Christian-music fans flock to the Gorge for Creation Northwest

THE GORGE, Grant County —

Tens of thousands of people have descended upon the picturesque Gorge this week, and, just like any festivalgoers, they are here to scream, headbang and mosh.

But for this crowd, it's all in the name of a higher power.

Creation Northwest is one of the largest Christian music festivals in the nation — the largest on the West Coast — one of a set of sibling festivals. Now into its 11th year, this sprawling, four-day event draws more than 20,000 people. Creation Northeast, in its 31st year in Pennsylvania, attracts about 75,000.

Creation Northwest began Wednesday night and continues through Saturday.

"All day you get to hear music and a message," said Jarred Hill, 15, describing his experience at past Creation fests a couple weeks back. "That doesn't happen at other concerts," he said. "That makes it better."

Hill and his 13-year-old brother, Alex, have been going to Creation at the Gorge for the past two years with Seattle Community Church, in the Laurelhurst neighborhood.

"It's all good because we're super-close, we go to the same concert, spend time together and at the same time praise God," said Hill, a sophomore at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo.

Over Creation's four days, more than 70 artists and 20 speakers will grace two stages.

The Gorge, Live Nation's awe-inspiring amphitheater east of the Cascades, is home to such large music festivals as Sasquatch (which has featured chart-toppers Death Cab for Cutie, Mos Def and R.E.M.), the punk-pop Vans Warped Tour and the Dave Matthews Band's annual three-day stand on Labor Day weekend.

'Creation or Bust'

Because Creation features all genres under the Christian music umbrella, it presents a broader range of sounds than some of the other fests. It's also built for families, with activities for all ages: guitar workshops, a petting zoo, art and crafts, extreme sports and skatepark, comedy night, a battle of the bands, communion, a prayer tent and a late-night cafe.

"It's an event. Buses and cars say, 'Creation or Bust,' " said Sarah Taylor, music director of Seattle Christian music radio station SPIRIT 105.3 FM. "It's a family atmosphere. There's nobody elbowing you out of the way to get to the front of the stage. Everybody is very courteous and treats everybody with respect."

For the past 10 years, Seattle Community Church has sent a contingent to Creation. The first year, leaders shuttled three students; this year, close to 20 are here, with five sets of siblings, including the Hills. Last year, their moms came along and cooked food. This year, it's the dads' turn.

"We really want kids to know they can have fun and be excited about music. ... So much music out there is vulgar or sexually oriented," said the Rev. Fred Choy, the church's pastor. "I'd like to show them that you can be a Christian and have a lot of fun, too."

And although Creation does have some moshing — Choy instructs parent chaperones to go with the teens to mosh — the festival is alcohol-free. The amphitheater's beer stands are even nailed shut.

Other things you don't find much of at Creation: smoking, littering, swearing and making out.

While teens on the Gorge grounds this weekend are dressed in their usual uniform of skinny pants, bandannas, piercings and bleached hair, their T-shirts read, "Satan is Dead," "Virginity Rocks" and "Jesus Freak."

What else do you find? A curfew. At the campsite — where most Creation-goers stay for the four or five nights — curfew is imposed, with boom boxes shut off by 11:30 p.m.

Creation is the only show for which promoter Live Nation rents out the Gorge. Live Nation treats the Creation festival as another musical genre — not a religious mission.

Live Nation, a California-based live events company spun off from Clear Channel, has a hands-off approach with Creation, letting Come Alive International, Inc., handle all concert details. The New Jersey-based nondenominational, nonprofit promotes Christian concerts across the nation.

"We can do all other types of music ourselves," said Jeff Trisler, president of Live Nation Northwest. Come Alive "came to us with 20 years experience producing Creation Festival East in Pennsylvania, so they were uniquely qualified."

Mainstream style

Christian music festivals are not rare, but they are frequently relegated to suburban churches and spots like the Puyallup Fair. Along with its standout venue, Creation offers a slew of top Christian music artists all in one place — at a ticket price of about $100 for the entire festival, or $40 per day.

Many of the headliners mirror mainstream artists in sound and success.

Take Thousand Foot Krutch, a straight-up metal band whose members sport mohawks and a headbanging sound. They could easily fit on a Mayhem Festival lineup, and have seen crossover success with the single "Move," which peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Track chart in 2006.

Skillet, another band of hard-rockers, growl from the stage as if playing Ozzfest. But for all their pyrotechnics and tattoos, Skillet started their encore Wednesday night with a classic hymn, "How Deep the Father's Love for Us."

"I made a promise to God 13 years ago that I would always play for Jesus," said Skillet lead singer John Cooper, whose left forearm features a barbed-wire tattoo of the word "forgiven."

After Skillet performed Wednesday, Hawk Nelson filmed a music video. The pop-punk band has the sound of an indie-rock Warped Tour band, and has appeared in popular music magazines Tiger Beat and Popstar.

And Grammy-winning rock band Casting Crowns — who headlined Thursday night — have a sound akin to top-selling rockers Nickelback. They performed for President Obama on the National Day of Prayer in February.

Fronted by Mark Hall, a youth pastor, Casting Crowns participates in Creation's Talkback, when fans ask the artists questions.

"People wonder how to help kids go through divorce, going into college ... and we offer up our advice," said guitarist Juan DeVevo. "Creation is a great place to come and get your questions answered about God, find out about new things and help you with your life."

To set the lineup, Come Alive polls past festivalgoers about who they'd like to see at Creation, monitoring their Facebook and Twitter accounts to see what's popular, as well. Come Alive has just 10 full-time employees, but 2,500 volunteers run the security, traffic and transportation.

"It's a tribute to our creator," said Nick Kulb, Come Alive director of marketing and sales. "Our tagline, all our marketing, we want to see lives changed ... Everything we do obviously has a biblical meaning."

Mind on the message

Speakers — like Will Graham, the grandson of evangelist Billy Graham — take the stage between musical acts.

"We are not here to bring a fan base to ourselves," said DeVevo, whose band still returns home almost every Sunday to play at their home church in Atlanta. "We bring people to tell the truth of God."

And the teens from Seattle Community Church aren't there to just have fun, either. During the festival, they are staying at a two-trailer migrant workers' church in Schawana, a town the size of a few blocks. By the end of the week, the teens will have painted the church's sanctuary.

Daniel Lee, 16, described the weekend festival and painting mission as a "roller coaster," but better.

"Because you know it's for the right purpose," said Lee, a junior at Bothell High School. "You know you're doing it for God and not for yourself."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com