TIS THE SEASON FOR FESTIVAL ANXIETIES AND DILEMNAS!

 

Divine Martyr, Get To The Point Festival. (Thought you might rather see them performing than the often used photo of yours truly with the band.)

Okay, who do I go listen to this year? Divine Martyr for the second time? True Revival for the first time? The Daniel Band for the first time in person, 42 years after the first time I heard them perform on a radio program?

And where's "Get To The Point" festival when you need it?!

Two years ago, I learned of Always One Ministry and their concerts: the two day, two stage summer Kingdom Come Festival (which expanded to 2 1/2 days last year) and the Pit in the fall. Unable to make it to either of those festivals.

And the same was true last year as well! However, I had an alternative. Did you ever hear of "Get To The Point" festival? Oh yeah, I did mention that a couple of paragraphs earlier.

This year? I might finally make it to KCF this year! It's only an hour away, after all. Though it had some competition. I have to choose between which two of my favorite bands I should support! Do I go hear True Revival at a bikers rally? Or do I go hear Divine Martyr and others in Kokomo?

Hush Harbor at Get To The Point

One thing I'd love to do is get better photos of artists. I had a photo of another of my favorite groups, Reclaim The Day, but it's blurred. (They'll be at KCF, but unfortunately on Friday, while I'm working.😢) I also took one of Scott Shireman, drummer of Hush Harbor, but it's also blurred! (Hush Harbor will be at KCF, but unfortunately they'll be at the Thursday night kick-off while I'm getting ready to sleep so I can work Friday.😥.) I did get a good one of me with Divine Martyr. Fortunately, I didn't take that ... I mean, it wasn't blurred.

Last year's Saturday line-up was fantastic, but it would have had me going from one stage to the other a couple of times. This year, Saturday has a good line-up, but this time, the artists I want to see are all on one stage, starting out with BRVVE (who I heard at "Get To The Point", performing as Brave WRSHP). 

Reclaim The Day, with BRVVE on left

Of course, there are bands I'd like to hear that I won't be able to. Undefeated will be there Friday. Zahna has a Friday acoustic set (I'd love to hear that) and closes the festival at midnight on Saturday (definitely past my bed-time). Theody, Forsaken Hero, and True Revival were there last year but not this year. And Worhol and Daniel Band have yet to be there!

Speaking of Daniel Band, they're going to be in concert on Labor Day weekend! But two things against hearing my favorite metal band. 1) They're further away (in Ohio). 2) Unlike KCF, it costs!

Back to KCF. I'm thinking of volunteering, so please pray about that. Should I spend my first time at the festival just enjoying it, or should I serve my brothers and sisters in Christ? Also, I want to be an encouragement to the fellow musicians, so pray about this. 

And keep KCF and other Christian festivals this summer up in prayer (including True Revival's Biker Rally this Saturday). Allow me to post the schedule so you'll be able to pray for the artists.

 

FESTIVALS, FATHER'S DAY, PROVIDENCE, PRAYER, SPIRITUAL WARFARE, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND REVIVAL

Divine Martyr and ... Hey, who's the party crasher on the left?

 

With no children (nor nephews or nieces, and not surprisingly, no grandchildren) and both Becky's and my fathers gone, Father's Day isn't a big thing. But that leads me to a question: Am I, at 62.67 years old, too old to adopt a rock band, or maybe a Southern Gospel quartet? Or should I be content at being an Uncle.

And thus begins a blog where I hit several topics (in case you can't guess from the title).  And I took Father's Day out of order, but I'll keep going.

So:

FESTIVALS!!!  

I first heard of Kingdom Come Festival (KCF) last year, even though it has been going on for years about an hour's drive away. Didn't make it last year, and planned to this year. And the Saturday line-up had several bands I wanted to hear: True Revival, Forsaken Hero, Reclaim the Day, and Theody (all of which I've interviewed) as well as others. 

But then, I heard about Get To The Point Festival, which also had Reclaim the Day and five other acts, such as Divine Martyr who I'd miss out at KCF because they perform Friday. Plus, it was indoors instead of outdoors, half the distance that KCF is, and friendlier to Becky's and my schedule. (Festivals like this are more my style than Becky, and she's more into Southern Gospel.) 

So last Saturday (June 11, '22) I drove to the Point Church and Community Center and had the honor of hearing great music, by Inarticulate Bones and Brave WRSHP and the bands Tempus Unum, Hush Harbor, Divine Martyr, and Reclaim the Day. I got to hear great songs including Fear (Divine Martyr's latest), Relief (Tempus Unum, not yet available on streaming), Sentenced to Life (one of five excellent songs on Reclaim The Day's just released EP), and Testimony (Hush Harbor). 

