Sonshine Festival was a

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 ...

held annually, starting in 1982 in

Willmar, Minnesota Willmar is a city in, and the county seat of, Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 21,015 at the 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division point on the Great Northern ...

and continuing in that location through 2014. That same year, festival organizers announced its relocation to

Somerset, Wisconsin Somerset is a village in St. Croix County, Wisconsin, along the Apple River. The population was 2,635 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Somerset. History Somerset was named by General Samuel Harriman after his fath ...

for 2015 onward because of an inability to attract sufficient people to the original location. 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 ...

, Sonshine has featured Christian musical artists from around the world. In 2012, the

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 ...

recorded their live album Newsboys Live in Concert: God's Not Dead at the festival. Since 2014, Sonshine is produced by

Creation Festival Creation Festival, commonly shortened to Creation, is an annual four-day Christian music festival in the United States. According to its organizers, it is the "Nation's Largest Christian Music Festival." Average attendance is between 50,000 an ...

s. Citing financial reasons, Sonshine 2017 was postponed, with "hope and desire to see treturn in 2018", according to the festival's webpage. The festival is indefinitely on hiatus, awaiting the advent of new financial backers.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official WebsiteHistory of Sonshine Music Festival
a documentary produced by

Pioneer Public Television KWCM-TV (channel 10) is a PBS member television station in Appleton, Minnesota, United States, owned by the West Central Minnesota Educational TV Corp. KWCM-TV's studios are located on Pioneer Drive in Granite Falls, and its transmitter is loca ...

Christian music festivals Music festivals established in 1982 Music festivals in Minnesota