Christian Music Online

Hunterdon County farm to host Christian music festiva

July 14, 2005 – 10:17 am

Hunterdon County farm to host Christian music festival - KINGWOOD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — “A clean Woodstock.”

That’s how Robert Grom describes the all-day Christian music concert he and his wife Kim are organizing for Aug. 13 on their Hunterdon County farm.

The Groms, in collaboration with about 50 area churches, have been putting together the event _ dubbed “Revelation Generation” _ for more than a year.

They’re expecting about 5,000 teenagers to flood their 100-acre horse farm for a day of Christian music interspersed with speakers warning kids about the dangers of drugs, premarital sex and alcohol.

The Groms, who have four children, said they decided to organize the event after hearing repeated stories about area teenagers overdosing and decided there was a need for a place where kids could come together in a positive atmosphere. Tents on the site will offer prayer and counseling.

“We’re trying to create a cool event that kids want to come to,” said Robert Grom.

To some, “cool Christian music” may seem an oxymoron. But Christian rock is growing in popularity, along with religious music in general.

According to a 2003 telephone survey by the Recording Industry Association of America, religious music ranked sixth in popularity ahead of jazz and classical music. The Gospel Music Association reports gospel music sales grew by more than 80 percent between 1995 and 2004.

Mike Nusser from the Cornerstone Christian Church in Flemington, who is helping the Groms organize the Hunterdon County event, said Christian rock is getting more popular simply because it’s getting better.

“Christian rock, it just didn’t sound that good,” said Nusser. “It was kind of cheesy.”

While in the past, Christian music has been limited to religious radio stations and music labels, Debra Akins, who writes about Christian music for Billboard Radio Monitor, says many artists are crossing over into mainstream music.

The Christian band Jars of Clay recently played at the Live8 concert in Philadelphia and another called Switchfoot made an appearance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and has a video playing on MTV and VH1.

Akins says the growing visibility of Christian music is partly because music labels are finally realizing there’s a huge market for it.

“It’s become more evident that there are more people out there who want more family-friendly entertainment,” said Akins.

The Groms got a crash course in Christian music when they first got serious about the concert idea. So far, they’ve signed nine bands, mostly rock, and a number of speakers.

Ticket prices range from $7.50 to $20, depending on age and how far in advance people buy their tickets. Any profits will go to Young Life, a New Jersey Christian organization to help children, although Kim Grom says she doesn’t expect they’ll make any money after expenses.

While there are many Christian music festivals around the country, including one in Pennsylvania that attracts hundreds of thousands every summer, Akins said there are relatively few in the Northeast and very few put on by private individuals.

The Groms say they intend to make this an annual event at their Revelation Farms, named after the Book of Revelation.

“The Bible says, ‘Make a joyful noise,”‘ said Kim Grom.
By REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press Writer

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