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radioAn indepth review of Europe's largest Christian music event
Continued from page 4
3.39pm (Tony Cummings)
I stand gazing at the ducks in
the Big Church Kids Animal Farm. They're enjoying their romp in the
mini-pond. Two little girls, like me, stand enraptured by their
quacking, flapping, water spraying antics. To my right I see a cow but
closer inspection reveals it's only a model (wood and paper mache?).
That too has its kids and parents admirers. I want to stay but I also
want, no, need, a cup of tea and I'm close to the Tearfund Tea Tent.
3.45pm (Peter Hicks)
Not only are
LZ7, fronted by the irrepressible Lindz West, rap
dance and grime evangelists, not only are they genuine hitmakers
("This Little Light" making 26 in the UK singles chart in 2010), but
the all dancing, all moving phenomenon are now something of a BCDO
institution having played the event for the last five years. And even
though LZ7 have already played a set on Main Stage there's still a
crowd of 1,000 at the Illuminate Stage keen to watch and groove along.
From the outset there is great participation from the crowd. Toddlers
stand on picnic benches or are held up by their 20-something parents
who no doubt had seen LZ7 as teenagers at a schools mission. Lindz
stands out on stage with his back-to-front bright yellow baseball cap,
imitated by many of the tweenagers in the crowd with their blue ones
(a free hand out from the nearby MAF stall). The smoke, lights,
flashing giant screen and the pumping volume is enough to compete with
anything the Main Stage arena can offer. A high-energy "Rise Up" is
followed by "Aftershow" and "Strobot" - a chance for us all to
practice our best dancing skills. Everyone joins in, especially in the
robot dance. Our hero yells "Let me hear you make some noise!" and
gets a big roar from the crowd. Lindz offers a free Illuminate t-shirt
to the person who has put the most energy into dancing, saying "I
don't care if you dance like a dad!" LZ7 end with a brand new track,
"We Are Free", with an appropriate chorus ("Fire, fire, fire/We're
turning up the heat in here/Illuminate the atmosphere") immediately
after which Lindz invites people to give their lives to Jesus.
Finally, Lindz asks everyone to sign up to have LZ7 come to their
school city as part of an Illuminate tour.
3.46pm (Tony Cummings)
I'm at a table when Dave
Brackenridge from Scotland's rock music evangelists the Royal
Foundlings comes over to greet me. The band will shortly be calling it
a day and Dave will be going solo. Watch out the schools of Scotland!
4.00pm (Helen Whitall)
Mike Rimmer is interviewing
Switchfootin the crammed UCB Tent. Topics range from
chocolate to Kierkegaard and there are a lot of laughs. Lead singer
Jon Foreman is asked if it's hard to write songs that appeal to
everyone but he responds that that really isn't what he sets out to
do, instead he writes what is on his heart, knowing it won't be for
everyone. The band also speak about how they need to keep accountable
to one another and their families whilst touring, how they still
really believe in their older songs despite playing them night after
night, and reveal that their latest project is setting up a music
school back in San Diego.
4.04pm (Tony Cummings)
I stand by Chunky Chips &
Wicked Dips talking to Jez Chalmers, a UCB radio presenter. Jez tells
me that the UCB Undiscovered mini-set by Richard James
Butt was very good. I would have expected no less as when,
last year, Cross Rhythms' Helen Whitall reviewed 'Conversation' she
described the EP by the London-based singer/songwriter as "a strong
collection of worshipful songs with thoughtful lyrics." It's a shame
then that none of the Cross Rhythms team had a chance to catch
Richard's set. Sounds like he deserved the exposure.
4.12pm (Tony Cummings)
I'm sitting with Mike Rimmer at a
table outside the Bazaar enjoying a brief spot of sunshine. Mike
suggests Mike Farris for next year's Big Church Day Out. I end our
music anorak chat by raving about a 2007 recording Maxine and I
listened to in the car coming down to West Sussex - "Jesus Got The
Blues" by Mighty Sam McClain. I fantasize "Mighty Sam would be great
for BCDO 2016."
4.21pm (Tony Cummings)
Tears are rolling down my face
but I don't care. I'm not the only one crying. I'd started my review
of Jason Upton's Main Stage appearance doing the
journalist bit, sitting at a bench at the edge of the area. But now
note taking and observation are forgotten. Jason, an extraordinary
prophet musician, hunched over his keyboards, is leading us into the
throne room of worship. I'm in front of the stage, singing, sobbing,
adoring. "I will seek first your Kingdom/And everything I need you
will provide for me." The close-up on the giant screen above me shows
Jason's face, his horn rim glasses slipping slowly down his nose. He
doesn't care. He's singing to his Lord and songs of adoration are
pouring forth. I'm a few feet from the stage but I'm not looking at
the singer/pianist nor his guitar, bass and drum accompanists. I'm
staring at the giant screen with the lyrics like sanctified subtitles.
