As the final dress rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games was talking place, more than 700 musicians and punters who attended ACAN’s Forest Edge Christian Music Festival just outside Melbourne on the LaTrobe River at the weekend, were arriving home.
While Melbourne is now set to host the biggest event the city has ever staged, ACAN’s four day creative arts festival featured 50 aspiring and established acts representing a wide variety of music from P&W, to soul, ska, punk, metal, R&B, folk and pop.
Punters hailed performances from Melbourne’s funky R&B singer Tania G, Sydney’s dynamic rock worship act Christian City Youth, and one of Victoria’s leading indie acts, Sounds Like Chicken as some of the weekend’s highlights.
The festival unearthed several gems including Sydney breezy-rock band The View, WA six-piece 24 Feet, Tamworth singer songwriter Jess Hammond, plus the fresh faced Melbourne trio Best Before.
Teenage singer songwriter Yelka Ishmakovich won the 2006 Forest Edge Talent Quest.
A significant element of the festival is its stirring series of seminars on music and social justice.
Hugh Evans, founder of The Oak Tree Foundation inspired participants to make a difference in the lives of people suffering in parts of Africa.
Management Consultant Anton Bekker asked churches to disciple Christian artists and treat them as well as they do preachers.
And concert promoter Vic Campbell’s session Engaging the Culture, challenged Christian artists to be culturally relevant.
Ask people what attracted them to the festival, and while many admit to enjoying the diversity of the music, the quality performances and access to artists, personal entertainment ranks surprisingly low on the list.
What seems to make this festival stand out, even after a two-year hiatus, is the discovery that the concerts and seminars themselves aren’t as anticipated as the discussion they provoke over a coffee.
Maybe the best way to describe Forest Edge 06 is to say it is as an oversized party for Australian Christian musicians, families, and youth groups.
But it is the camaraderie that results that draws in all who attend to make the event something special.
Source: TRAA