| Lifest | |
|---|---|
 Crowd at Lifest 2018 | |
| Genre | Christian music |
| Dates | second weekend of July |
| Location(s) | Sunnyview Expo Center Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
| Years active | 1999–2019, 2021– |
| Founders | Bob Lenz |
| Website | lifest |
Lifest is an annual Christian music festival that takes place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Sunnyview Expo Center. Lifest has the slogan "A Party with a Purpose." [1] It is one of the largest Christian music festivals in America. [2]
Lifest started as a walk/run in 1990. [3] Lifest became a music festival in 1999 and was attendance by 7000. [4] It became five days long for the first time in 2006. [2] Starting in 2013, it was shortened to four days. It is held on or around the second weekend of July. [2] In 2013, Lifest had an average of 20,000 attendees per day. The event had 23,000 attendees in 2017. [4] As of 2018, Lifest featured around 150 artists on seven stages. [5] The festival is a member of the Christian Festival Association.
The Winnebago County fairgrounds board approved allowing Lifest to build a $750,000 permanent main stage. [6] The stage was built on the former site of the fairground's grandstand and stock car racing track. [6] It was unveiled for the 2018 event.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused officials to scrap Lifest in 2020. It returned in 2021. [7]
Musically, Lifest has featured a wide range of groups such as Toby Mac, Casting Crowns, Skillet, Newsboys, Steven Curtis Chapman, For King & Country, Matthew West, Family Force 5, Kutless, Downhere, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight, FM Static, Sanctus Real, Building 429, Thousand Foot Krutch, 4th Point, Superchick, Matt Redman, The Letter Black, Needtobreathe, Matt Maher and Jimmy Needham. Superchick had their first concert at Lifest; [8] they held at 2016 reunion concert at the venue. [9]
Lifest also has speakers [2] and seminars as an integral part of the festival. Speakers have included founder Bob Lenz, Luis Palau, John Ortberg, Tony Campolo, Scott Spencer, Ken Davis, and many more.
Lifest has approximately 3000 primitive and electric campsites available. Activities include dodgeball, 5K Fun Run, volleyball, inflatable games, prayer journey and KidZone. Lifest is run by Life Promotions [10] and requires over 1000 volunteers. [11]
Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also played at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the Warped Tour. The final festival was held in 2012.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at the Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. The southern part of the show grounds, as well as "Camp Scholler", are located in the town of Nekimi and a base for seaplanes is located on Lake Winnebago in the town of Black Wolf.
Oshkosh is a city in and the county seat of Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago. It had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 census, making it the ninth-most populous city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the much less populous Town of Oshkosh in the north. The Oshkosh metropolitan statistical area, which consists of all of Winnebago County, had 171,730 residents in 2020 and is included in the greater Fox Cities region of Wisconsin.
Cold is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 1986 by lead singer and rhythm guitarist Scooter Ward, drummer Sam McCandless, bassist Jeremy Marshall and lead guitarist Matt Loughran. The band has gone through numerous lineup changes during its existence, with Ward being the band’s only constant member.
Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents. The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock, pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.
Superchick, originally known as Superchic[k], was an American Christian rock/alternative pop band that debuted in 1999 and disbanded in 2013. Their music incorporated various styles such as pop, punk, rock, rap, and R&B. Their sound has been compared to mainstream artists like No Doubt and Avril Lavigne only with a heavier sound. Superchick has had five songs reach No. 1 on music charts, and their song "Stand in the Rain" held the No. 1 spot for nine weeks on R&R Christian Hit Radio (CHR) chart in 2006/2007.
LCD Soundsystem is an American electronic rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy, Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney (drums), Tyler Pope, Al Doyle, Matt Thornley, and Korey Richey. They have been signed to DFA since their inception, and also signed to Columbia Records in 2016.
Parachute Music Festival was a Christian music festival held annually in New Zealand between 1992 - 2014. Originally starting in Waikanae, the event moved to Matamata in 1995, and then finally to Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, New Zealand where it was held from 2004 - 2014. The three-day festival was run by Parachute Music, and ran annually in late January, on the weekend before Auckland Anniversary Day. The event was one of the largest Christian music festivals outside of the United States and it was one of the largest multi-day festivals in the Southern Hemisphere. As well as musicians, it also featured guest speakers.
Spirit West Coast (SWC) is a Christian music festival that features Christian artists from several different genres. It also features lectures, workshops in tents, kids' shows, petting zoos, and comedians.
Altar Boys were a Christian punk band from California formed in 1982. The original members were Mike Stand, Jeff Crandall (drums), Steve Pannier (guitars) and Ric Alba. Mark Robertson later replaced Alba on bass guitar.
The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point at Wausau, is a two-year campus of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. It is located near downtown Wausau, Wisconsin, United States, and adjacent to 78-acre (32 ha) Marathon Park.
Music festivals have a long and chequered history in New Zealand. The first large outdoor rock music festivals were Redwood 70 in 1970 and the Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival in 1973. The largest was the 1979 Nambassa festival, one of several Nambassa festivals held around that time, in Golden Valley, just north of Waihi.
The Miss Wisconsin competition is the pageant, held annually in Oshkosh, that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Wisconsin in the annual Miss America pageant.
The Christian Festival Association was formed in September 2006. The group consists of members representing major Christian music festivals held in the United States and Canada. Collectively, this group represents nearly a million attendees annually, whose events are held between April and October each year. The association's Executive Director is Julie Klinger and the organization is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
SoulFest is an annual Christian music festival held in New England, United States. It currently takes place at the Franklin County Fairgrounds, in Greenfield, Massachusetts. This summer festival features multiple stages and over 80 artists and speakers.
LifeLight Festival is an annual free outdoor Christian music festival held over Labor Day weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance music festival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest electronic dance music festival in North America as of 2024.
Creation Festival, commonly shortened to Creation, was an annual four-day Christian music festival in the United States. According to its organizers, it was the "Nation's Largest Christian Music Festival." Average attendance was between 50,000 and 100,000 annually. In late March 2023, the festival's website included a pop-up window announcing the end of the longstanding event, thanking all who had taken part, and providing statistics on the number of people affected over the years. Ticket holders were promised refunds and launch of a "New Vision for 2024" was mentioned.
For King & Country, stylised as for KING & COUNTRY and formerly known as Joel & Luke as well as Austoville, is a Christian pop duo composed of Australian brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone. The brothers were born in Australia and emigrated to the United States as children, settling in the Nashville area.
HeavenFest was an annual Christian music festival attracting tens of thousands of people each summer. The festival was held in multiple cities over the years along the Front Range of Colorado.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)