Christian music festival
The festivals are characterized by more than just music; many feature motivational speakers and evangelists, and include seminars[1] on Christian spiritual and missions topics, service, and evangelism.
In similar ways as the Christian music industry in general, festivals can be drawn away from their central theme and gravitate toward commercialization and mainstream acts in an attempt to draw crowds.
Christian festivals are sometimes attached as secondary events to youth conferences, revival meetings, or billed as a part of a weekend package at theme parks.
While counter-culture is generally accepted many attendees dress conservatively, and unlike their mainstream counterparts Christian music festivals are relatively free of alcohol and drug use.
[15] In the early days of the Jesus People movement Christian events were sometimes held as part of secular music festivals.
[5][21] The Hollywood Free Paper, a publication about the Jesus people movement, sponsored festivals in California and other areas of the United States.
[14] Attendance was reported to be 20,000, a park record at the time, and artists included Love Song, The Way, Blessed Hope, and the Children of the Day.
[22] The same article described the artists who appeared at a Santa Barbara, California event, including Gentle Faith, Tom Howard, Ron Salsbury, The Bridge, and Randy Stonehill, as being "veterans of Jesus rock festivals".
[22] 1972 is seen as a pivotal year for Christian music festivals due to a crusade and evangelism training event called Explo '72, held in Dallas, Texas.
"[15][24] The Explo '72 roster contained artists in a variety of genres including performers Larry Norman, Love Song, Andrae Crouch, and Johnny Cash.
[6][17] Early Christian music festivals were noted for their conservatism, often limiting their artistic expression to "safe, middle-of-the-road acts.
[1] The following year at the same festival, Randy Matthews was chased off stage by a crowd which pronounced him to be demon or drug possessed due to his musical style and his announcement of an impending tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top.
[27][28] Called Illinois Jam, it featured artists including Barnabas, Servant, Randall Waller, and Randy Stonehill.
They are often similar in structure to their secular counterparts such as Vans Warped Tour or Lollapalooza, offering extreme sports and a carnival-like atmosphere.
[35] The festival featured performances by American artists such as Sheila Walsh, Bruce Carroll, Paul Smith, and Scott Wesley Brown, and had an attendance of 15,000.
[36] Dubbed as a "Christian arts festival", the event included acts to appeal to all ages from a variety of styles, largely representing greater Europe and North America.
In Brazil, in the city of Fortaleza, Ceará annually happens Halleluya Festival, which brings together music from the various attractions theatrical performances and dance.
The Halleluya Festival has editions in several Brazilian cities such as Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and also outside the country as in Rome.
