Soulfest

SoulFest is an annual Christian music festival held in New England. It currently takes place at the Gunstock Mountain Resort in Gilford, New Hampshire and features six stages and over 125 bands. This year, "SoulFest 08" took place from July 30 to August 2, 2008.

Christian music performances

The event is billed by the producers as the largest outdoor music festival event in New England. Featured on multiple stages, SoulFest has featured top national Contemporary Christian music acts such as Jars of Clay, Third Day, Barlowgirl, KJ-52, DecembeRadio, Jeremy Camp, Toby Mac, Kutless, Casting Crowns, Superchick, Bethany Dillon, Newsboys, Tree63 and Chris Tomlin. The event is also a showcase for the best of the Northeast's Christian bands, too, including [http://www.BillMallia.com Bill Mallia & The Gulf Stream Band] , Beyond Blue, Maeve, White Stone and Warrior Poets.

However, Soulfest also gives tribute to the hardcore scene, bringing in acts such as Pillar, Maylene and the Sons of Disaster, MxPx, August Burns Red, Disciple, Skillet, Flyleaf, Everyday Sunday, RED, Relient K, Haste the Day, and many other popular rock acts.

Stages

Soulfest has two major stages in the actual festival area. The biggest stage, the Revival Stage, hosts major name artists, such as Newsboys, Third Day and Jars of Clay, and houses well over a thousand people on the surrounding grounds. The next biggest stage is Inside Out Stage, which houses the more rock-oriented acts, such as Skillet, MxPx and Flyleaf.

There are also several smaller stages, entitled Mercy Street, Deeper Well, and Mountain Top Stage. The Mercy Street stage is inside of a large ski lodge near the main entrance of Soulfest. Although it hosts mostly smaller acts that are lesser known, big name acts sometimes play shows at this venue, usually late at night, at events called "Afterglows" which special tickets need to be purchased for.

The Mountain Top stage hosts mainly acoustic acts, and can be compared to a local coffee shop. At this stage, you can find artists like Maeve and Matt Maher, normally with just an acoustic guitar, but occasionally a piano or a small drum set will be played. The music is mostly soft acoustic praise music.

The Deeper Well stage is a stage in a small tent in the festival grounds. Very lesser known artists tend to play here, but generally, this stage hosts motivational speeches and testimonies from groups such as Hard As Nails Ministries.

Accommodations and parking

SoulFest will draw over 13,000 from all over the Northeast to spend 4-5 days in the Lakes Region, with some extending their stay for a vacation. There is onsite camping, offsite camping, local hotels, and condos. There are also plenty of rental properties available.

Gunstock Mountain Resort, host of the SoulFest, offers free parking for over 3000 cars while reserved parking is available for those who wish to have the closest 200 parking spots to the main entrance. Handicap and large vehicle parking are available as well.

External links

* [http://www.thesoulfest.com Official website]
* [http://www.thesoulfest.com/2008/soulfest/artists.html Artist lineup]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=40609907 Official Soulfest Myspace]
* [http://www.officialsite.com/asp/officialsite.asp?RegionId=132&CategoryId=3&ListingID=8936 Official Soulfest website at Gilford]