bands that are just starting out, and the introduce them to a bunch of music loving teens and adults.
The bands are always really good. In fact, I LOVED Veridia. It was the first time I had ever heard their music and I knew it was going to some music I walked away with.
After Veridia, we were introduced to About a Mile. They are a band of brothers that LOVE Jesus. They got the name for their band from the fact that Jesus walked about a mile packing his cross. Their music was more calmer than the other bands there, but I really liked their sound. They came out and serenaded us during our wait to get in.
Out of the smaller bands, none compared me for Blanca. One of our youth called her the Christian version of Beyonce. She was ROCKING that stage! Her dancers were amazing and I loved every single thing about her music.
Here's a cool fact for you — Blanca used to be one of the lead singers in Group 1 Crew, but this year, she left the band that she has known forever and ventured out on her own. I can totally see why. She has some awesome pipes!
She has that Janet Jackson/Beyonce look and feel going on.
After the opening acts finished, it was time to start the next set of bands. We were serenaded by For King and Country, who chose to be at Winter jam instead of at the Grammy's where they happened to be nominated 🙂
If you have never heard their music, you are definitely missing out.
Then of course, you just cannot go to Winter jam without rocking out to Newsong. They sang a couple of new songs for us, but you know the one song that will always be a favorite? They do it every show and I love it even more every time I hear it (Arise my Love).
After Newsong, the crowd was PUMPED when Family Force 5 took the stage. Now — if you want a crazy, wild concert — then this is definitely the band to make plans and see. OH MY GOODNESS. The crowd went WILD.
The lead singer's nickname is Crouton. That should tell you what kind of crazy this band is — and I love every single thing about them.
After Family Force 5, Building 429 took the stage. They always put on a great show. I have seen them in concert many times and always walk away with a lighter spirit.
After that, we took a short break to prepare for the next few acts. Up first was Jeremy Camp. I have never seen him in concert before and let me tell you — he is totally awesome!! I am now going to try to go see him in concert as soon as he puts a new one out. He just released a new album so as soon as he was done singing, I grabbed it up at his merch table.
Francesa Battistelli was up next. She has always been one of my favorites since I was introduced to her song Free to Be Me. She really made me think a lot about myself while she was singing. Her words pierced right to my heart. Amazing music I tell you!
Once Francesa finished, we took a small intermission. It was time for the headliner of the night — Skillet! The place became electric at that moment. I am not kidding you one bit. It was like, everyone was on pins and needles waiting for them to take the stage, and when they did, Bridgetstone Arena in Nashville was CRAZY wild with metal head fans!
Nothing could prepare my daughter though for what was about to happen to her. She was singing along with the band, dancing and enjoying herself, when JOHN pointed her out, bent down, took her hand, sang to her, and then had her sing in his mic. I'm telling you, she was definitely in shock for a bit, but she was so happy. She cried afterwards. For anyone who doesn't know, she was healed and delivered from cutting a few years back and Skillet's music had everything in the world to do with pulling her out of that terrible time of her life.
If you want to experience a TON of amazing Christian artists all in the same place, then you definitely need to venture out to a Winter jam concert in your area. The cost is only $10 at the door, but if I were you, I would purchase the JamNation package ($50). You get to get all the extra concerts and meet and greets that others do not get.
What is your favorite Christian Concert?