Four contemporary Christian music groups took the stage Saturday at Old Field Beach by Indian Lake, performing for thousands of people gathered by the shoreline for the ninth annual Rock the Lake concert hosted by Rise FM (formerly Shine FM).
However, the concert almost didn’t happen as planned, Rise FM representatives report.
Twelve hours before the concert was slated to begin, Rise FM Operations Director and RTL Coordinator Angie Miller received a call that the opening band, Red Rocks Worship, missed their connecting flight and wouldn’t make it in time for the concert.
While the Rise team worked to find a replacement, Miller also was contacted by one of the other groups, well-known Christian band Sidewalk Prophets. She learned that their bus had broken down in Louisville, Ky.
“True to the name of the station, we saw people rise to the occasion and a replacement band was found and replacement bus brought Sidewalk Prophets and the show went on,” representatives said.
Opening band Safe Kept from Marion warmed up the crowd with traditional favorites, as well as some original music. The energy continued with Tasha Layton, who returned to the Rise FM stage for her third time to sing her hits, “Into the Sea (It’s Gonna Be Okay)” and “Look What You’ve Done” along with a set of uplifting and inspiring songs.
Dove Award winners Sidewalk Prophets kept the hits coming, rocking out for the crowd with new hits such as “Don’t Sweat It” and provided encouragement with old favorites like “Words I Would Say,” “Live Like That” and “Come to the Table.”
After a powerful message from Layton, the music ramped up again with headliner Danny Gokey. Former American Idol semi finalist, Gokey is well known by Christian music fans for his hits “Rise,” “Stand in Faith,” “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” and many more.
His high energy, encouraging music kept the fans on the beach even through the brief rain storm that traveled through.
Some who were in attendance shared “It was awesome”, “Great worship, great music on a beautiful summer night” and expressed their thanks to the radio station.
Rise FM is a local contemporary Christian radio station with signals in Bellefontaine, Kenton, and Tiffin, as well as Mansfield, Ashland, Wooster and Canton. They just celebrated their 10 year anniversary in May.
Rise FM hosts free concerts for Christian music fans thanks to local business partners such as RV Wholesalers and Colepak. The full list of sponsors is at rockthelakeohio.com. Check out the Rise FM website (risefmohio.com) for more information about upcoming concerts.