As a worship leader, I’m always on the lookout for new songs that will bring a fresh expression of worship to the church, and the festivals are a great place to find them. I served at two of this year’s Soul Survivor events, and attended the student equivalent, Momentum, as a punter, giving me a rounded perspective on this years offerings. Below are some of my thoughts – but first, a bit of a disclaimer: this has been put together via methods of hearsay and Google – not always the most reliable of sources. I apologise if I’ve failed to attribute songs to their writers, called the songs by the wrong name, or fallen asleep in a meeting and dreamt up a song that doesn’t exist. That, and this article is my opinion – others may have had a completely contradicting experience of a particular song. Nuff said.

// THE ARENA //

Since 2008, Soul Survivor have ditched the traditional stage approach for a stage in the middle of the big top (for the uninitiated in the art of the Christian festival, a giant tent, in this case capable of holding over 10,000 people). This has many major advantages – for a start, everyone’s closer to the stage, and the focus is moved from the stage to the crowd. It also allows the worship leader to face into the band, and gives ministry times an altogether more unified feel. And this year, Momentum followed suit.

However, there’s one major issue with the round approach – it’s a lighting engineers nightmare. With no backdrop to project onto, and an ‘audience’ that cannot see the stage floor because they are always below it, beyond people and objects, there is very little to shine your little bulbs at. That is, except the roof. Oh, and a giant glowing cross. This year, the geniuses in the production department added a third element – huge white banners hanging from the ten huge pillars which keep the canvas off the ground, and lighting them from the ground. The effect was stunning – check it out: http://www.flickr.com/photos/52867276@N05/4903709643/in/set-72157624697092370/. Read More »