Huntsville Times
Big Spring Jam kicks off tonight. Despite the absence of the all-Christian music stage, Christian bands will be playing in Huntsville this weekend.
For 10 years, the Jam dedicated a stage to faith-based music. Huntsville’s First Baptist Church and then The Rock Family Worship Center were the backbones of that sponsorship, which ended after last year’s Jam.
But even without a dedicated stage, some of our favorite Christian musicians will be returning this year.
Tonight brings a little hard-core rock ‘n’ roll as 12 Stones plugs into the WZYP stage. The band is best known for such songs as “Broken” and “The Way I Feel.” Frontman Paul McCoy loaned his talents to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life,” a performance which got him a Grammy in 2004 for Best Hard Rock Performance.
12 Stones heads back to Huntsville this weekend on the heels of its first new project in three years, “Anthem for the Underdog.” The band says the album is inspired by victims of Hurricane Katrina. There are some powerful tunes of the reality, “Adrenaline” and “World So Cold,” from the events of that storm three years ago and the aftermath.
Faith-based music returns Sunday to the Huntsville Havoc stage. Matt Maher starts at 4:30 p.m., followed by The Afters and then MercyMe.
Maher’s song “Your Grace Is Enough” put his name and songs in churches around the world when Chris Tomlin released it on his “Arriving” CD in 2004. Since then, Maher’s worship music and voice have stood alone. His release of “Empty and Beautiful” brings out a pop-acoustic vibe that has been married to the sounds of what makes worship so popular.
The Afters have been bandmates since their days of making lattes together at Starbucks back in Texas. The band picked up New Artist of the Year at the Dove Awards in 2006 thanks to the hit “Beautiful Love,” which has also been used on the MTV show “8th and Ocean.”
MercyMe will wrap up the Christian music as third in the line-up on Sunday. Hits like “I Can Only Imagine,” “Word of God Speak” and “Here With Me” are what you can expect from the band’s Jam performance. With lead singer Bart Mallard’s recent hymns project, don’t be surprised if they get a little old-school, too.
Big Spring Jam starts downtown tonight at 6. Tickets at the gate are $25 for one day, $45 for the entire weekend.
Ace McKay, morning show co-host at STAR 88.3, Fort Wayne, Ind., can be reached at acemckay@gmail.com, http://myspace.com/acemckay, http://aceswordsofpassion.blogspot.com. Starting a faith-based band? Tell us about it – kay.campbell@htimes.com.
