Copious Notes

Wilmore-based Rookie is Landon Cunningham, Abe Parker and Grant Ebright. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.

WILMORE — The trio Rookie did a lot of the right things when they started performing together.

They picked bandmates they liked hanging out with. They defined a sort of jazzy edge to their sound that they say makes them different from most other Christian rock acts. They jettisoned a meaningless name, Auburn, for one that said something: Rookie, they say, is a commentary on the clumsiness with which most people go about their faith.

And they got the director of the Ichthus Festival to come see their show.

OK, that last element isn’t necessarily part of the prescription for most bands. And a few years ago, it might not have yielded much.

Kevin Young of Disciple performs on the main stage at Ichthus on the festival.

But, while Ichthus’ calling card is still chart-topping international Christian bands such as Skillet and Family Force 5, Kentucky musicians have had a growing role in the festival, whether it’s competitors in the fest’s 3-year-old battle of the bands, local rockers invited to perform on secondary stages, area church leaders playing during late-afternoon worship sessions, or the occasional national artist who resides right here in the Bluegrass.

“My family got to come out,” Disciple frontman and Central Kentucky resident Kevin Young said of the band’s Thursday main-stage set. “That’s why I like Ichthus a lot, because I actually get to do this and my family is close by. My daughter is 81/2 months old, and yesterday was her first Disciple concert. I didn’t get to see her face, but my wife said she was kicking a lot, so apparently she liked the music.”

The biggest concentration of local talent was earlier that day on the worship stage where bands competed in the third annual Ascenxion Scout Competition. The first year of the competition, three bands were selected in an online competition to play Ichthus stages. The past two years, the competition’s finals have been live the opening morning of the festival, meaning even if they don’t advance, all the competitors can say they played Ichthus.

They included 16-year-old Radfordville resident Allison Stafford, who said when she saw Christian rocker’s BarlowGirl at Ichthus two years ago, “I decided I wanted to do that.”

Playing a festival like Ichthus gives local acts, as well as other less familiar bands, a chance for people to run across their music as opposed to concerts or club dates, where a lot of people who come are already familiar with the band.

“We got a really good crowd response,” Landon Cunningham, Rookie’s drummer, said the day after their Friday set on the Edge Stage. “It’s great that they are providing this kind of opportunity to local bands,” he added, noting some other area acts such as Wilmore’s Shane Tracy Project also got moments in the spotlight.

A few locals even got main-stage shots: The Lee Roessler Band, which won the Ascenxion Scout Competition, and Lexington’s Too Many Drummers, which got there via another competition.

But possibly the most prominent local musicians on the Ichthus stage this year were area worship leaders who led devotional times late each afternoon.

Amaris Blevins sang with the worship "all-star team," at Ichthus on June 12.

A group from Quest Community Church and then a worship “all-star team” — comprising musicians from churches such as Southland Christian, Centenary United Methodist and Southern Acres — took the stage in the evenings, where nationally known artists used to play.

“It’s different from church,” said Amaris Blevins, a singer at Southland who was part of the team. “It was a lot more people and a different energy from church.”

And while the worship all-star team isn’t looking for a recording contract the way bands might, the musicians did appreciate the opportunity.

“I like that they’re getting more locals involved,” Jonathan Mckeowen, a guitarist with the group, said. “It used to be kind of hard to get in here.”

Ichthus CEO Merk Vermilion (left, 10 oclock) interviews Disciple (Kevin Young, Israel Beachy, Andrew Welch and Tim Barrett) for an Ichthus podcast. Photos by Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Disciple frontman Kevin Young met and married a Kentucky girl, so the band’s two Ichthus sets — Thursday afternoon on the main stage and Friday night at the Deep End — were home gigs for him.

Disciple

“My family got to come out,” Young said Friday afternoon. “That’s why I like Ichthus a lot, because I actually get to do this and my family is close by. My daughter is eight-and-a-half months old, and yesterday was her first Disciple concert. I didn’t get to see her face, but my wife said she was kicking a lot, so apparently she liked the music.”

Disciple’s two gigs at Ichthus were prime examples to the band of how much its fan base has changed over the past few years.

“If you come to one of our gigs, you’ll see a 60-year-old guy, and a 12-year-old guy,” Young says. “It doesn’t matter: guys with punk rock haircuts, guys with heavy metal hair cuts, guys in polo shirts, eight-year-old girls in Hannah Montana shirts — very diverse.”

It’s quite a diverse audience for a band that started out aiming for rebellious teenage boys that like heavy metal music.

