Concert Review: Winter Jam : Charleston, WV

We Sing The Praises of Winter Jam 2012!

By: Danae Samms

Winter Jam kicked off its annual tour in January at the Civic Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Started by the group NewSong in 1995, the concert event has grown in popularity year after year. As always, tickets are $10 at the door. The concert features ten of the best Christian music artists and a couple of special guests.

Pre-show entertainment was on-hand to get the audience warmed up and ready for the main event. For King and Country, Dara Maclean and We as Human participated in a “Pre-Jam” party. Maclean and For King and Country are supportive of the OneVerse campaign to “End Bible Poverty.” You can find out more about this cause by visiting www.oneverse.org/winterjam.

After inspiring music from the three acts who “pre-jammed” with the crowd, the show officially got started with Group 1 Crew, a hip hop trio that knows how to have a good balance of rhythm and electric. With the excitement of their new album “Outta Space Love (Bigger Love Edition)” coming out this January, they kept up a high energy that made an awesome opening to the show. They sang several of their popular songs, including “Live it Up” and “Walkin’ on the Stars”, during which they worked in two costume changes.

They were followed by Building 429. Jason Roy led with talented vocals in their songs “Made for You”, “Listen to the Sound”, and “Where I Belong.” The band also featured Michael Anderson on drums, Jesse Garcia on guitar, and Aaron Branch on bass. Their powerful performance had fans wishing these gentlemen had more time on stage.

The Dove Award-winning group NewSong took their place onstage next. Their sound has more of a southern gospel ring to it, but they had a powerful stage presence and showed they were glad to be there. They did several of their well known numbers, including “Arise, My Love” and “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down”.

Up next was “Revelation Song” singer Kari Jobe. Kari took the stage like a pro and filled the coliseum with her strong voice. She made it easy to tell how much her heart is in her music. If you are interested in hearing more of Kari, her new album “Where I Found You” will be released later this month.

Peter Furler, former lead singer of the band Newsboys, was certainly a crowd pleaser. This March will mark three years since he left the group. Although working solo now, Furler is as strong as ever. He was joined on stage by former band member, Phil Joel. Together they performed “Breakfast,” “He Reigns,” and other fan favorite classics

The fun continued as Sanctus Real brought their energy to the stage. They gave a strong opening to the second part of the show with several of their songs including the well known “Lead Me” from the album “Pieces of the Heart.”

The final act of the night was the band Skillet, who gave a great finale with “Hero” and “Whispers in the Dark” amongst others. They took great advantage of the full space, using awesome pyrotechnics and lighting.

Between acts of the show, the audience was entertained by illusionist, Brock Gill. We don’t want to give anything away, but his tricks included chains, a casket of water, and a dirt bike.

Overall, Winter Jam was an amazing experience. At ten dollars a ticket for ten groups, this concert can’t be missed.

Find out more by visiting Winter Jam’s official site:

www.jamtour.com

More images from the show! (Click on a thumbnail to see the full image).

Building 429