Festival Con Dios

Festival Con Dios

BURLINGTON CENTER MALL • BURLINGTON, NJ • SEPTEMBER 12, 2003

Festival Con Dios is an annual event that makes stops in various places across the country. One of those stops was at the parking lot of Burlington Center Mall, a fairly small and thriving shopping mall located in Burlington, NJ - just 30 minutes from Philadelphia.

This event features well-known artists in Christian music. It also offers several games which includes the Quad Bungee Jump, 3-lane Bungee Run, and Bouncy Boxing. Plus it offers breathtaking, extreme biking where bikers leap way over trailers, and onto a ramp back onto the ground.

The majority of the space was reserved mostly for standing in the crowd, so the early bird gets the worm. In the back there were plenty of bleacher seats if you didn't feel like dealing with the crowds - not that they were that wild.

This event started on a Friday afternoon with smaller bands, which are OK to listen to. Some were very impressive, and some were mediocre.

FM Static is one rock band which you would listen to mainly for the rhythm, and not so much for the lyrics. It's a decent concert opener.

This band, formerly known as Phat Chance has a decent mix of songs that afternoon which make for a decent set. One interesting thing that two of the band members did was play an electric guitar right against the microphone pole. Very exciting!

A young band from Phoenix, AZ that does a decent job in keeping the crowd pumped for what will be going on at the rest of the event. This band uses the styles of 70s and 80s rock bands, while keeping an inspiring message.

Sanctus Real - one of my most favorite bands. Notice the girls wearing hats made of foil.

A very impressive band that I fell in love with quickly after the See Spot Rock happening in Philadelphia back in March. Afterward, I would see their "Say it Loud" music video being played on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, and it's youthful spinoff, JC-TV many times. One night I would see that same video about 5 times in just a 3-hour period of time.

At Festival Con Dios, they did an amazing performance which includes songs from "Say it Loud", their first CD to be sold to the public. They performed numbers, including my favorites, "Say It Loud", "Sink or Swim", and "Inspiration".

Shortly after the performance, I had an opportunity to meet the band members from that band. I met all four members - Steve, Matt, Chris, and Mark. They all signed my copy of their CD. I was blessed with the opportunity to chat with Mark Graalman - the band's drummer. We spoke about the performance there, the videos on TBN, and how the band was founded. First, he told me that Chris, Matt, and him were the founding members, and Steve Joined them soon before their "Say it Loud" CD was released. He also told me that they were performing for about 6 years before their first CD was out. I had a great time speaking with him. It's very hard to find the opportunity to meet a band, and then spend time chat with them. Afterward, I had the chance to chat briefly with members, Matt, and Chris as they signed the CD.

This artist came as a surprise for me as I never knew he was going to perform that night. My friend Megan introduced me to him with his "Dear Slim" single. I really liked his Eminem-lite style.

His show was pretty good, and performed two separate sets, which included the "Dear Slim" single.

Kutless' dynamic style gives both the Christian and Secular world plenty of attention. With their self-titled album released last year, this band has achieved great success. Their power-packed set brought us many of the songs from their CD.

Plus One is a Christian-pop band that very closely resembles the styles of *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and 98° in their studio works.

In this performance, they threw in an unpredictable surprise - they played their best songs in a cool rock style. It was a good thing because the overrated and trite "Boy Band" style had declined in popularity in the past couple of years. They played songs from their "Promise", and "Obvious" CDs. This was one of the most impressive of the evening.

For over 10 years, the Newsboys has been a very popular band. In their years of experience, they've headlined numerous events including Creation Festival.

The Newsboys did songs mainly from their Take Me to Your Leader, Thrive, and Adoration CDs. I loved how the crowd spent time worshipping the Lord then, as they played songs like "It is You, and "You are My King". They also played heavier hits including, Shine, and my all-time favorite from them, Breakfast.

I was very impressed with their amazing performance this time around, as I've seen them at Creation 2002 and 2003 - both cool concerts despite minor glitches, but this by far has been a better performance I've seen of them than in Creation 2002 and 2003 combined!

The Newsboys were a great way to close Festival Con Dios 2003 because their set it was very much focused on the worship of Christ, and not so much on the glitz and fancy light shows.

I truly enjoyed the Christian atmosphere at Festival Con Dios, which is very much enjoyed at larger festivals including Creation. Speaking of Creation, I met three people that attended Creation 2003, including one of the people I met as I was waiting to get in. We spoke briefly JUST as I was about to meet Mark from Sanctus Real.

James Dobson was supposed to be there, but unfortunately he wasn't able to come, but Pastor Harry Thomas spoke briefly about faith.

After the festival was over, I arrived home safely, with one minor exception - one of the headlights burned out sometime during the ride home. I pulled right into my house, only to meet the local police that was right behind me. They actually told me just after I checked the headlights that one was burned out. I thanked them gratefully anyways, and they went on their way with a bit of disappointment. Fortunately, I went home without a ticket.

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.

1 Peter 3:15