An Amazing Night!

When I was in 7th grade my friend Amy and I convinced her dad to drive us to Salt Lake City, UT (6 hours away) to see our favorite band, Bon Jovi.  Though we were 500 miles away from the stage (or so it seemed), it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life!  I'll never forget walking from hotel to hotel after the show hoping to get a glimpse of the group.

Last night I got to relive that experience in a totally new way, through my daughter's eyes.  Hannah has been in love with the band Hawk Nelson ever since we saw them at Revolve.  They were playing at our local amusement park last night for Kingdom Bound, and I decided to take Hannah.  She and her friend Zaryan made awesome shirts for the show and we met Zaryan at the park (she was staying there with her church youth group.).  

We descended upon the stage at 4:15, hoping to get as close to the stage as possible.  The first group to perform was called Hello Kelly.  They were awesome!  The lead singer has a severe stuttering impediment, but is able to sing, so he uses his singing voice to share his faith.  They were incredible!

HELLO KELLY

Here is some footage of Hello Kelly

At the end of Hello Kelly we were able to move right up to the fence that separated the crowd from the stage.  We were literally dead center.

The next group we saw was called Manafest.  They were a rap group.  I kept having to remind myself that they were rapping about God, but they were great too! 

MANAFEST

Check out this awesome drum solo.

After Manafest, there was a huge thunder storm, but we kept our spots, even as the rain poured down on us.  There was an amazing Christian speaker, Bob Lenz, and we enjoyed his presentation!

The next group was Manic Drive.  They were every bit as incredible as the other groups, where were these awesome Christian groups when I was young?

MANIC DRIVE

Finally, after 4 1/2 hours of standing, Hawk Nelson finally came on.  I wish you could have seen my normally reserved child come to life when the lead singer, Jason Dunn, stepped in front of her on stage.  She screamed, she sang, she jumped, she waved her arms like a crazy girl (and I have to admit, I did all of those things too).  They were incredible!  They played for 90 minutes with high energy and a catching enthusiasm, and we were almost close enough to touch them (I have never been that close to a band before in my life!).  Check out these pictures. No zoom needed.

HAWK NELSON

Here is some video footage of Hawk.

Just when I thought things couldn't get better for Hannah, they did.  We stood in line for an hour to meet the band and get their autographs.  When we got to the front of the line and the guys saw Hannah and Zaryan's shirts, they were so impressed.  They went on and on about how cool their shirts were.  The girls were so thrilled!  They even got to have their picture taken with the bass player (that is on Zaryan's camera).

What an awesome ministry these groups are providing.  I was so impressed with everything I saw!  My heart was bursting on the way home knowing that my daughter had just experienced a night she will never forget.

So, standing for seven hours and getting home at 1:30 am was TOTALLY worth it!