Each of the prophet musician's huskily sung phrases seem to precisely
articulate the pleas and prayers of our hearts. The songs flow on,
"Let your love come in like a rushing wind/Saturate my heart and soul
again." As Jason finally closes the set many just stand there, lost in
contemplation that the Lord truly is peace to us.
4.50pm (Tony Cummings)
The Big Church Day Out programme
is to eventually tell me that Roger Samuels "is
considered one of Britain's finest gospel singers." But not by me.
Despite Roger's name being on my BCDO schedule of acts to review (he
played on the Illuminate Stage at 12.45pm) I've missed his
performance. Despite Roger playing at 2010's BCDO, I wasn't there. And
despite Roger appearing on Integrity Music's 'The New Sound Of
Worship' various artists album in 2009 and his own single "I'm In
Love" in 2014, somehow or other I've not heard those either. Amazingly
though, despite my ignorance of his musical talent Mr Samuels is able
to deeply touch me. At the end of the Jason Upton performance I see
two folk I know from Stoke, Simon and a barrel-chested man I know only
as Simon's Dad. The latter tells me he's just seen Roger Samuels on
the Illuminate Stage. I know Simon's Dad to be a prodigal but when I
ask him what he thought of Roger's gig I'm hardly expecting such a
response. "Roger has helped me take a big step back to the Father."
Simon's Dad points to the jacket he's wearing. "What do you think of
this? Roger gave it to me." The jacket is a beautifully cut white
leather one, a perfect fit for the man in front of me clearly fighting
back tears. Even to an inexpert eye like mine I can see that this
garment would have cost hundreds of pounds to buy new. I'm gobsmacked.
Down the years I've encountered a disappointing amount of ego and
ambition in the British gospel scene. Clearly though, Mr Samuels is
something else. I'm deeply touched by the gospel singer's willingness
to minister in actions as well as song.
5.00pm (Tony Cummings)
Lecrae DeVaughn Moore,
better known as Lecrae, looks slighty dazed as he
gazes out at the Main Stage thousands stretched out in front of him.
Rappers, even rappers like the word-spinning graduate from the
University of North Texas whose last album entered America's
mainstream album chart at number one and who picked up a Grammy (more
of that later), doesn't often get to play to an audience so vast that
someone on stage needs to turn their head a full 180 degrees to see
all of them. "Y'all lookin' pretty good" he acknowledges and then
bursts forth into "Fakin'". Even without Thi'sl to help him out with
the flows, it's a biting, pointed tirade against those phoney,
swaggering gangstas who have made much of mainstream hip-hop such an
absurd farrago. "Hey, bags of white, pints of lean/I been on dope boys
since a teen/But this ain't what we used to be/And y'all don't make no
sense to me/You pump fakin', ain't shootin', ain't killin', ain't
doin'/Half them things you say you're doing/But 116 we stay true." And
then the explanation, "We on that Jesus soul healin'" and "We don't do
that fake stuff." There's nothing fake about Lecrae. Aided by his
scratch DJ compatriot and a real drummer this is mesmerising,
authentic hip-hop but with truth not guns and bling at its centrepoint
and as he leaps around the stage, mic clutched tightly in hand, the
vast BCDO throng follows his every move. Unsurprisingly the
fast-flowing emcee is hot and he casts off his jacket. He takes up a
bottle of water, has a couple of sips then pours the rest onto the
side of the stage and tosses the empty bottle into the crowd as a
squelchy bass heralds the start of "Dirty Water".
Now it's the Church who's the target of the rapper's flow as with scalpel-like precision he cuts into the racism still ingrained in many churches. "No habia espanol, just show me tu bano/Ain't tryna get to know you, I'm too busy readin' Daniel/Most segregated time of day is Sunday service/Now what you think they say about the God you worship?" Lecrae's biting flows continue. "Black Rose" depicts a lady who "ain't never seen Garden Of Eden" but has "only seen garden of bleeding." He tells us he loves the USA, quipping "I'm not shady" then reminds us "there's not a perfect place other than the Kingdom of God" and then on "Welcome To America" unflinchingly portrays America's dark side. "I was made in America, land of the free, home of the brave/And right up under your nose might see a sex slave being traded/And will do anything for the money/Boy, a mamma might sell her babies/Sell porn, sell pills, anything to pay the bills." Then the rapper tells the throng about his feelings at the glitzy Grammy Awards, surrounded by many of the world's biggest stars. "Sometimes I feel like an outsider" who is "judged because I'm different." It's the killer cut in a magnificent set. "I really can't tell if I'm over dressed or I'm under dressed/If I'm underpaid or just over-stressed/If I'm cynical or just over this/'Cause I'm tired of trying to get over them/Man, it's over them, party's over/You probably couldn't tell that we are over here because you hardly sober/Double shots in that ego/They laughing at us, yeah we know." And later, the final riposte to those sneering superstars and their hangers-on, "There's plenty people like me/And love me, despite me/All unadorned and unafraid to speak out for what we might see/I said there's plenty people like me/All outsiders like me." Scratch DJ A Nomaly cranks it up for a final salvo with "Souled Out"'s defiant declaration, "We souled out/Seeking God's face till we fold out/You want it you got it/We ain't tryin' to hold out/Break me, shake me, mould me/I'd rather die like Christ than live unholy."
