Rock the Desert

Rock The Desert is a Christian music festival held in Midland, Texas USA every August.

Rock the Desert began in August 2000 on the parking lot of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Midland, Texas. An idea birthed by Jeff Fouts, the associate Rector, to provide a free concert as a project to reach out to the church neighborhood has grown to become an area-wide event.

The first RTD drew more than 4,000 to the parking lot at Holy Trinity. In 2001, the event was moved to Beal Park by the RTD Planning Committee as an interdenominational event. The concert was headlined by Newsboys and expanded to include bands as well as skateboarding, extreme games a campout and the addition of a Jumbotron screen. The attendance grew to over 32,000.

In 2002, the event was expanded to three days and included highlights of the Christian Wrestling Team, Jedidiah Skateboarding and an authentic Sudanese village, which provided a hands-on ministry opportunity to concert-goers. Artists headlining the 2002 event were Mercy Me, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder Band, Toby Mac and Audio Adrenaline. Attendance topped the 90,000 mark.

In 2003, the event drew over 100,000, which touted a separate skateboard park and concert venue. The concert was headlined by Chris Tomlin, and Toby Mac. The worship service on Sunday morning continued to grow and provide a unique setting for Sunday morning worship with music provided by Watermark.

The concert for 2004 was to be both bigger and improved, with the addition of a new site at our permanent home and new headquarters at 2000 South FM 1788. This venue provides twice the area of previous years and onsite parking.

2008 Line-up

August 8th:
*Newsboys
*Brock Gill
*Family Force 5
*Group 1 Crew
*Paul Wright
*Needtobreathe

August 9th:
*Switchfoot
*Red
*Hawk Nelson
*Disciple
*Jimmy Needham
*Day of Fire
*The Wedding

References