Creation Festival: Chart-topping bands Kutless, Pillar, Thousand Foot Krutch a big draw

The Creation Festival: The Tour brings some of the top bands in Christian rock together. Featuring eight bands, the tour stops in at the Mid-America

Center in Council Bluffs Monday. Headlining this one-of-a-kind event is Kutless, whose latest CD "To Know You're Alive" debuted at No. 1 on

Billboard's Christian Albums Chart in July.

"We're having a lot of fun," said Kutless lead singer Jon-Micah Sumrall during a phone conversation while the tour was stopped in North Carolina.

"We're friends with a lot of the bands. It's been fun hangin' out."

The group, which consists of James Mead (guitar), Stu (bass), Kyle Mitchell (drums), Ryan Shrout (guitar), and Sumrall, came together in Portland,

Ore., in 1999, inspired by such Christian rock predecessors as the Supertones as well as mainstream modern rockers like Staind, Creed and

Incubus.

Kutless closes each show on the tour. Their songs "Strong Tower" and "Pride Away" have been getting great response by the audience. Sumrall

described the event as a little less family-friendly for children, and more geared toward the youth group ages up to college students.

Kutless has released five studio CDs and one live album, selling more than 1.5 million CDs to date. They've performed in front of nearly two million

fans and conquered Christian radio with numerous singles since its debut. The musical "reach" of Kutless has even extended on to NBC's

"Scrubs" and the video game "The Apprentice with Donald Trump."

To stay grounded, the band has pastors from their hometown who call and keep tabs on them, doing Bible studies with them to help them stay

focused. One pastor flew out to be with the guys for a few days in New York recently.

"It's really important to us staying focused on our faith," said Sumrall. "It's very easy on the road not to go to church often, let things slide. It's good

to have that kind of support."

Joining Kutless will be the bands Thousand Foot Krutch, Pillar, Run Kid Run, Capital Lights, Fireflight and Worth Dying For. KJ-52 will also perform

and serve as MC for the night.

Lead singer Trevor McNevan described the tour as wicked, with "good music and good people."

The intensely energetic Thousand Foot Krutch came on to the Christian rock scene in 1997, when McNevan, Joel Bruyere, and Steve Augustine

started putting a worship song spin on a rap-metal sound similar to Limp Bizkit or Korn.

After building a buzz around Ontario, Canada, with numerous shows, a strong demo and thriving trade of MP3s through its Web site, Thousand

Foot Krutch signed with Diamante and issued "Set It Off," its official debut, in March 2001. The album featured a rap-rockified version of EMF's

"Unbelievable," tricked out with a Christian-themed rap from McNevan. TFK jumped to the much higher profile Tooth & Nail for September 2003's

"Phenomenon."

The September 2007 release of "The Flame in All of Us" is a noticeable turning point for Thousand Foot Krutch, when the youthful hip-hop and

alternative rock sensibilities uniquely coalesce into a more universal, sometimes pop-shaped framework to create a deeper, fuller experience for

artist and listener alike. McNevan said the song "What Do We Know" off the album is a cool moment in the band's 30-minute set on tour.

McNevan said that the tour has given the band a chance to play in front of new faces. And, it's been an opportunity to the bands opening for

Kutless and Thousand Foot Krutch to play for a larger audience drawn to the bigger bands.

"We feel blessed to be a part of (the tour)," said McNevan.

Pillar puts an alt-metal edge to Christian Rock. Comprised of Rob Beckley (vocals), Lester Estelle (drums), Noah Henson (guitar) and Kalel (bass),

the band has been honing its infectious sound since 1998. Their latest album, "For the Love of the Game," was released in 2008 and its title song

is an arena-pounding anthem that sets the stage for a 10-track project about tenacious faith.

"Fight through the hurt, fight through the pain," Beckley sings. "Without the ache, there is no gain/And we live our lives for the love of the game!"

The band now hails from Tulsa, Okla., though they originally formed while attending Fort Hays State University in northwestern Kansas. At the

2008 Grammy Awards, the band was up for its first ever Grammy Award, in the Best Rock or Best Gospel Album category.

Since Pillar's Dove Award-winning debut "Above" in 2001, the band has tallied eight No. 1 radio singles, 12 Top 5 hits, four Dove Awards, a

Grammy nomination, seven national headlining tours, covers of numerous national magazines, sales well into the hundreds of thousands and

played for millions.

Chrisian Music News Source