Greenville College Presents AgapeFest 2011 April 29 & 30

Published: April 13, 2021

Greenville College announces the 35th annual AgapeFest featuring Third Day, NeedToBreathe, Hawk Nelson, Tenth Avenue North, and Lecrae. AgapeFest will be held at the Bond County Fair Grounds on April 29 and 30 in Greenville, IL. Additional acts include Group1Crew, Remedy Drive, Sidewalk Prophets, 33Miles, Abandon, Eleventyseven, Chris August, VOTA, Philmont, Random Hero, Photoside Caf, Stars Go Dim, and News from Verona with The Madison Letter opening the event Friday night.

On their latest album, The Outsiders, NeedToBreathe seamlessly blends ambient, arena-ready soundscapes with a decidedly Southern sensibility. Although the band defies any restrictions to the style of music they play, NeedToBreathe has a very clear idea of how they want their songs to sound and AgapeFest welcomes this sound to the main stage Friday night. NeedToBreathe will leave the AF stage to join Taylor Swift's summer tour as her featured opening act.

Influenced by the Southern rock of Lynyrd Skynyrd and other artists such as U2 and Rich Mullins,
Multi-platinum-selling rock band Third Day has played for millions of fans in numerous sold-out arenas around the world and will close down the main stage at the end of AgapeFest this year. The band has garnered 25 No. 1 singles across multiple formats-not to mention armloads of Grammy and Dove Awards.

The 35th year of AgapeFest is sure to be memorable as it's the largest in the festival history brining in over 50 artists to perform. WIBI's Opening Act and Greenville College Battle of the Bands winners will join the main stage on Saturday and the addition of a new Third Stage will allow the festival to serve the hard rock crowd. AgapeFest's new partnership with Greg Oliver Agency (GOA) improves the Second Stage lineup to bring in national touring acts like 33 Miles, Abandon, Rush of Fools, Jonny Diaz, and Finding Favour.

AgapeFest offers more than just music. Activities like laser tag, paintball and ultimate Frisbee will take place throughout the weekend as well as a variety of ministry opportunities with organizations like Interlinc and International Crisis Aid. Festivalgoers also enjoy the autograph tent, vendor pavilion and free camping.

AgapeFest was created by Greenville College students and continues as a student-coordinated festival, with the guidance of a small cabinet of faculty and administrative staff. As they work through the challenges of producing a Christian music event of this size, Greenville College students experience the music industry in the backyard of their college home.

"AgapeFest is the biggest and arguably coolest student project around," explained AgapeFest 2011 student director Chris Emanuel. "We work hard all school year, meet deadlines, and work with booking agents, managers, caterers, etc., and at the end of the year we can sit back and watch all of our hard work play out at an awesome music festival."

A student volunteer cabinet is charged with oversight of numerous areas of responsibility, including artist relations, security, media/PR, ministry, volunteers and grounds. Under their supervision, additional student volunteers focus on and contribute to a specific facet of the festival, while learning the ins and outs of what it takes to plan, market, and ultimately implement the 35-year strong event. Although a great deal of learning takes place through the process, student staff maintains a level of professionalism that rivals other corporate-run festivals.

"Some think the College must be mad to entrust our festival to the students. We disagree. This is one way in which we prove the value of a Greenville College education. This will be the 35th year that students have shown us that they have what it takes, and we are proud of them," said Dr. Ivan Filby, faculty advisor to AgapeFest.

Since 1977 the student-coordinated festival has featured top-selling songwriters and performers in the contemporary Christian music industry. The first student director, Chris Marsh, was pleased to host approximately 1,000 young people to the Agape Music Festival (as it was previously known), but the true fruits of this labor were displayed when speaker Bob Laurent gave an invitation to accept Christ. "A high school-aged girl came running up to the front," Marsh said. "I can't recall how many came forward that night, I think it was something like 29, but that first girl gave me an immediate sense of satisfaction that God had used us."

The festival has grown in numerous ways in its thirty-five years. The one-day is now a two-day festival and hosts a variety of artists on three stages instead of one. Attendance has grown from 1,000 people in 1977 to a festival high of 6,500 in 1990, and typically averages around 5,000. Once a modest production held on the college soccer field, AgapeFest now makes its home at the Bond County Fairgrounds. A growing list of vendors serves the large festival crowd.

Advance ticket purchases can be made through iTickets (www.itickets.com or 800-965-9324). Gate ticket prices are slightly higher. For more information, visit www.agapefest.com or call (618) 664-1806.

Gates open at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 29 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30. Main stage music begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

For more information contact media@greenville.edu.