Area musicians brought the heart of worship to
Brentwood, Tennessee for the “Festival Of The Arts”
April 13, at Christ Presbyterian Academy. The event
brought thousands of people of all ages for an awesome
day of music, worship and fun!
The artists included, Daily Planet, Jeff Deyo
(formerly of SonicFlood), Ginny Owens,
TAIT(featuring Michael Tait from DC Talk), Chris
Rice, Nicole C. Mullen, and Michael W. Smith.
Everything took place in and around the academy’s
brand-new football stadium. Various vendors sold
shirts, CD’s, pizza, chicken, etc. Hundreds of
children spent the day throwing frisbees, footballs
and ran around in a frenzy.
Early in the afternoon, Jeff Deyo led modern rock
praise and worship songs from his new album SATURATE
(available on Gotee Records). “Lose Myself”‘ included the chorus
“saturate my life, fill every part of me with you”.
The lyrics to the chorus of the current radio single
“Let It Flow” echo Jeff’s heart and mission; “I want
to see your spirit moving through the streets,
touching everyone to bring us to our knees.”
Later, Ginny Owens showcased her excellent songwriting
and singing ability on brilliant songs, such as “If You
Want Me To”. She also performed stripped down piano
arrangements of newer songs like “With Me”, an
inspiration of triumph through good and bad days. Ginny’s new album, SOMETHING
MORE is available on Rocketown Records.
As the evening approached, Tait rocked the masses with
songs from the album EMPTY (available on Forefront Records). The
songs included “Bonded”, “Loss For Words” and “Spy”.
DC Talk band mate Kevin Max made a surprise appearance
on the classic “In The Light”. Michael Tait gave a
touching testimony of inspiration that came from
recent personal tragedies, including the deaths of his
father and sister. He also encouraged people to be
thankful for all our way of life as the Middle East
struggles for peace. A particular moving highlight was a
cover version of U2’s “One”, a tribute to Bono’s
songwriting and humanitarian efforts around the world.
While the rain held off, Chris Rice brought an
acoustic flavor to the evening on excellent songs like
“Deep Enough To Dream”and “Life Means So Much”.
Chris attempted comedy with the pondering
thought along the lines of: Why do they call
restaurant workers waiters, when it’s the customers
who have to wait to be served? He also gave a great
devotional message about being thankful and seeking God
during the good and bad days. He couldn’t
leave without singing the infamous “Cartoons”!
He jokingly ended the song by saying, “I’ve been thinking
the other day, why did I ever write this song?” Chris’s most recent studio
album, SMELL THE COLOR 9 is available on Rocketown Records.
Nicole C. Mullen brought in a wonderful troupe of singers,
dancers, which brought the stadium crowd to its’ feet.
Highlights of her show included wonderfully moving
performances of “Freedom”, “Redeemer” and “Call On
Jesus” She also gave a touching devotional based on the
book of Job; “?Blessed Be the Name of the Lord”. Nicole’s latest album, TALK
ABOUT IT is available on Word Records.
Michael W. Smith led a powerful, hour-long worship
experience to close the festival. Highlights included;
“Agnus Dei”, “Breathe”, “Draw Me Close” and “Awesome
God”
Kurtis Kegley is a free-lance writer who writes music reviews and concert reviews for Christian Activities.
