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Grab your tents and waterproof gear, because the festival season has officially been kicked off.  On May 4th and 5th, Agape Music Festival rocked the little town of Greenville, Illinois. Students from Greenville College, located 40 miles east of St. Louis, hosted the annual event.

The festival started on Friday evening with the alternative sounds of Bleach and Relient K.  This was followed up by the San Diego-based Switchfoot. The Grammy-nominated band led the crowd through a collage of favorites from New Way to be Human and their latest release, Learning to Breathe. 

Rebecca St. James captivated the crowd with her long set of recognizable tunes.  Her challenge to the youth in attendance was to remain sexually pure and hold onto the promise that God will provide our needs if we give him our lives.

The O.C. Supertones headlined the evening with a set that included mostly songs from their latest CD, Loud and Clear.  Normally the crowd would have been moshing and skanking throughout the entire set, but there was nothing of the sort.  Shortly before the concert, a DJ from the local radio station came out and asked the crowd not to mosh.  This wasn't a complete drawback, but it certainly deterred the crowd's enthusiasm.

Nevertheless, the Supertones kept all the energy on the stage.  Toward the end of the set, the Tones brought out the self-labeled "old school" music for all of the faithful fans.  Needless to say, the older music didn't sound much off from the newer music we all recognize.  They played favorites like, “Supertones Strike Back”, “Chase the Sun”, and “Resolution.” 

Friday night ended with a rare glimpse of the Supertones leading Praise and Worship to the thousands gathered under the beautiful starry night.  The Supertones are currently headlining the Loud and Clear Dance Party tour, along with Switchfoot and Relient K.

Saturday started bright and early with praise and worship.  This was followed by the annual ritual of letting the 3 winners of the Greenville College battle of the bands play for 30 minutes each.

For the past 5 years, Greenville College has been the breeding ground for a number of artists in Christian music, including Jars of Clay, Sarah Jahn, Stereo Deluxx, Mark Lockett (The Normals), and Miguel DeJesus (Smalltown Poets).  Agape festival gives an opportunity for talented bands from the college to showcase their music.  This can be the chance of a lifetime for some bands.

The first GC band, Edward's Pocket, was not much to get excited about. Second up were college kids from the punk-crazy-pseudo band Wallmart. Although they used a clever name, this was nothing that you could stock on a shelf or place in an aisle.  Point being, there is a good chance you may never find Wallmart at Wal-Mart.

The third GC band to play was For All the Drifters.  They displayed a great new talent with clever tunes and ability to  perform a clean song.  Watch for this band to get signed fast.  They are well on their way.

During the afternoon, the crowd flowed between sets.  There was an all-day sports competition taking place in a small grassy field.  The sports were aimed at college kids and included Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, Basketball, and Volleyball.  It was a great time to play sports and hear your favorite bands from the main stage.

The afternoon favorite was Tree 63.  This new band from South Africa wowed the crowd with their polished, U2 sound.  From a distance, people thought they heard U2 when Tree 63 covered "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

The festival featured some of the best mid-sized bands in Christian music including: Smalltown Poets, The Normals, and Luna Halo.  The Grammy nominated Smalltown Poets showed off their talents as they played new songs from their latest CD, Third Verse.  Frontman Michael Johnston challenged people to enjoy the mystery of God, and know that Christianity doesn't have to be a life lived in a box.

Nicole Nordeman was next on the bill.  If you haven't been able to see her in concert, please try to catch her at a festival. Oftentimes, performers assume that the crowd can understand and follow the song lyrics.  The artists pours his/her entire heart into a 3 minute song, and the crowd doesn't usually see everything surrounding the process.  It was refreshing to actually hear and understand the beautiful lyrics written from journeys in Nicole’s life.  Unlike the other performers, she actually explained the songs and where she was coming from when they were written.  Nicole has filled the Cindy Morgan gap for this new century.

The biggest highlight of the festival was the band Salvador, a Latino band, adding a twist of salsa to the evening.  Salvador showed incredible musicianship while mesmerizing the audience with the Latin-style music. Frontman Nick Gonzales was an excellent spokesperson for the band.  He used the right blend of humor and transparency to show the crowd a personal side of Salvador.  During the night Nick said, "I know what you are thinking. You are looking up here saying...'These guys are pretty cool.'  And you know what?   You're right."  While on stage, Gonzales used his quirky personality and festive music to allow Christians to see that people can have fun and be real as Christians.

After the set, Nick and his bandmates cleaned up all of their own equipment in record speed.  It was amazing to see a band of real people and not rock stars.  This genuineness won the hearts of Agape attendees.  However, there was a drawback:  headlining act Caedmon's Call's set became less appealing after the Salvador show and the hour-long setup wait.  Many attendees left with a smile after Salvador.

Houston-based Caedmon's Call delivered a great show, but it would have been better placed earlier in the day.  They captivated the dwindling crowd with favorites from 40 Acres.  It would have been a perfect set, but they failed to play the romantic's favorite, "Table for Two."  The night died down with a light rain and the melodic choruses of Caedmon's Call under the overcast skies.