Lifest is an annual

Christian music festival A Christian music festival (also known as a Jesus music festival or simply a Jesus festival) is a music festival held by the Christian community, in support of performers of Christian music. The festivals are characterized by more than just music ...

that takes place in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

, at the Sunnyview Expo Center. Lifest has the slogan "A Party with a Purpose." It is one of the largest Christian music festivals in America.

History

Lifest started as a walk/run in 1990. Lifest became a music festival in 1999 and was attendance by 7000. It became five days long for the first time in 2006. Starting in 2013, it was shortened to four days. It is held on or around the second weekend of July. In 2013, Lifest had an average of 20,000 attendees per day. The event had 23,000 attendees in 2017. As of 2018, Lifest featured around 150 artists on seven stages. The festival is a member of the

Christian Festival Association The Christian Festival Association was formed in September 2006. The group consists of members representing major Christian music festivals held in the United States and Canada. Collectively, this group represents nearly a million attendees annuall ...

. The Winnebago County fairgrounds board approved allowing Lifest to build a $750,000 permanent main stage. The stage was built on the former site of the fairground's grandstand and

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

track. It was unveiled for the 2018 event. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused officials to scrap Lifest in 2020. It returned in 2021.

Performers and speakers

Matthew West playing in the rain at Lifest 2014

Musically, Lifest has featured a wide range of groups such as

Toby Mac Toby McKeehan (born Kevin Michael McKeehan; October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac or TOBYMAC), is an American contemporary Christian music singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He was first known f ...

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They lat ...

Skillet A frying pan, frypan, or skillet is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab ha ...

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tennessee, the band has released 17 studio albums, 6 of which ...

Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of conte ...

, For King & Country,

Matthew West Matthew Joseph West (born April 25, 1977) is an American contemporary Christian musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has released five studio albums and is known for his songs "More", "You Are Everything", and " The Motions". He was nomin ...

Family Force 5 FF5 (formerly known as Family Force 5, The Phamily, Ground Noise and The Brothers) is an American Christian rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band formed in 2005 by brothers Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, and Jacob " ...

Kutless Kutless is an American Christian rock band from Portland, Oregon formed in 1999. Since their formation, they have released multiple studio albums and one live album, ''Live from Portland''. They have sold over 3 million records worldwide. H ...

Downhere Downhere (stylized as downhere) is a Christian rock band from Canada. They have released six studio albums to date: ''downhere'' (2001), ''So Much for Substitutes'' (2003), ''Wide-Eyed and Mystified'' (2006), ''Ending Is Beginning'' (2008), ...

Tenth Avenue North Tenth Avenue North was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) band from West Palm Beach, Florida that was active from 2000 to 2021. The group was formed while its founding members attended Palm Beach Atlantic University took its name f ...

Fireflight Fireflight is an American Christian rock band formed in Eustis, Florida in 1999. The band was signed by Flicker Records. The band currently consists of Dawn Michele, Glenn and Wendy Drennen and Justin Cox (who left in 2013 but rejoined in 201 ...

FM Static FM Static is a Canadian Christian pop punk duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed in 2003 as a side project for Thousand Foot Krutch. The band consists of Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine. The original lineup included John Bunne ...

, Sanctus Real,

Building 429 Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Their name is derived from a Biblical passage known as Ephesians 4:29, which, in the New International Version of the Bible, reads as follows: "Do not let any un ...

Thousand Foot Krutch Thousand Foot Krutch (often abbreviated TFK) is a Canadian Christian rock band formed in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1997. The band has released eight studio albums, two live albums, and three remix albums. The band currently consists of foundin ...

, 4th Point,

Superchick Superchick, originally known as Superchic '', was an American Christian alternative pop/rock band. Their music incorporated various styles such as pop, punk, rock, rap, and R&B. Their sound has been compared to mainstream artists like No Doubt ...

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy Aw ...

The Letter Black The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence, is an American Christian rock band that was formed in 2006 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The band consists of lead vocalist Sarah Anthony; her husband, lead guitarist and vocalist Mark Ant ...

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall H ...

Matt Maher Matthew Guion Maher (born November 10, 1974) is a Canadian contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 ...

and

Jimmy Needham Jimmy Needham (born August 22, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian musician signed to Inpop Records. He released debut album, ''For Freedom'', an independent release, in 2005, and after signing with the Christian record label Inpop in 2 ...

had their first concert at Lifest; they held at 2016 reunion concert at the venue. Lifest also has speakers and seminars as an integral part of the festival. Speakers have included founder Bob Lenz,

Luis Palau Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...

John Ortberg John Ortberg, Jr. (born May 5, 1957) is an American evangelical Christian author, speaker, and the former senior pastor of Menlo Church in Menlo Park, California, an ECO Presbyterian church with more than 4,000 members. Ortberg has published m ...

Tony Campolo Anthony Campolo (born February 25, 1935) is an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker and former spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo is known as one of the most influential leaders in the evangelical ...

, Scott Spencer, Ken Davis, and many more. Lifest has approximately 3000 primitive and electric campsites available. Activities include dodgeball, 5K Fun Run, volleyball, inflatable games, prayer journey and KidZone. Lifest is run by Life PromotionsGirl's death casts somber tone over last day of Lifest
Bethany K. Warner; July 15, 2007

Green Bay Press-Gazette The ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' is a newspaper whose primary coverage is of northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. It was founded as the ''Green Bay Gazette'' in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1871. The ''Green Ba ...

, Retrieved July 15, 2007 and requires over 1000 volunteers.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lifest
Lifest.com
- Official site Christian music festivals Music festivals in Wisconsin Music festivals established in 1999