Lifest: Party with a Purpose - Thursday
If you know me well, you know that I love music. I listen a lot of music. Most of the time, I have music playing. One of the big concerts I went to every year was Winter Jam. During the 2017 Winter Jam, something called Lifest was being promoted. If you know what Lollapalooza is, it's kind of a Christian version of that except better. There were multiple stages with many performances throughout every day, over the course of three days. I looked at one of my friends and we checked out their booth at intermission. We saw that one of our favorite bands, for King & country, would be there! So our moms checked it out, and it looked like we weren't gonna go. But we did. At Lifest 2018, we saw Newsboys, Crowder, fK&c, and so many others. We were hooked. So we decided that it had to become a tradition.
I just got back from Lifest 2019 (which was loads of fun) and wanted to share some stories and experiences!
First off, it can be a pretty long ride from Chicago to Oshkosh. Three and a half hours. After putting all our camping gear in the car, we loaded the family and a friend into the vehicles and started driving. A few hours and a couple playlists later, we rolled up to the grounds. The other two families that we were going with had already arrived and were set up when we got there. I was very surprised to see another friend there. We got all our stuff set up and we were finally able to relax. We talked about last year and told the new individuals in the group how the next few days might go.
First day was a great one to start on! It began with waking up for breakfast, and a chaotic run. Yes, that's right, chaotic. With Lifest, you bring your own chairs. Some of us get up each morning to save a spot in line at one of the entrance gates to the Grandstand. We had good spots in line everyday. All to get a good spot to set up our chairs. Now getting a good spot at the front of the line doesn't guarantee you will get a good spot to sit. Your speed and agility is what gets you a good spot. We had nine people in our group who ran with chairs. We get so into it, that we line up as a group in the most strategic way. My big little brother (he's my little brother but he's a lot taller) in the front as our group "tank", three of our fastest runners just a bit behind him, the three other runners and I, and the last two did wherever they could. Together, we carried enough chairs for our entire group of sixteen.
After the mad dash at 9 am, we didn't do an awful lot. We checked out the Lifest store and went back to camp. We didn't really do much until right before noon, when the first performance of Lifest started. The first one was a band called Adelaide. I saw them live for the first time a few years ago in Springfield IL at Powerlight Fest.
After a keynote speaker and his guest (the guy who wrote Don't Stop Believing for the band Journey), and presentation of the US flag, it was Kari Jobe's turn. When she get's into worship, she can get pretty loud. If you aren't used to it, it can be a bit much. I really enjoyed it. But that could be because I was raised in that sort of church style. So it might not be for everyone. I think some enjoy her recordings better.
The band always seems to find a way to one-up themselves. Right now they have these awesome displays, lasers, lights that flash with the beat of the music, and all sorts of instruments! The lyrics of their songs are never meaningless and I really appreciate that! Too much music today has no meaning or real value. If you haven't listened to them, I really suggest you check them out! They touch a lot of important subjects such as self-worth, addiction, and suicide. Maybe you don't want to listen to them because they are "too mainstream". Ever think that they became mainstream for a reason?
I just got back from Lifest 2019 (which was loads of fun) and wanted to share some stories and experiences!
First off, it can be a pretty long ride from Chicago to Oshkosh. Three and a half hours. After putting all our camping gear in the car, we loaded the family and a friend into the vehicles and started driving. A few hours and a couple playlists later, we rolled up to the grounds. The other two families that we were going with had already arrived and were set up when we got there. I was very surprised to see another friend there. We got all our stuff set up and we were finally able to relax. We talked about last year and told the new individuals in the group how the next few days might go.
First day was a great one to start on! It began with waking up for breakfast, and a chaotic run. Yes, that's right, chaotic. With Lifest, you bring your own chairs. Some of us get up each morning to save a spot in line at one of the entrance gates to the Grandstand. We had good spots in line everyday. All to get a good spot to set up our chairs. Now getting a good spot at the front of the line doesn't guarantee you will get a good spot to sit. Your speed and agility is what gets you a good spot. We had nine people in our group who ran with chairs. We get so into it, that we line up as a group in the most strategic way. My big little brother (he's my little brother but he's a lot taller) in the front as our group "tank", three of our fastest runners just a bit behind him, the three other runners and I, and the last two did wherever they could. Together, we carried enough chairs for our entire group of sixteen.
After the mad dash at 9 am, we didn't do an awful lot. We checked out the Lifest store and went back to camp. We didn't really do much until right before noon, when the first performance of Lifest started. The first one was a band called Adelaide. I saw them live for the first time a few years ago in Springfield IL at Powerlight Fest.
(Adelaide)
After that, there wasn't an awful lot I wanted to do until quite a bit later. My friends and I wanted to get a good view during Thursday's headliner so we started standing at the front around 4ish. I had not really listened to the next band, Bonray, much but you can bet that I will be listening to them a bit in the future. Bonray had good energy that I enjoyed. Then it was Unspoken. They were really fun. In their introducing the band, they played music they listened to growing up. One of which my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed. The Macarena.
(Unspoken)
(Kari Jobe)
There was a bit of a gap between Kari Jobe and the next band's performance, so my group was able to rest our legs and sit for a while. I just got more and more excited because the next group was for King & country. They were back at Lifest again. Last year was super rainy and they still performed IN the rain! It was one of the best performances I had seen. One of my friends had never seen anyone live before and she was loving Lifest so far. Now one of the other young ladies with me were basically fK&c show veterans, and we knew that she would love them. for King & country brought a lot of energy and said they had to come back this year because we had all braved the rain last year.
(fK&c 2019)
They had released their newest album recently and were playing many of the songs off it. There was lots of dancing, and even more singing at the top of my lungs. I have never had a bad concert with them. I don't think I ever will. Even though my legs hurt, and I was tired from singing and dancing all day, I caught their energy.
I wish I could put all three days into one post, but it's WAY too long. So keep an eye out for more posts! Comment below on what you want me to post about and don't forget to give me a follow! Thanks for reading!
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