“We basically wanted to play music that they thought was good so we could share our faith with them,” Young says. “That’s what minister to me meant as a kid, listening to Christian bands: their music was amazing, but they had an uncompromising message talking about their faith in Christ. With Christian rock music in my teenage years, I definitely know it had a huge impact on my relationship with Christ and a huge impact on why we do what we do.”

What Disciple is doing now is working on a new album and, “it has been a lot of fun. We’re having a blast writing songs and everything is going really well,” Young says.

Blast may be a really appropriate term.

The album’s tentative title is Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, referring to the Southern-ism that close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades.

And Young is entitled to use Southernisms. He is, after all, a Kentuckian now.

The first day of Ichthus 2009, the 40th edition of the Wilmore Christian music event, included rain and mud, a battle of the bands with mostly Kentucky acts, and an evening bill of Family Force 5 and Hawk Nelson.

Disciple lead singer Kevin Young plays to an appreciative crowd. By Rich Copley | LexGo.com.

Ichthus has had a hard time getting going today.

First, it was delayed by cleanup and set up after the thunderstorms that swept through earlier today and yesterday. Then, the festival shut down around 1:30 for about an hour due to rain and storms, though nothing serious came through. That put the festival about an hour behind.

Justin Lookadoo is now doing his talk at 8 p.m. that was supposed to start around 7. It could be a late evening with Family Force 5. That is, if more storms don’t come through. Ichthus just sent out a text advising us to be ready to seek shelter, as there are storms in the area.

Judging by the Twittersphere, Disciple is the band that kicked the festival into gear.

Skillet bassist and frontman John Cooper performed at Ichthus' opening night in 2008. They'll be back, this year. Photo by Rich Copley | LexGo.

The Ichthus Festival is still working on the overall schedule for its 40th edition, but it has locked in the headliners.

The nighttime pairings bring distinct flavors to each evening.  June 11 is very youthful, dancy rock with Family Force 5 and Hawk Nelson. June 12 looks to be rock night with Skillet and Kutless, and then things get worshipful on the closing night with Israel Houghton and New Breed and Delirious. Festival director Jeff James says they plan to make a big deal out of the Delirious set, as it will be the band’s last festival appearance. The groundbreaking worship band is splitting up later this year.

Other bands already announced include Fireflight, Disciple, Stellar Kart, and The Afters. We’ll let you know when acts are added.

Speakers already announced include Justin Lookadoo, whose Saturday talk last year included a skydiver, and Shane Claiborne, a Philadelphia-based minister whose Ordinary Radicals ministry was profiled in a film by the same name, which played at the Kentucky Theatre last year.

If you’re already planning to go, there are just a couple of weeks left before the next ticket price increase, March 14.

Ichthus and Winter Jam: Ichthus is also partnering with Winter Jam, which comes to Rupp Arena March 7, to round up volunteers. According to an Ichthus e-mail, the volunteer period would be from 3:30 p.m. until the end of the evening. If you’re interested, e-mail contactus@ichthus.org. Winter Jam features TobyMac, Hawk Nelson and others. We had a good interview with Toby that we’ll bring you next week here and in the paper.

Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love" earned the worship leader seven Dove Award nominations. Photo courtesy of EMI Christian Music Group.

Dove nominations: Late last week, the Gospel Music Association announced nominees for the 2009 Dove Awards, and once again, Chris Tomlin leads the pack. His most recent effort, Hello Love, helped him garner seven nominations and further solidifies his place as his generation’s Michael W. Smith.  Close behind the Texan are Natalie Grant and newcomer Francesca Battistelli, with five each.

Battistelli, by the way, is on the Winter Jam lineup. She made a big splash last year with I’m Letting Go.

This year, the awards are letting viewers weigh in on two key categories: Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year. Voting in these categories will begin Feb. 26 and go through the broadcast at 8 p.m. April 23. The fan vote will count as one-third of the overall vote in those categories. Here are those nominees:

• Artist of the Year: Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, Fireflight, Marvin Sapp, Third Day, TobyMac, and Chris Tomlin.
• New Artist of the Year: Addison Road, Francesca Battistelli, Fee, Jonathan Nelson, Remedy Drive, Chris Sligh, and Tenth Avenue North.

Click here for a complete list of nominees.

Once again, the Doves will be carried on the Gospel Music Channel, which is not available in Lexington on Insight cable. It is available on Dish Network at Channel 338. Click here if you’d like to send Insight a notice that you’d like to see GMC added to the lineup. Gospel Music Channel is available on other Central Kentucky cable systems.