The first night of this year’s festival at Muskegon’s Heritage Landing drew more than 13,000 people for performances by Matt Maher, Brandon Heath and more. The recap at Local Spins.
Sunny Opening Day: Performer Laurel Taylor and Wednesday’s gathering crowd at Heritage Landing. (Photo/Terry DeBoer)
“I’ve got a friend who is trying to get me to come to Michigan for the whole summer,” singer-songwriter Matt Maher declared during his set at Wednesday’s opening night of the annual Unity Christian Music Festival in Muskegon.
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“I think God is just showing off tonight, this is beautiful,” he noted as he looked from the stage at the glowing sunset over the lakeshore setting.
An estimated crowd of 13,500 packed Heritage Landing on the free-admission, picture-perfect “Day Zero” of the four-day festival which began in fine style. (View a full festival preview and schedule at Local Spins here.)
Headlining Set: Matt Maher (Photo/Terry DeBoer)
Maher and his four bandmates spun out a generous 90 minutes worth of tunes, touching on pop, ballads, inspirational and worship themes. He opened with his version of “The Lord’s Prayer (It’s Yours),” and later offered up his anthem, “Your Grace Is Enough.”
“That song is now 21 years old,” he remarked of the tune which has been covered by numerous other faith-based artists and is sung in many contemporary worship churches. The audience had no problem singing along, as lyrics were projected with the artists images on the giant screens on either side of the stage.
Several newer songs brought intrigue with Maher’s telling of their backgrounds. “Only Good Will Grow” was inspired by musical legends Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and was recorded in a house on the Tennessee lake where both of them once lived. Maher wrote another song, “The In Between,” after viewing a scene from the biblically-based TV/film series “The Chosen.”
Earlier in the evening, singer-songwriter Brandon Heath also performed new as well as older songs, many of which were popularized on Christian radio, such as ‘”Give Me Your Eyes” and the acoustic “I’m Not Who I Was.” A nice contrast came with the bouncy “See Me Though It,” which scored a No. 1 hit on radio several years ago.
Brandon Heath (Photo/Terry DeBoer)
Accompanied by just a single keyboard and his guitar, the set’s most telling treatments came with his newer songs from his personal, forthcoming album, “The Ache.” The tender ballad “Can We Go Home Now?” was a highlight.
Two solo artists were up earlier in Wednesday’s lineup.
Christian rapper Bryan Terrell delivered a heart-felt message along with his beats. Drawing from his most recent album “Perfect Timing,” the Atlanta-based artist worked in some faith philosophy both inside and outside of his raps. He noted the disagreements in current culture which so quickly lead to discord and even hate.
“Agreement is not a prerequisite for love,” he reminded his listeners of faith’s challenge to love others beyond personal differences.
Nashville singer-songwriter Laurel Taylor opened the evening.
Emceed by Sean “Be” Rodriguez, who also performs this afternoon (Thursday), the festival continues with headliner Matthew West on Thursday, Zach Williams on Friday and We Are Messengers on Saturday. Gates open at 1p.m. View more details at http://www.unitymusicfestival.com/.
Wednesday’s Big Crowd: With three more days to come. (Photo/Terry DeBoer)
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