But if you missed Get To The Point, then get to Kingdom Come! It starts tonight (June 16, '22) including interviewees Undefeated and Samuel Day, and as I said, is the following two days all day on two different stages!

PROVIDENCE

Technically, I could go to KCF, but I figured time wise I needed to choose between the two festivals. Well, two things happened after I decided to go to GTTP instead of KCF. First, I learned a friend of mine was having a retirement party when I would have been at KCF. Then this week, I was asked to help in the sound/camera booth at church during a funeral that again is at the same time of KCF. It seems God was pleased for me to enjoy a festival, and I chose the one I could attend.

PRAYER

So I won't be present at KCF but I will be there in spirit. Or to move from cliche to what I mean, I will be praying from here in Indianapolis while the concert is going on. I have my cell phone calendar ready to give a reminder so I can pray for my favorite artists as they're performing, as well as for KCF itself. Would you like to join me? I have the schedules for the two pages at the bottom of this blog so you can know who to pray for.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Are Christian musicians entertainers or ministers? I've always believed Christian artists, especially the cutting edge ones, are on the front line, invading the enemy's territory, and the enemy is ready to fight.

That belief was confirmed last week. Becca Sugg, lead vocalist for Reclaim the Day, fell and broke her nose and lacerrated her tongue. Was that a coincidence it was close enough to the concert she wondered if she could perform? I don't think so. Was it a spiritual attack? Good luck proving me it wasn't.

ENCOURAGEMENT

One of my heroes is Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement. I love encouraging Christians in ministry. Yes, that includes pastors and missionaries, but as I'm an artist (do you all know I've written songs, novels, and worked in ceramics and drawing?) I also like ... rather love to encourage Christian artists, be it authors, singers/bands, or visual artists.

I had the honor of meeting some of the musicians at the Festival, such as Reclaim the Day's Becca Suggs, Scott Shireman (Hush Harbor's drummer, and hopefully a soon to come interviewee) and Woody Hughes and Mark McKowen of Divine Martyr. Hopefully, I was able to be an encouragement by being there. 

REVIVAL

Actually, I could consider this to fall under "encouragement" except instead of me being the encourager, I'm being the encouragee. Several of the artists made it clear they would love to have non-Christians in the audience so they can hear the Gospel.

Since it was my first time at The Point, I may have been in the Sanctuary without realizing it. One hint were the altars on either side. Becca Sugg pointed them out and encouraged those who needed to get right with God or had prayer needs to make use of them.

Yep, this concern for the lost, and the love for others shown throughout the concert encouraged me. 

Are you going to Kingdom Come Festival? Have you gotten to hear any of the artists I mentioned or any that are listed on the schedule for KCF (including interviewees Gold Frankincense and Myrrh)? And a reminder to use the schedule as a prayer guide.

 

KCF 22 Main Stage Schedule

KCF 22 Redemption Stage Schedule

INTERVIEW WITH WOODY HUGHES, BASSIST OF DIVINE MARTYR

https://www.divinemartyr.com
 

Divine Martyr; L-R Jason Hyde (Guitar), Olivia Guetle (Vocals, Cello), Mark McKowen (Drums, Keys), Woody Hughes (Bass)

"The music of Divine Martyr reflects life. A life of struggle, and yet one of hope. One of importance, bringing forth the message of our Messiah through trial and tribulation, and remembering those who have given all for their faith. For life is not without struggle, and yet through struggle we persevere. So we run but do not grow weary, playing to an audience of One..." - Jason Hyde, from the heading "Mission" on Divine Martyr's webpage.

I enjoy all my interviews. There are some, though that I'm absolutely excited when I research the interviewee and read their answers. I'm excited about this one. So be sure to check out their webpage below.

JR: Welcome to the blog. When and how did the band get started, and how did you decide on your name? Who's in the current line-up?

WH: I really felt there was a need to minister to those who didn’t feel comfortable going to church. Maybe because they didn’t feel “worthy” to walk into a church or maybe they didn’t even feel worthy of God’s love. So, I placed an ad on Craigslist in 2016, got a reply from Dan Klinger, a guitarist who was from the Indianapolis area, and he and I started to jam in both of our garages. About a month into it, our current drummer, Mark McKowen, answered the ad and we all started practicing together and putting together ideas for songs. Shortly after, Dan left the band, and then a few months later Jason Hyde auditioned for the role of guitarist, and we figured out quickly how awesome he was and asked him to join. I knew our original vocalist, Darlene Parson, from the Vineyard Church in Greenwood, so I asked her to join us and that’s how the band started.

