In early June, The (ONE)21 will be headed up to Snyder, TX to cover Red Letter Rock Festival 2009.  We were very fortunate to get to have a behind the scenes look at this awesome two day event that is kicking off  the summer Christian music festival season. Despite it’s size, Red Letter Fest is packing quite a line-up, filling every minute they have with great music, interesting talks, and overall fun.

We got a chance to ask festival director Reid Johnson a few questions about the history of this event and what things are going to be like this year.  If you are anywhere near Texas in early June, you may want to see what he has to say.

The(ONE)21 Music: Obvious question first ,what is Red Letter Rock Fest ?

Reid Johnson: Red Letter Rock Fest is an annual Christian music festival held the first weekend in June. We aim to book an eclectic mix of artists from the genres of rock, adult contemporary, metal, and even hip hop. Our theory is, “You may not like every band, but you’re going to LOVE some bands.” The event is indoors at The Coliseum in Snyder, Texas. Snyder is in West Texas, located approximately 1.5 hours from Abilene, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo. Snyder is also approximately 4 hours from Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio. This year’s event is June 5-6, tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door; they may be purchased online at www.itickets.com/RedLetterRock.

RED

(ONE)21: How did Red Letter Rock Fest get started?

Reid: Red Letter Rock Fest birthed from a radio show my business partner and I started in 2003: Red Letter Rock 20. Red Letter Rock 20 was an internationally-syndicated Christian rock countdown that was broadcast weekly on 63 stations all across North America and New Zealand. During each show, we would interview in-studio artists, and over the course of time, we built really strong relationships with many of them. In June 2006, we decided to take our radio show to the main stage with the first annual festival, inviting many of our new friends to perform: Skillet, Pillar, RED, Seventh Day Slumber, KJ-52, etc. Every year the festival has gotten bigger by both number of bands and number of attendees.

(ONE)21: Does the name mean anything?

Reid: Most translations of the Bible use red letters to identify when the Lord is speaking. We hope that through Red Letter Rock Fest, the Lord will speak to its attendees.

Superchick

(ONE)21: Who is playing Red Letter Rock Fest this year?

Reid: Performing artists include Skillet, Family Force 5, Audio Adrenaline Talks, Hawk Nelson, RED, Superchick, Disciple, Norma Jean, Haste The Day, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Spoken, Decyfer Down, Children 18:3, The Glorious Unseen, Stars Go Dim, White Collar Sideshow, and a special mystery artist. Previous mystery artists were Pillar and The Wedding.

Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster

(ONE)21: What other bands have played there in the past?

Reid: We have had the following artists perform in 2006-2008: Jeremy Camp, Skillet, BarlowGirl, Thousand Foot Krutch, Demon Hunter, Living Sacrifice, Kutless, Pillar, MXPX, Project 86, RED, Disciple, Sanctus Real, The Afters, KJ-52, Falling Up, Day Of Fire, Kids In The Way, Spoken, Seventh Day Slumber, TAIT, Salvador, By The Tree, Decyfer Down, Fireflight, The Wedding, Ruth, Wavorly, and many more.

Kids In The Way

(ONE)21: What is your favorite performance at Red Letter Rock Fest since you have been organizing it?

Reid: Kids In The Way put on an amazing show, and at the time, we had no idea it would be the last of their career. I wish I would’ve known that ahead of time and we would promoted it to their fanbase so much more than we did. I also think Skillet is the best live show in the country, no matter the genre. They are the only band that has played all four years of Red Letter Rock Fest.

Skillet

(ONE)21: Is there anything different about this year’s Fest?

Reid: This year’s event is two days (June 5-6), whereas previous years have been one day. Because of the increase in days, we have also increased the number of performing acts.

(ONE)21: What is the purpose of Red Letter Fest?

Reid: Originally, I wanted to do something positive for the kids, the community of Snyder, and the Kingdom of God. I wanted to see lives eternally changed by the message within the music. Since then, my purpose has changed slightly; my hope is that if God the Father peered across this planet on June 5-6 and asked himself, “Which place is worshipping me the loudest today?” He would say, “Snyder, Texas!”

Last words:
Reid: I’d like to thank One21 Magazine for their help in spreading the word, and I’d like to invite all your readers to our event. If you’re looking for great music, great food, and an encounter with our Creator, you’ll find all three at Red Letter Rock Fest.

Here is a little promo video featuring some of bands from last year’s line-up
RED LETTER ROCK FEST 2009 PROMO

You can visit Red Letter Rock Fest‘s Myspace to get any other info you would need. Visit Red Letter Rock Fest Myspace