FrontGate Media; the leading faith-based, culture-engaged media & marketing group, announced today the addition of Cornerstone Festival to their growing media group roster.
Created by the Chicago-based Jesus People USA, Cornerstone Festival is proving again to be the most creative and provocative of the nation’s festivals. With their incredible alternative musical line up, Flickering film screenings, Art Rageous, cstoneXchange, sports, on site Recovery Meetings, Children’s programs and more, since 1984 this alternative Christian lifestyle festival has pushed boundaries and challenged the concept of what a Christian festival “should” look like.
Now in its 28th year, Cornerstone Festival will be held June 30 – July 3 at the Cornerstone Farm in Bushnell, IL. Tickets are now available at www.CornerstoneFestival.com
The festival is just beginning to announce an incredible summer line up that will feature over 400 bands and artists on 18 stages including Anberlin, P.O.D, The Chariot, Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Daniel Amos, Brian “Head” Welch, Living Sacrifice, Andy Hunter and The Lost Dogs. The full lineup will be announced in the coming weeks, including many surprises.
This year’s festival will start out with a bang, featuring a Wednesday night dance party at Main Stage hosted by one of the most renowned DJs in the UK, Andy Hunter. Thursday night will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Jesus Revolution with an old-fashioned Jesus Rally. Many of the groundbreaking artists of the time, including Barry McGuire, Randy Stonehill, Daniel Amos, Resurrection Band, Phil Keaggy and Classic Petra will be performing. Friday will launch The Whosoevers’ Day, hosted by Brian “Head” Welch, formerly of Korn, and Sonny from P.O.D. In the coming weeks, we will be announcing this incredible line up.
In their quest to always be on the forefront of up and coming new talent, Cornerstone is once again hosting their New Band Showcase, where the festival and its fans scour the nation, looking for the latest undiscovered talent. Over the years, bands such as P.O.D, Sixpence None the Richer, Ester Drang, Eisley and Over The Rhine have been honored with this title and gone on to break new ground in the music industry. As an added bonus, winners from this year’s competition will be playing a set on the Main Stage, and a grand prize winner will be entered into a National Online contest where they could receive an invite to play at over 20 major festivals in 2012.
As is the custom of Cornerstone Festival being much more than music, there will be over 150 hours of seminars and workshops throughout the event, including children’s ministries such as Art Rageous. This giant art room will fuel the imagination and inspire a legion of kids at the event. Each evening, two tents will be featuring an assortment of films, guaranteed to be of interest to fans and aficionados of all ages. Keeping energy levels high, Cornerstone also features a sports track, including soccer tournaments, volleyball, basketball, canoeing, swimming, fishing and a skate park.
Cornerstone’s non-traditional approach and welcoming attitude has created a loyal fanbase that is unmatched. Every year thousands make their annual pilgrimage from all corners of the world to the farms of western Illinois for a week of worship, artistry, discussion, and celebration, ready to be challenged in their faith and their lives. Advertisers and sponsors find an audience that is passionate, extremely engaged, and dedicated to supporting this, their favorite Festival each year.
The CornerstoneFestival.com website is visited year-round as a resource to discover new bands and experience parts of the festival that may have been missed. With streaming videos, active blogs, music and fan discussions, and podcasts, the festival’s website is a vibrant addition to the full community offered by Cornerstone Festival and JPUSA.
Scott A. Shuford, founder of FrontGate Media, has experienced this festival and its fanbase firsthand. “We are honored to represent the most successful, unique and veteran festival event that is Cornerstone. People journey from all over the world to experience the Cornerstone Festival, and we at FrontGate are thrilled to create new connection points for companies and ministries with this audience.”
Cornerstone Festival (www.CornerstoneFestival.com) has been a fixture on the Christian Music scene for 28 years. Originally based 45 minutes north of Chicago, this annual event moved to its current 650 acre campground located in central IL in 1991. The festival launched in 1984 to meet the needs of a generation of music lovers and seekers that had not existed before, with the hope of bringing together great music, art, film, intelligent Christian thinking, ideas, family, worship, and play. For too long the Christian community had neglected Christian artists and musicians that didn’t fit into a narrow mold. Tackling real life issues was not a regular part of the Christian Music Festival agenda. Since inception, Cornerstone has highlighted music that was screaming to be heard and provided thousands of hours of seminars and workshops covering everything from personal life issues (sex, homosexuality, accountability, etc.) to social justice, being part of the global Christian community, caring for the poor, mission business, and hundreds of other topics over the years. People travel from all over the world to Cornerstone to hear and see the very best and most creative artists in the faith community across multiple artistic disciplines. Cornerstone is cultivating a way of being in the world that opens a path to a lifetime of individual growth and community.
FrontGate Media (www.FrontGateMedia.com) is the largest culture-engaged media group & marketing service reaching the faith and family values audience which represents $4.6 billion worth of Christian products purchased by consumers annually according to a recent article in USA Today. The firm is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2011. The FrontGate Media group provides reach to more than 15 million email subscribers, 25 million monthly page views, and 600,000+ at annual events. The media group is #1 in reach to several consumer and leadership demographics in the faith and family values audience including entertainment fans, music fans, church musicians and worship leaders, youth leaders and youth group students, and political conservatives. The company plays a key role in the success of movie studios, non-profit organizations, publishers and authors, record labels and artists and more seeking “creative & emerging media” outlets.
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