The name, Divine Martyr, came from Dan. I instantly loved the name because I believe that we as Christians should be willing to be martyred for what we believe in because the Bible says that in the last days we must choose between God and man when we are persecuted. Dan was gracious enough to allow me to use the name after he left.

Our current line-up consists of Mark on drums, Jason on guitar, me on bass, and we have a new vocalist and cellist, Olivia Guetle. We’re really excited about Olivia. She’s got an awesome voice and she’s a great fit to the band. The fact that she can add cello to our songs adds yet another layer of ambience and ether to our songs that really continues to define the “symphonic” aspect of our music that we’ve always envisioned.

JR: Could you tell us about your latest project?

WH: We’re releasing three new songs here shortly. We will be releasing our new song, "Fear," on June 10th, the day before our Get to the Point show. We will then be releasing a first ever instrumental entitled "Mystique" on June 24th, and finally, a cover of a popular CCM song by Kari Jobe called "Forever." We have a date in mind for the release, but it may slip due to some scheduling in all of us getting it tracked with Marcus over at Reclaim the Day. He’s our tracking and mixing engineer by the way and we’re excited about Fear so we’re using him for the other songs as well. We’ve developed an excellent relationship with him and his wife Becca. They’re pretty cool.

JR: As I looked at your website, I was impressed with your Mission. Would you like to share it with us? How did you develop it?

WH: To add to my first answer, I think that in the last six years that we’ve been together we all have seen a real need in the Christian community for outreach to those who don’t feel comfortable in a church setting. To be honest, the church in America has grown stagnant. We’re not afraid to say it. Its message has been watered down. We don’t believe that the church is doing a good job in reaching out to people and meeting their needs. It’s time for a change. It’s long overdue. So, it’s time for us to get out there and go where the Lord leads us. We don’t care where we must go. If we can do it financially, we’ll go anywhere.

JR: What would you say were the most memorable moments of your ministry as a band, such as recording, concerts, after-concert pizza raids, etc.?

WH: We always talk amongst ourselves about the opportunity to open for Disciple, but where I think we were able to minister the most effectively was at the Water Bowl in Muncie Indiana on Easter weekend in 2019. We were the only Christian band among about five other bands with one of them being an outwardly Satanic band. Those are the places where we need to be. And what’s interesting is that that show was where we felt the most welcomed by the fans. We’ve found that the secular community is more supportive of our religious stance then the Christians who think ministering using heavy metal is “sinful”. And that’s another issue of ours – The church in America doesn’t want to support those of us who are using traditionally “alternative” means to celebrate God, i.e. heavy metal. The church doesn’t seem to want to be involved unless it’s standard CCM worship.

JR: If you could address the American Church, what would you say we need to be doing to return to our First Love? Related, when you all are discouraged, where do you tend to find encouragement and inspiration?

WH: The church must teach the Bible with no reservations but in complete love. Right now, churches are teaching love, but with reservations on what exactly to discuss on Sunday mornings as to not offend people. To be frank, if you go to a church and they’re preaching the Bible and it offends you, then you need to hear it. Church leaders need to ensure that its member’s needs and their family’s needs are met. More things like feeding the hungry and visiting the sick needs to happen consistently and on a regular cadence. Not just on Thanksgiving and around Christmas.

JR: Thank you for your time. I know you'll be at the Get To The Point Festival in Greenwood, IN, June 11th, and the following Friday (I believe) you'll be at Kingdom Come Festival in Kokomo. Anything else on the horizon? Do you have any webpages to find out what's going on with your ministry?

WH: Yes, we’d love for everyone to make it to the Get To The Point Festival in Greenwood. That one is special to me personally since that’s my town. Also we’d love to see everyone at KCF in Kokomo.  And check out our Divine Martyr website (https://www.divinemartyr.com) to get a listing of all our shows and any new updates on what we may be doing. We have the month of June covered (the festivals mentioned above, and Mercy Jam in Jeffersonville, IN, June 25th), one show on July 3 (Audiofeed Music Festival 2022, Urbana, IL), and one on September 3 (Mosey Down Mainstreet, Lafayette, IN). Please spread the word. We’d love to do more shows this year. Thank you so much for allowing us to share our mission with you!