5.20pm (Ian Webber)
With the rainclouds looming,
Christafarai and crowd up sticks and move undercover
in the Tearfund Tea Tent. The ease with which kit is set up and
checked pays tribute to the 25 years of experience that this
California-based reggae outfit have. Quickly settling into their
stride, the band open with "Strength Will Rise", "Holy, Holy, Holy Is
The Lord God Almighty" and "All To Jesus I Surrender" all of course
recast as reggae worship. Moving effortlessly between songs it is
evident that the lines between music and worship are blurred indeed
with testimony, ministry, preaching and encouragement flowing from
frontman Mark Mohr. Although the sun outside has disappeared, a touch
of the Caribbean fills the marquee as the man who had "never played a
tea tent" and did not even like tea links a punchy yet polished set of
tracks that eventually get everyone dancing in the crowded tent. Time
flys by yet it is a surprise that the slot overruns by 30 minutes.
After praying for those who have responded to his message, Mark steps
aside to allow his wife to close out the set with the beautifully
lilting "Yeshua". A truly inspiring performance.
5.30pm (Tony Cummings)
As I wait to get the teas I've
ordered for Ian Homer (who has found a table for us in the crowded
café area of the Bazaar) and myself, I see a young lady ask Cross
Rhythms' photo journalist if she can have one of the two vacant chairs
at our table. God tells me this young lady is a singer who is to be
prayed for. A few minutes later as Ian is dashing off for his next
reviewing assignment and the young lady is slowly eating her salad she
tells me she goes to Holy Trinity Brompton. Alan, a charming graphic
designer from Scotland I'd met the day before, comes to our table. The
young lady continues to eat her salad remarkably slowly. But now late
for MY next review assignment I have to explain to her again that, if
she's okay with it, I want to pray for her. We finally do and the dear
lass sheds a tear or two.
6:20pm (Helen Whitall)
Switchfoot enter Main Stage to a burst of Led
Zeppelin. The fans are rammed in solid at the front to families
picnicking at the back. As frisbees fly through the air, the
Californian maestros effortlessly deliver an energetic show with an
artful mix of older and newer tunes, keeping the tone light and
suitably festive for a sunny holiday weekend. Opening with "Meant To
Live" from the 2003 hit 'The Beautiful Letdown', Switchfoot treat the
crowd to three other songs from the same album, mixing them in with
numbers like "Love Alone Is Worth The Fight" and "When We Come Alive"
from 'Fading West', as well as classics such as "Dare You To Move" and
"Dark Horses". Lead singer Jon Foreman manages to break down all
divisions between the stage, the crew and the crowd by climbing onto
the crowd barriers and getting right in with the fans, crowd surfing,
swapping hats and even taking a video of the mega crowd on a camera
cheekily borrowed from someone in the audience. From their beaming
smiles, the band are clearly having huge fun at their second BCDO
appearance (their first was in 2010). Even a couple of minor mishaps
when Jon breaks a mic stand and, shortly after, a guitar string are
met with wry chuckles, not big-star tantrums. Throughout the show Jon
has the crowd joining in with the songs, and, with Jon again in
amongst the crowd, they sing "Where I Belong". Clearly that's what he
feels about the BCDO throng. As the setting sun lights up a beautiful
cloudscape, the heavily echoed closing lyrics "You and I, we begin
forever now/forever now." are spine-tingling.
6.22pm (Tony Cummings)
One thing I always enjoy at
festivals is musicians thrusting independent releases into my hands. A
young man called Peter Caisley, who heads up a Newcastle-upon-Tyne
band, The Dusk Run, puts a copy of their EP into my hands. I am later
to discover that it's good (especially the trumpet riff on the first
track).
7:45pm (Ian Homer)
Rend
Collective are modern worship's answer to a night out in an
Irish bar where you forego the Jamesons and Bushmills and invite an
entirely different kind of Spirit. The powerhouse folk rockers come
straight in with "Burn Like A Star" from their year-long chart topping
2014 album 'The Art Of Celebration' and career on with a couple from
previous albums and in a bid to get everyone in the crowd involved our
frontman declares, "We didn't come to sing at you, we came to sing
with you" and from then on refers to the assembled mass as Big Church
and it indeed is as everyone joins in with the singing and dancing
(well, bouncing anyway). The Collective then bring in "Build Your
Kingdom Here" complete with percussion played on a bizarre selection
of home-made instruments. The worship party continues with "My
Lighthouse" and only pauses to take a breath with a song about being a
prodigal entitled "Boldly I Approach". A beautifully crafted song its
biblical imagery ("Boldly now I approach your throne/Blameless now I'm
running home/By your blood I come, welcomed as your own/Into the arms
of majesty") touches the hearts of every believer. Even this builds to
a stately crescendo after a the bridge "This is the art of
celebration." It certainly is. Who needs liquor when the craic is a
good as this?
