Revelation Generation Christian Music Festival 2007

Revelation Farms – Frenchtown, NJ, United States – September 1, 2007
By Kristin Biskup

With all the music festivals going on during the summer, it is easy for one to fall between the cracks unnoticed. Revelation Generation is a Christian religious music festival that occurs every August in Frenchtown, New Jersey. The name came from the important meaning of both words. Revelation is defined as God's disclosure of Himself and His will while generation is a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age, having similar ideas, problems, and attitudes. The festival is geared towards bringing teens closer to God and teaching them the faith. It is held on a festival ground, known as Revelation Farms, with two very impressive stages named the Philadelphia Stage and New York Stage. During set changes at the main stages, poets and speakers would talk about God's good ways. There were also various tents set up for group prayer sessions and preaching.

I have to say that I was skeptical about the festival when I first heard about it. However, when I saw the band line up I was very impressed. Bands ranging from Christian pop to hardcore were on the bill.

Building 429 performed on the New York Stage and are use to playing festivals. They claim that they don't play music for fame or rock stardom. They perform because they believe God gave them something special to offer the world and that is God himself. The band is on their third record and has been spreading God's word consistently for seven years.

The punk band MXPX headlined the Philadelphia Stage. The band was booked for the festival in 2006 but arrived at the fairgrounds to find out it was cancelled do to the weather. They made their way back to New Jersey this year for a second try. The members of the band think that it is great that kids are coming out to the festival because they feel that live music is important to experience.

Also on the Philadelphia Stage was the band The Almost which was solely created by front man Aaron Gillespie. The song “Say This Sooner” launched the band to the top of the charts. Their set at the festival was great due to the fact that they had a huge amount of fans in the crowd. It was hard not to hear loyal fans screaming the lyrics.

The Atlanta based band, Norma Jean, pumped up the crowd and was by far the best set of the day. The hardcore band was like an explosion on stage with all of their energy. Just watching them made me want to run, jump, and dance!

All in all the festival was better than I expected. I was nervous that it would be overpowering in the religious aspect. However, Revelation Generation did a great job in letting concert goers experience what they chose to experience and did not overwhelm them. I give the festival props for trying to get young adults active in their religion in a way that is comforting to them. Revelation Generation is a role model in the music industry and I hope more festivals and concerts spring up with the same passion to do something good for teens. Even though it was not a well know summer festival, it has left its mark in changing teen lives through music.

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