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.
Read our Day One recap
here.
Stay tuned to NewReleaseTuesday.com for exclusive interviews, recaps and photos from Creation Festival!
After another chilly and overcast start to the morning, day two of Creation Northwest 2012 finally met us with some much-awaited sunshine! With sunscreen in hand and a sea full of lawn chairs and blankets sprinkling the front of the main stage, it's safe to say that the festival is officially in full swing.
The morning started off quiet and early with teaching by speakers Preston Centuolo and Reid Saunders, but escalated quickly as a legion of fans rushed the stage to see one of Christian music's hottest new acts, For King & Country.
The Australian duo, comprised of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone (the younger siblings of Rebecca St. James), captivated the crowd with a memorable set. Playing songs off their highly acclaimed debut album, Crave, fans of the group sung chart-toppers such as "Busted Heart (Hold On To Me)", and "The Proof Of Your Love" at the top of their lungs, while also being introduced to some of their other soon-to-be hits like "Middle Of Your Heart" and "Fine Fine Life." The two are an absolute treat to watch live, seeing as they demand quite a bit of audience participation, and, much like their sister, share a beautiful message on treating the opposite sex with honor and respect--a message we could all stand to be reminded of time and again.
After a few hours of silence, the main stage was roaring once more another new group, All Sons & Daughters, took the stage briefly to lead the massive crowd in a time of praise and worship. Well known tunes
"Mighty To Save" and
"Nothing But The Blood" were thrown in appropriately with a some of the group's original material, including a brand new song titled
"Rising Sun." The two have a harmonic style
extremely similar to The Civil Wars, while still keeping it fresh and original. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for them and their ministry.
Yet another sibling duo, Group 1 Crew, took the stage next and offered their famous blend of hip-hop and electronic pop. A sporadic shower began to dust the grounds of the festival during the middle of their set, but even a little rain couldn't keep this lively crowd away. While the band mostly played songs off their latest record, Outta Space Love--like "Walking On The Stars", "Live It Up" and "He Said"--they also treated the audience to a few of their older and more well known tracks, such as "Let It Roll" and "Movin'."
Manwell and Blanca took a few moment during their set to humorously acknowledge the "seasoned" parents in the crowd who might not get their high energy and off-your-feet sound, and dedicated an old school medley of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Celebration" to them in their honor.
Meanwhile, while Group 1 Crew was on stage ripping it up, the NRTeam was having a little fun of their own, wandering the grounds outside the main stage and hooking up 10 lucky festival goers sporting NRTattoos with $5 bucks and our undying gratitude. (Who knew having a temporary tattoo could be so rewarding?)
The excitement in the crowd grew thick as thousands upon thousands of bodies began to merge at the front of the main stage, awaiting the arrival of one of the night's headliners, Family Force 5.
The eccentric and downright "cray" band from the Dirty South had the audience on the tips of their toes the entire evening. Not only did their performance begin with lead vocalist and ringleader, Soul Glo Activatur, roaming the crowd in a giant plastic bubble, but at one point during the night, the audience found him surfing in the crowd once again, only this time, on a large inflatable boat known simply as, "The U.S. Cray."
While the entertainment alone completely stole the show, their musicianship was far from under par, putting on one of the best shows the festival has seen yet. Their set was packed full of FF5 staples like "Love Addict", "Kountry Gentleman", "Supersonic", "Dance Or Die" and "Fever", yet the band wasted no time getting to some of their newer material. Songs like "Zombie", "Paycheck," "Cray Button" and of course, their exclusive creation, "Wobble" made an appearance and left the crowd in a hyperstatic frenzy of energy and exhaustion.
It was gonna be hard to follow up an act like FF5, especially after such an impressive set, but if anyone was up to, and ready to take on the challenge, it was none other than Canadian rockers, Thousand Foot Krutch. The band, who recently underwent several changes--including the choice to become an independent act--brought down the house with their first ever Creation main stage headlining spot. Sparks flew with "Sparks Fly," as the band stunned the crowd with a most impressive pyro show. But even all the smoke and mirrors--no pun intended--didn't take the focus away from what the heart of what it was all about. Lead vocalist Trevor McNevan shared how he is currently going through the book, The Purpose Driven Life, and talked about worship as a lifestyle, not just a music genre. It was a convicting message, for sure.
The intensity of TFK's show never let up once as they fired of hits from their first indie release, the appropriately titled The End Is Where We Begin, such as "Be Somebody", "We Are", "Light Up The Sky" and several more, also throwing in several time-tested classics like "Puppet" (from their first indie release in 2001, Set it Off), "Rawkfist" and "Falls Apart" for longtime fans.
You'd think after two hard rock headlining shows and a stirring time of communion over at the main stage, that this now exhausted crowd would just want to crawl into their tents and call it a night--you'd think wrong. Holding the first-ever dance party in the history of Creation Festival NW, Family Force 5 easily put on one of the most insane after-parties.
Remixing several of their previously noted hits, the room packed with hot and sweaty attendees was utter chaos as the band--and most of the Creation staff--found their way on stage and led the rave-like party, complete with glow sticks, strobe lights, stage diving, animal hats, sparkly superhero capes, and anything and everything else you can imagine (after all, this is Family Force 5 we're talking about, nothing was off limits!) It was 60 minutes packed with complete madness, but fast become one of highlights of the entire week. Even NRT Founder Kevin McNeese shared the stage with the band to get his groove on.
Day two of Creation started early and ended late, and while at this point, people are beginning to feel sore, sleepless and yes, even a tad smelly, in true festival spirit, the restless crowd walked back to their tents and cars with eager anticipation of what tomorrow would bring, after all, the festival might already be half over, but the some of the biggest shows of all have still yet to come…
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Click here for Day Three]
