NRT Contributor Sarah Fine is at Creation Northwest with members of the NRTeam, including Founder Kevin McNeese and Senior Editor Marcus Hathcock. Follow NRT's moment-by-moment updates on Twitter at @newreleasetue, or Sarah's (@sarahisawriter) Kevin's (@kevinmcneese) and Marcus' (@mheternal) individual accounts for their personal experiences.
Stay tuned to NewReleaseTuesday.com for exclusive interviews, recaps and photos from Creation Festival!
Creation Northwest 2012 is in full swing over in beautiful, scenic Enumclaw, Washington! The excitement is high and presence of God is thick as thousands of people from all over the Northwestern region and beyond gather to celebrate the Almighty Creator. The gloomy weather couldn’t keep the massive opening night crowds away--and quite an opening night show it was!
The festival began with New Zealand’s very own electronic/pop/hip-hoppers, Rapture Ruckus, who hyped the small, yet growing crowd with tunes off their American debut,
Open Your Eyes. The three piece trio, led by vocalist Brad Dring, brought the energy with tunes like
“All Things New”,
“Going Home”,
“Hold On”, and a brilliant cover of U2’s
“Where The Streets Have No Name.” Not shy with their use of autotune and synthetic elements, the three put on an amazing and audience-involved show--complete with Nerf guns and a ludicrous guitar solo with lead player Jeff’s tongue (yes, you read that correctly.)
Kutless took the stage next and offered their signature mix of rock and worship. Playing cuts off their newest effort,
Believer, the beloved band played new tunes
“Lean”,
“Carry Me To The Cross”,
“Even If”, as well as mixing in a few Kutless staples such as
“Strong Tower”,
“Shut Me Out”,
“The Feeling” and more. It was the first time I’d seen the band with new drummer, Kyle Peek, and loved the fresh energy he brought to the group, especially when it came to their older, edgier material. They ended their set by leading the crowd in an intimate time of worship and brought the afternoon portion of music and ministry to a powerful close.
After a side splittingly hilarious yet still incredibly raw and sobering message by night speaker Reggie Dabbs, the music picked up once more as the now immense crowd was treated to the stylings of Nashville-based rockers, RED. While they didn’t have their new and much talked about stage show, they brought the heat with a face-melting 60-minute set--literally! Sporadic flashes of pyrotechnic wizardry danced in the air as the band played some of their most famous songs including
“Feed The Machine”,
“Already Over”,
“Death Of Me”,
“Faceless” and
“Breathe Into Me.” They completely raised the bar from an entertainment standpoint and still packed a powerful punch with an uncompromised message of hope and healing found in Christ.
Opening night headliners MercyMe brought their famous blend of heart and humor as lead singer Bart Millard and his bandmates filled the Enumclaw Expo Center with their worshipful pop sound. Playing cuts off their brand new record,
The Hurt And The Healer, the group also included fan favorites such as
“So Long Self”,
“All Of Creation”, and the infamous Heaven medley, made up of instant classics
“Homesick”,
“Finally Home”, and one of the most popular songs in the history of Christian music, “
I Can Only Imagine.”
As the band’s set came to a close, so did the first day of Creation Northwest 2012. Tired yet wired campers snuggled into their tents as vendors closed down shop for the night, getting as much sleep as possible before healing back to the Expo Center for several more full days of music, ministry and more.
As a Southern California native and a first time Creation attendee, I had no idea what I was stepping into with a festival known for its rich and legendary heritage, but from the first note sung and the first bar strummed, I could already tell this was going to be a weekend to remember…
[
Click here for Day Two]
