Christian Music Online

Owosso band lands a spot in Christian music festival

June 3, 2005 – 6:48 pm

Owosso band lands a spot in Christian music festival Blitzfest bound: Lifted practices at a coffee house in Owosso.

• Who: Lifted

• The style: Hard rock

• You’ll like them if you’re into: Seether

• Sound: Jagged guitar riffs, soaring melodies and a feel-good groove.

• Online: http://www.lifted-music.com

Catch them live

• Blitzfest 2005, a two-day, outdoor, family friendly Christian-rock festival featuring seven stages, 75 bands, a skate park, speakers and seminars, sports tournaments and more.

• The event is Friday and Saturday; Lifted plays at 4:45 p.m. Saturday on the Rock Stage

• Lyon Township Park, 5800 Grand River Ave., New Hudson.

• Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door. Children 6-11 $17 in advance, $20 at the door. Group rates available. Order online at www.blitzfest.com
By Anne Erickson | For the Lansing State Journal

If Lifted was looking for a sign that what it was doing was on the right track, it just got it. Last month, the hard-rock group placed in the top three out of 10 bands at Battle for Blitzfest.

The battle pitted local acts against each other to earn a stint at Blitzfest 2005 - a two-day Christian rock festival in New Hudson, 55 miles southeast of Lansing, featuring 75 bands. For placing third, Lifted earned a spot on Saturday’s Rock Stage.

Lead singer/guitarist Dan Bennett discovered Battle for Blitzfest surfing the Internet. The festival’s line-up caught his attention: modern Christian-rock mainstays like Skillet, Pillar, Thousand Foot Krutch, Kids in the Way and Falling Up were headlining. Graced with an opportunity to play alongside his favorite groups, Bennett entered.

“When I saw that there was actually a chance to get in a battle and play on one of the stages, with bands like Skillet and Pillar,” Bennett said, “that’s what we needed to get to.”

The rest is history.

This isn’t the first time Lifted has taken a victory lap around its hometown of Owosso. Last November, the group took first place out of 10 bands at the Shiawassee County Battle of the Bands. It won over judges with a modern-rock blend of jagged guitar riffs, soaring melodies and, of course, an earnest enjoyment of entertaining: “I pretty much live for the live portion,” Bennett said.

The Shiawassee win came one year after the group’s inception in 2003. From the get-go, Lifted was a family affair. Bennett’s wife, Brenda Bennett, was schooled on bass; his brother Dustin Bennett was a drummer.

This past February, the group added a new family member - sort of. Guitarist Mario Warfield came on board. According to Dustin, he’s “pretty much family now.”

With the augmented line-up, Lifted re-crafted its songs. War-field added sonic texture. The new-and-improved Lifted totes a heavy groove; as Dan put it, “it’s bob-your-head-type music.”

Even with the changes, the band’s songs remain true-to-life.

“I’ve always stuck with ‘write about what you know,’ ” said Dan, the group’s main lyricist. “I try to show that, yes, life is sometimes hard, but resolution does come.”

“You’re not going to feel any lower than before you listen to one of our songs.”

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