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Music with a message in O-Town
Christian music takes center stage at Disney's Magic Kingdom and Universal Orlando as the competing theme parks host separate events for the fifth year in a row.
By CHRISTOPHER AVE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 5, 2002
[Publicity photo]
Jars of Clay appears Friday at Universal’s Rock the Universe.
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This weekend, Orlando will be the capital of Christian music.
Not impressed? Consider this: Christian music is the fastest-growing segment of the music industry, with nearly $1-billion annually in CD sales and many more millions in concert revenues. Even as music sales overall have declined, Christian record sales are up 18 percent through the first half of 2002 over last year's sales.
One reason, say industry insiders: A nation shaken by the terrorist attacks is searching for connections to faith and family, something Christian music has always emphasized.
On Friday and Saturday, more than a dozen of the biggest stars in Christian music -- rockers Third Day, Newsboys, Audio Adrenaline and Jars of Clay; singer-songwriters Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith; and urban gospel phenom Kirk Franklin among them -- descend on Disney's Magic Kingdom and Universal Orlando for two days of concerts.
The diversity of the acts shows the range of Christian music. And the concerts' timing shows its ability to attract huge numbers of fans.
The competing theme parks have full lineups Friday and Saturday and are charging virtually the same price: $35 per night or about $50 for both nights.
It's the fifth consecutive year for the dueling concerts, leaving fans of Christian music with some tough choices and putting smiles on the faces of industry insiders such as Frank Breeden, president of the Nashville-based Gospel Music Association.
"When you see two theme parks going head to head and doing so successfully, it's the best possible story for a category of music that you can imagine," he said.
[Publicity photo]
Jennifer Knapp
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Disney began its annual Christian-themed concert, Night of Joy, 20 years ago. No one was certain what to expect, recalls longtime park spokesman Dave Herbst.
"When I got the assignment (to promote the event), it was: 'What in the world is this?' " he said.
Herbst wondered what kind of people would show up for a Christian concert in a theme park. He asked the headliner, former Santana vocalist-turned-gospel-singer Leon Patillo, what to expect.
"For one magical night," Herbst remembers Patillo saying, "you'll see the walls of denominationalism come tumbling down."
[AP photo]
Steven Curtis Chapman
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The afternoon of the concert, Herbst says, buses emblazoned with the names of different Christian denominations streamed through the gates. The crowd, to the surprise of park officials, was a sellout, Herbst said.
But even so, Christian music had a much lower profile then. Most records were produced on shoestring budgets and barely marketed. And even successful national acts were as likely to play church youth conferences as major concert venues.
But as the years passed, stars such as Amy Grant, followed by Smith and then Jars of Clay and Franklin, attracted mainstream attention. Christian record labels were swallowed up by mainstream companies such as Sony and Warner Bros., pouring more money into production and promotion. Sales climbed as distribution outlets multiplied, with major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart promoting Christian artists.
Meanwhile, Night of Joy continued to build on its success, attracting in its 19 years more than 750,000 spectators.
[Publicity photo]
Third Day
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Universal Orlando was paying attention. In 1998, the theme park unveiled its own Christian concert, Rock the Universe, on the same September dates as Disney's event.
"We saw the success Disney was having, but we thought we could do a better job with it, something with a bit of a more cutting edge," said Skip Sherman, senior vice president of entertainment for Universal Orlando. "Thus the name Rock the Universe."
Universal's concert does have more of a rock edge, courtesy of bands Third Day, Five Iron Frenzy and the O.C. Supertones. At Disney, Smith and Chapman, while giants of the industry, fit more comfortably into the adult contemporary format.
[AP photo]
Kirk Franklin
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Still, each concert offers plenty of musical diversity: Audio Adrenaline, at Night of Joy, is a full-out rock band. And Rebecca St. James, who will sing at Rock the Universe, is very much a pop performer with heavy teen appeal.
Whatever their musical style, performers in both concerts say their message ultimately points to the same place.
"We're a band that's pretty high-energy," said Mark Stuart, vocalist for Audio Adrenaline. "But we're also very focused on worship, lifting up Christ in our concerts. Our goal: make people have a great time, get them sweating, but ultimately get them in the presence of God. Hopefully they leave changed."
The spiritual element can make a Christian rock concert experience different from that at a mainstream rock show. Jeff Frankenstein, keyboard player for the Newsboys (playing Rock the Universe), said that when the band plays its latest single, the No. 1 hit It Is You, "the concert goes on pause.
[Publicity photo]
Natalie Grant
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"It takes the eyes of the fans off of the artists and totally makes the artist part of the crowd almost," he said. "It makes the attention go to another area, which is a really bizarre thing."
The quest for spirituality, especially in the aftermath of Sept. 11, is one reason Christian music sales are so strong, say entertainers and others in the industry.
"I think the mainstream world wants to hear a message of hope that brings them back to their godly roots," said Stuart.
The trend, say Stuart and others, is not limited to Christian music. Albums such as U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind and Bruce Springsteen's The Rising, both huge sellers, deal with themes of redemption, forgiveness and salvation -- Christian music's home territory.
Artistically, such themes are much richer than the usual fare of pop songs, Stuart noted.
"I think what we're writing about, it's deeper," said Stuart. "We get to write about big, epic things, and that's cool."
PREVIEW
Night of Joy is 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Orlando. Friday: Steven Curtis Chapman, Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, ZOEgirl, Plus One, Natalie Grant, Phat Chance and the Benjamin Gate. Saturday: Michael W. Smith, Jaci Velasquez, Plus One, Audio Adrenaline, Stacie Orrico, Joy Williams, Jump5 and Petra. Tickets: $34.95 per night, or $53.95 for both nights. Some attractions, including Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, remain open until 12:30 a.m. Others close earlier. Exit I-4 at Exit 64, west of Orlando. (407) 934-7639 or www.nightofjoy.com.
Rock the Universe is Friday and Saturday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Universal Orlando. Friday: SOULJAHZ, By the Tree, Contagious, Jennifer Knapp, Newsboys, Relient K, the O.C. Supertones, Jars of Clay. Saturday: Paul Colman Trio, Daily Planet, Five Iron Frenzy, Out of Eden, Rebecca St. James, True Vibe, Patty Cabrera, TobyMac, Third Day. Tickets: $34.95 per night, or $49.95 for both nights. Some attractions, including Twister, Kongfrontation, Jaws, Men in Black and Back to the Future, remain open until 1 a.m. Others close earlier. Exit I-4 at Exit 75A, Orlando. Toll-free 1-800-837-2273 or www.rocktheuniverse.com.
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