Lifest 2018

July 12-15 Life Promotions in Oshkosh, Wisconsin hosted its 20th annual Lifest.  When asked about Lifest, I usually respond that it's Woodstock for Christians.  For those of you under 55, it's a really huge multi-day, multi-stage, multi artist, contemporary Christian music event with well over 20,000 people in attendance each day.  Camping (from tents to RVs) is available from Wednesday through Saturday, with the music beginning Thursday afternoon and ending with Sunday morning worship.  There are four main entertainment venues for adults and another two areas for kids.  The entertainment is mostly music, but there are also seminars, comedy, artist interviews, and even an illusionist.  There are also areas for shopping, basketball, and many places to eat.

Kathy and I were joined by lots of family.  Each day our daughter, Kathy, and her husband, Jeff, would line up early with a wagon full of chairs in order to get the rest of us good seats at the grandstand.  They got help with setting up the chairs from three of our grandchildren, Aysha, Eydon, and Nevaeh.  Their mom, Jamie was also there, as well as Jeff's son, Josh, and his wife, Katrina.

I've included a short video using pics and video clips provided by our daughter, Kathy.


Here's another re-mixed song from our Crossroads CD. It's called "Keep on Walkin."  It was written by Ray Guzzardo of Clermont, FL.  It's available here as a free download.

A short version of the story behind the song...

Kathy and I were staying at The Bees RV Resort in Clermont, FL, and Ray worked at the park doing maintenance.  He also played guitar and piano at the park's worship services each Sunday, and occasionally sang one of his own compositions.  Kathy and I helped out with the worship services as well, so we knew Ray, but not real well. 

Ray was intrigued by our integration of the computer with our music.  One day he was passing through the activity center where we were rehearsing, and he started to explain a song that he had written and wished he had an accompaniment for.  He quickly (Ray does everything fast) described the bass line, how and when the organ would come in, the drums, and the basic feel and arrangement of the song.  I told him to come back in an hour.  He did.  The smile on his face was priceless as he heard his song come to life.  It was clear that musically, Ray and I "got" one another.  Over the years, Ray has allowed us to record a total of six of his songs.  Although, we haven't seen him in over a year, we consider him to be a close friend.

Ray's song, "Keep on Walkin" is a song about repentance.  Repentance is about turning away from sin and heading in another direction.  Described differently, repentance is to stop walking away from the Lord and start walking towards Him.  When you hear the lyrics, "I'm walkin' towards the Lord, and I'm never gonna turn around,"  the songwriter is proclaiming that he will no longer walk away from the Lord.  Instead, he has repented and is walking towards the Lord.

One of the other things that Ray wanted on this song was a female, black church choir singing background vocals.  We couldn't help him there.  Maybe when you listen to it, you might want to tune out our background vocals, and imagine a soulful gospel choir.

Listen to Keep on Walkin'
It's a free download.
Also, don't forget to vote!
See you next time,

Robb

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