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TagsBY JEFF LEVY
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Revelation Generation spread love, life and inspiration across the Labor Day weekend. The Christian music festival brought thousands of youth and families together united as one to feel the love of God through music.
RevGen 2010 was a two day explosion of music on five stages with over 60 artists gracing the stages of the festival. Musicians of every genre were on hand to feed the hunger for redemption. New York and Philadelphia were the main stages, delivering the biggest names and headlining acts. The Nashville Stage displayed folk and acoustic rock. The "Come & Live!" Stage boasted an array of rock and metal groups electrifying today's scene. The Urban Stage drew fans of R&B;, hip-hop and rap showcasing beats, breaks, rhymes and rhythms.
Day one kicked off Revelation Generation with large crowds and energy charged events.The Philadelphia stage rocked the crowd with shows by The Ember Days, Oh Sleeper, August Burns Red, The Almost, Fireflight and The Devil Wears Prada.
Fireflight is a female-fronted rock band currently enjoying their largest success since their inception. Their latest release, "For Those Who Wait" dropped in February and is their highest charting record on the Billboard Hot Christian Albums. Songs they performed included "Fire in My Eyes," "Stand Up," "You Give Me That Feeling" and more.
The Devil Wears Prada was the headlining group for the Philadelphia stage on Saturday night. The metalcore band tore up the stage with their thrashing guitars and the sheer force of their sound. What they may lack in melody they make up for in energy, stage presence and brutal honesty.
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The New York stage entertained fans with performances by The Glorious Unseen, Britt Nicole, Barlowgirl, Brandon Heath, Kutless and Skillet.
BarlowGirl is a trio of sisters who play Christian rock songs ranging from guitar-driven rock to ballads. BarlowGirl's album "How Can We Be Silent" debuted at #40 on Billboard's Top 200 chart in 2007, and was the the first album by an all-female rock band to crack the top 40 since the Bangles did so with "Everything" in 1989.
Among the songs they played were past hits "Never Alone," "Million Voices" and "Beautiful Ending." They also sang "Stay with Me," a new song released earlier this year.
Lauren Barlow gave a rousing monologue to inspire the youth in the audience during their performance. She urged them to go out and live their lives completely, to be different and let their revelation be the revolution to provoke the transformation this world needs.
"You are the chosen generation. That is who you are, God has chosen you to live now ... we are called to go out and change the world. We are called to go out and shake things up. It's time for us to start taking stands in our lives. It's time for us to stop trying to fit in with everybody else. How can we change a world that we are looking and acting just like?," Barlow said.
She continued to instill purpose in the crowd member's lives - there will always be challenges to overcome, but they are the catalyst for the future.
"Find out what your calling is. Find out what your destiny is. Go out and shake this world up. It's not going to be easy because God will have you do things that are crazy sometimes. Put aside the things of this world ... because you are the next Mother Theresa, you are the next Joan of Arcs and you are the next Martin Luther Kings. So start living," Barlow proclaimed.
Skillet set the night ablaze, closing out the day's festivities with a rocking performance on the New York stage. The band pulled out all the stops with an energy filled set and pyrotechnic displays. Skillet's unique sound blends hard rock, industrial rock and symphonic rock.
They started their set with the rock anthem "Hero," which has been used in several NFL promos and in WWE wrestling productions. The song has had mainstream success, peaking at No. 12 on the iTunes rock chart. The song, "The Last Night" has become popular for its strong anti-suicide message. Their show featured other songs such as "Whispers in the Dark," "It's Not Me It's You" and "Awake and Alive."
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The second and final day of Revelation Generation had a theme of diversity. Christians joined together from different demographics and backgrounds to celebrate their love of the lord. God presides across all races was the message from many performers.
The Philadelphia stage presented fans with appearances by Nothing More, Showbread, Emery, Mae, The O.C. Supertones and Anberlin.
On Sunday Between the Trees, Phil Wickham, Superchick, Relient K and TobyMac & the E.R.A.C.E. All-Star Jam starred on the New York stage.
Relient K was a fan favorite providing songs the audience knew and loved to sing along with. On the setlist were newer tracks like "Forget and Not Slow Down," "I Don't Need a Soul," "Sahara," and "Candlelight" from their 2009 album "Forget and Not Slow Down." They also played older hits such as "High of 75" and "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" from their 2004 record "Mmhmm."
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The TobyMac & the E.R.A.C.E. All-Star Jam spotlighted many prominent artists on the christian and inspirational charts in the festival finale. The lineup included Lou Gramm, Tommy Sims, Mary Mary, Natalie Grant, Marc Broussard, Phil Keaggy, Canton Jones and Bernard Harris.
In the classic rock block, Lou Gramm of Foreigner sang one of the classics from his former group, "Jukebox Hero." Phil Keaggy followed Gramm up with a display of his guitar mastery and a rendition of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
Marc Broussard straight from Louisiana brought his bluesy R&B; infused southern rock to the stage with performances of "Home" and "Rocksteady."
Multi-Grammy award winners and multi-platinum artists Mary Mary laid down some funky soul to spread the gospel of Jesus.
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Headlining act TobyMac and the Diverse-City band brought down the house with their funk, rap-rock and hip-hop inspired gospel. The song "Tonight" set off the party after some rapping by TobyMac. "Tonight" has been used in various TV promos by the MLB Network for "30 Clubs in 30 Days" and the show "America's Got Talent." Other songs in their set included "ShowStopper," "No Ordinary Love" and "Lose My Soul." During the show TobyMac and group members bolted from the stage to perform a few songs in the middle of the crowd. TobyMac jammed and grooved all night until they closed the show with thousands of fans holding candles in the air and singing along with Sister Sledge's "We are Family," "City on Our Knees" from TobyMac's newest record "Tonight" and "Jesus Freak" from TobyMac's first group DC Talk.
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The festivities weren't limited to music. Concertgoers were entertained by the Outcast BMX riders showing off their skills and tricks. Graffiti artists created unique murals. Pick-up volleyball games were set up. Vendors and exhibitors were on hand with merchandise and information for RevGen attendees.
Held at Revelation Farms in Frenchtown, N.J., Revelation Generation enjoyed a successful sixth year. The festival was founded by Robert and Kim Grom to reinvigorate the heart and soul of the Tri-State area. It created an alcohol-free and drug-free environment for like-minded people to enjoy music that nurtures the mind, body and spirit. It was an atmosphere of peace, love and unity in the rolling hills of Hunterdon county.
RevGen transcends beyond the everyday music festival. It lifts the spirit and soul closer to God. This is a groundbreaking phenomenon only occurring when thousands of people come together for a singular purpose.
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Jeff Levy may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
