Christian Music Festivals

With a long winter being far behind us, and finding ourselves well into spring, its time to start planning out a jam-packed, action-filled summer. As Christian music fans we can’t think of any other place worth being than a solid, summer Christian music festival. With hours of music from your favorite artists, great speakers and communicators to challenge you in your faith, planning a visit to a summer festival is central to a well spent summer!

To help you in your planning, we’ve selected the four festivals that you absolutely do not want to miss this summer.

#4 SonShine Festival

The Deets:
Dates: July 16-19
City: Wilmar, MN
Web:

Birthed in 1982 at Willmar Community College with 1800 people in attendance, the Sonshine festival has grown to see attendances well over 20, 000 people yearly. Festival director Bob Poe describes the heart of the festival quite accurately in saying, “Although the music and faces have changed over time, the mission of Sonshine has remained consistent. That mission is to call people to be life-long followers of Jesus, whether they are just embarking on their journey, or have been faithfully following for years.”

On top of conveniently located camping areas (within 4 minutes of walking distance to the stages), the festival features a killer music tournament where the grand prize winner gets a chance to play mainstage!

Among the artists playing the festival’s four stages this year include: Switchfoot, Newsboys, Red, Thousand Foot Krutch, Kari Jobe, Scott Stapp (of Creed), Britt Nicole, Family Force 5, Tedashii, and many, many more. Perhaps one of the highlights of this festival is the Indoor Stage, showcasing the very best in Christian heavy music. Some acts billed at this year’s festival include: War of Ages, Sleeping Giant, Children 18:3, Your Memorial, Wolves at the Gate, August Burns Red, and several others. Don’t go to sleep too early, because the Indoor Stage turns into one EPIC dance party after midnight!

For tickets to Sonshine Festival visit:

3. LifeLight Festival

The Deets
Dates: August 29-31
City: Worthing, SD
Web:

While on a missions trip to Mexico in 1998, God grabbed hold of LifeLight founder Alan Greene’s heart, and challenged him to take church outside the walls of the traditional building. Upon returning, the festival had its inaugural event on a church lawn, seeing 2, 000 people in attendance. Since then, the festival has grown to see over 300, 000 across the three days they run! The best part? The festival is completely FREE to attend!

With multiple stages, plenty of camping available, a coffee shop, art gallery, and plenty of events for kids, this free festival is a must visit for any Christian music lover! One of the true highlights of LifeLight is the community worship service that takes place on the Sunday morning of the festival with praise and worship, and a chance to join with other believers in unity!

This year’s jam packed line-up offers something for everybody, including artists such as: SKILLET, Michael W. Smith, for KING & COUNTRY, RED, Colton Dixon, The Afters, Sanctus Real, Big Daddy Weave, Hawk Nelson, Capital Kings and MANY MORE!. This year also features a key partnership with Nick Hall and the RESET Movement (Nick Hall was the speaker to over 550, 000 on the WinterJam tour this year).

To join with 300, 000 other believers for a killer party to end the summer, visit: . Though this is a FREE festival, this year you will require to register for a ticket online.

2. Creation NorthEast Festival

The Deets
Dates: June 25-28
City: Mt. Union, PA
Web:

Birthed in 1979 by co-founders Tim Landis and Harry Thomas, Creation Festival is one of the longest running Christian Music festivals in existence. Over the years, their story has been shaped by many ups and downs (mostly ups), but the festival has grown to be one of the premiere must visit Christian music festivals both for fans, and the artists!

With dance parties, a skate park, kids grove, communion, baptisms, and 7 unique stages, Creation NE has more than enough to keep you occupied all day long. One of the MUST SEE highlights of the festival is a candle lighting moment at Mainstage. Imagine a sea of tens of thousands of people holding candles, illustrating what it means to be the light of the world. It’s a powerful moment that is sure to tug at your heart, and draw you closer to God.

Another cool highlight are the seminars and break-out sessions that happen during the afternoons in the woods. No, literally, they are in the woods, and its awesome! With a great variety of communicators everyday, Creation provides a great chance to dig deeper with God, and be challenged.

Some notable artists at the festival this year include: Switchfoot, Newsboys, Needtobreathe, Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, Hillsong Young&Free, Colton Dixon, Andy Mineo, Tedashii, Capital Kings, Britt Nicole, Jamie Grace, and so many more!

With tons of camping available, be sure to book the time, grab some friends, and get your tickets for Creation NorthEast at

#1 Creation NorthWest Festival.

The Deets
Dates: July 30-Aug 2
City: Tri Cities, WA
Web:

Creation NorthWest is the west-coast younger brother of Creation NorthEast. Organized and founded by the same crew, NorthWest (no, not Kim and Kanye’s baby), was the logical next step for the festival. For years it was held at the famous Gorge Amphitheatre venue, and was noted for its breathtaking view at mainstage. Since its relocation to Tri Cities, WA, the festival hasn’t missed a step.

With many of the same features as Creation NorthEast, the festival offers a killer multi-day party for those in the NorthWest. A few notable speakers at NW include Pastor of Mars Hill, Mark Driscoll, and Jefferson Bethke, who’s best known for his spoken word video that went viral titled, “Why I hate religion, but love Jesus.”

Some notable artists you can catch at Creation West include: Switchfoot, Needtobreathe, Thousand Foot Krutch, Newsboys, Family Force 5, Jamie Grace, For King and Country, Hawk Nelson, Tedashii, KB, Capital Kings, and many others!