8:40pm (Helen Whitall)
As I stand in the queue to buy
falafel who should I bump into but Drew Shirley, guitarist with
Switchfoot.
8.45pm (Tony Cummings)
It's almost time to leave. After
catching a bit of Jesus Culture Maxine and I will be going by car back
to our B&B where the delights of a shower and comfortable bed
beckon us. I am tired to the point of talking jibberish but also
happily experiencing the presence of God even as I stand outside the
Big Church Merch (good name!) tent. I'm standing there while I wait
for Maxine to go in search of our camping chair. I've just bought a
BCDO programme at the knock-down price of £2.00 and after a briefest
of chats with Chris Williams of Christian Copyright Licensing
International (CCLI) who happens to walk past, I flick through the
programme. The journo in me registers that the print quality and
design are excellent and even the ads are good - the two page spread
advert by Tearfund being a particular gem of succinct communication.
There is an ad by TBN UK containing none of the wince-inducing
religio-speak with which some Christian TV channels choose to
advertise their services and features an array of photos - J John,
Carrie Underwood, Matt Redman, Lou Fellingham, Tim Hughes, Joyce
Meyer, Veggie Tales and the millionaire actor, playwright and soap
opera hero Tyler Perry. Thankfully the ad contains not a single pic of
any health and wealth American preachers. After a weekend of gazing,
via Main Stage's giant screen, the stunning footage captured by TBN
UK's clearly highly skilled team of technicians - the boom shots
sweeping across the vast worshipping throng are particularly
awe-inspiring - the ad does its intended job on me. I resolve to watch
some TBN UK via Freeview.
8.50pm (Tony Cummings)
Throughout the weekend Tearfund
have been communicating about the international scandal that is human
trafficking. As we await Jesus Culture to come on to Main Stage a
Tearfund official speaks about how he first picked up on the issue
when on a visit to Taiwan he was offered sex with a trafficked girl of
14 years, her starting price being £7.00. Moments before a pole
festooned with yellow ribbons had been brought onto the stage. Each
ribbon represented a BCDO goer who had pledged at least £3.00 a
month, £3.00 being what it costs, Tearfund calculate, to rescue and
protect a child from the hands of the traffickers. As the result of
Tearfund's initiative and the swarm of yellow t-shirted volunteers who
with clipboards have been approaching us all weekend, 4,700 children
will be protected.
After this encouraging news, the Bishop of Lewis comes on stage, Pete Grieg explaining that it is only appropriate as "we are on his patch." The good bishop is passionate and direct. He tells us that we need to get out of our holy huddle and on this Pentecost Sunday let the Holy Spirit awake in us a new thirst for evangelism He amusingly suggests we don't pray "Lord, please use me in evangelism but preferably in an advisory capacity." Instead he suggests, "Lord, please use me today to share your love with someone who doesn't know you."
9.05pm (Ian Webber)
As the BCDO draws near to a
close, the crowd swells to welcome the final act of the weekend,
Sacramento's amazing Jesus Culture. Even the
realisation that new baby commitments mean that one of the most
effecting singers in Christendom, Kim Walker Smith, isn't with the
Jesus Culture team cannot quell the waves of anticipation that are
evident in the waiting throng. They're not there to enjoy some CCM
hitmakers. They are there to worship. Soon rhythms underpinning the
keyboards resound from the Main Stage as "Sing Out" and "Rooftops"
draw a packed arena into singing along. As has been the case in the
past, the outfit are joined by Martin Smith and the tempo picks up.
The crowd begin to move as one, like "dancers who dance upon
injustice," continuing to sing their hearts out. Memorable sequences
on this last night are the wash of voices repeating "We give you the
highest praise" and the atmospheric "If Faith Can Move A Mountain". At
each moment the band seem at ease and nothing is forced or pushed. A
dazzling light show adds to the whole experience, changing as the
group moves from one song to another. Eventually Pete Greig takes to
the stage to share a few words. He draws the crowd's attention to a
burning beacon placed on a nearby hilltop, linking this to the work of
the Holy Spirit through us on Pentecost Sunday. After this, there is
only enough time left for one more song to top off the weekend. This
is "God's Great Dance Floor" and once again the huge crowd move as one
with mobile phones held aloft. It is an unforgettable sight to behold.
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