Idolator

The 24th installment of the Cornerstone Festival kicked off on a farm near Bushnell, Ill., yesterday. For nearly two decades, the festival operated outside the sight of mainstream culture, but Cornerstone has recently become a place to check out Christian youth culture first-hand, with the excellent books Body Piercing Saved My Life and Rapture Ready! delving into the long weekend. After the jump, some picks from this year's lineup.

It might comfort you secular festivalgoers that Christian festivals have reunions the public may or may have not wanted as well. This year, it's the return of Sixpence None The Richer, who were a solid female-fronted rock act for awhile, at least until "Kiss Me" came around.

Sixpence's lead singer Leigh Nash went out on her own for a bit, and guitarist/songwriter Matt Slocum recorded with Superdrag frontman John Davis, among others, but now they're back and they have a new album in the works. Between Sixpence, Over The Rhine, and other female singer-songwriters playing the fest, you really could fashion a mini-Lilith Fair from the lineup. As a bonus, it would be free of worrying about accidentally hearing Joan Osborne.

One thing Christian music doesn't do exceptionally well is gangsta rap, partially because it's hard to get all tough and hard in a religion that encourages turning the other cheek. No such issues for Solid State metal act Demon Hunter, who with the title of their new album encourage listeners to Storm The Gates Of Hell.

Side note: Brothers Don and Ryan Clark of Demon Hunter are incredible graphic designers when not acting all metal.

I really like the David Crowder Band, which may be the most uncool admission ever. I have nothing to add, although I'm ready for your mockery. (It's OK. Even my wife rolls her eyes when I mention them.)

Of course, if you'd like to see my favorite band of all time, there's no better place to see the 77's than Cornerstone. As a band, they play twice, and the festival will also have a solo appearance by lead singer Michael Roe, as well as two by supergroup of sorts the Lost Dogs. At this point, my championing of the band is probably tiresome times two, but too bad. Here's two tracks from YouTube.

As featured on hundreds of my creepy high school mixtapes for girls, here's "Nowhere Else":

And because no one can really stop me, "Film At 11":

Of course, a few acts that are actually enjoyable is hardly an endorsement of the festival as a whole, unless you're in high school and just wanting somewhere to wear your Christian t-shirt somewhere and hear a bunch of music. Just like any festival, it's hard to find enough quality material to fill one day, much less five, and acts with names like Death Is Not Welcome Here end up playing twice, which is reason enough not to attend. Still, to me, it's great that this festival exists, if only for its giving some of my favorite childhood acts (no Daniel Amos this year?) a gig to play this weekend.

Lineup [Cornerstone 2008]