Contemporary Christian Festival
whatzup Pick
By Deborah Kennedy
It's not every day that contemporary Christian music fans have a chance to see some of their favorite acts for free on the same day, in the same place. On Saturday, August 11, four of the brightest stars of the Christian music firmament – singer-songwriter Sara Groves, Christian pop/rock artist and author Andrew Peterson, and husband-wife folk duo Over the Rhine – will take the stage on Grace College's Tabernacle Lawn for an evening of song and spirit.
Minnesota native Sara Groves has been writing songs since she was four years old. She is a Dove Award-nominated recording artist with 14 albums to her credit, including 2005's much-lauded Add to the Beauty and 2017's Abide with Me. In addition to work as a musician, Groves is a dedicated activist, and she has worked with Justice Mission for the last 12 years to advocate for victims of human trafficking.
Andrew Peterson got his start in music touring the country with his wife, treating audiences to sets of intimate, original work. In 1998, Caedmon's Call frontman Derek Webb came across Peterson's website and was immediately impressed with his talent as a songwriter. A recording contract with Watershed/Essential Records followed, as did an album of songs for children and a series of fantasy books for young adults. The incredibly prolific Peterson has a new, two-part album out – this year's Resurrection Letters: Prologue and Resurrection Letters: Volume One.
Over the Rhine is the husband-wife duet otherwise known as Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, who named themselves after a historic neighborhood in Cincinnati where they met. Originally a quartet, Bergquist and Detweiler now shoulder the entirety of their spooky, romantic, and cerebral sound. They've put out 16 albums in their 27 years together and garnered fans all over the U.S., bridging the gap between Christian and popular music and reminding listeners that at the heart of soulful music is a shared understanding of our common humanity.