It’s that time of year again. Winter is loosening its icy grip on the world, the flowers are starting to poke out of the ground, and WinterJam 2011 has come to EMU Convocation Center. The annual Christian music festival found its way to Ypsilanti, Michigan March 31 to the delight of area fans. That Thursday evening WinterJam 2011 delivered 8 bands for the incredibly low price of $10, a bargain by any standard.
Jason Castro and Chris August Pre-Jam Party
Jason Castro was the first artist of the evening, opening with a three song set. People may remember the dreadlocked Castro as the fourth place finalist of the seventh season of American Idol. Castro showed how he made it so far with a song he performed on American Idol, “Hallelujah”. With his good looks and marvelous voice, Castro set a high bar for the following acts.
Chris August was the last of half of the two part Pre-Jam Party. The Dove Award nominee broke into his infamous “Candy Wrap” after his first song of the set. From this hilarious and entertaining play on words August went into his heavily rotated single, “Starry Night”. Quick wit, great songwriting, and charisma were a perfect blend as August roused the crowd. With the Pre-Jam Party over, things were about to get heavy.
RED Brings the Metal and NewSong Brings the Rock to WinterJam 2011
As KJ-52 talked about some of the sponsors, the main stage was being set for RED. The guitar wail called attention back to the stage as the band amped the energy to full throttle. Michael Barnes led the charge pumping up the crowd and never stood in the same place for more than a second. While Barnes did everything right, the soundman had the vocals pretty low.
Joe Rickard brought the thunder on the drums, many times accenting his beats with pillars of flames. The Armstrong brothers, Anthony and Randy, manned the guitars, lead and bass respectively. Between crunchy riffs, wailing solos, and heart thumping bass lines, the boys prowled the stage. RED shows that it is possible to praise God and thrash hard.
NewSong, the creators of WinterJam, kept the energy high when it was their turn to lead worship. Playing a combination of new tunes and old, NewSong had the crowd’s hearts in their hands. Being known as praise craftsmen, the new song they introduced, “One True God”, brought the audience into true worship. Closing with a rousing rendition of “Arise, My Love”, NewSong had everyone’s hands in the air in worship of the one, true God.
WinterJam Only Just Begun
WinterJam was half way through but far from over. Tony Noland gave moving appeals to the heart with the alter call as KJ-52 promoted more of the sponsors. With artists like the Newsboys still on tap, the night was just beginning.
Shane Werlinger - Shane Werlinger has been published in anthologies and written reviews and articles for BuddyHollywood.com and reviews for Infuze Magazine ...
