Organizers hit a grand slam with Skillet, a rock band that draws nearly 9 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Opening for that group will be Colton Dixon, another big name in Christian music.
JEFF FIELDER
Nspire Today! Entertainment Columnist
When it comes to Christian music, there’s not too many bands in the world, if any, that are bigger than Skillet.
Want proof? Check out some of these eye-opening tidbits about the rock band:
- They have a whopping 6.3 billion global career streams.
- They average 8.9 million-plus monthly listeners on Spotify.
- They’ve produced seven songs that have soared to No. 1 on the music charts, including “Monster,” which is the best selling digital single in the history of Christian music.
- They’ve received two Grammy Award nominations, and they earned a Billboard music award for their double-platinum certified “Awake.”
- They’ve sold out shows domestically in markets like Orlando, Detroit, Seattle, Sacramento, and Houston, and they’ve sold out shows internationally in places like Paris, London, Vienna, Zurich, and Budapest.
- Skillet has been featured in national publications such as USA Today and The New York Times, and their songs have been used by Marvel, ESPN, MLB, NHL, and the NFL.
- They have more than 4.7 million followers on Facebook, and they’ve had more than 1.4 billion views on YouTube.
“In my opinion, they’re clearly one of the top five Christian music artists in the world,” said Dustin Jones, a Horizon Christian Music Festival board member who plays a key role in booking artists and production for the big event in Gering.
Because of Skillet’s incredible status as a band – not only among Christian music listeners but also among people who listen to secular music – Jones and other board members figured Skillet would be way out of reach financially for the Horizon Music Festival, at least for another few years.
But guess what? Skillet will be coming to Five Rocks in Gering this Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 1), and they’ll be the headliner in just the second year of the Horizon Music Festival.
“I never thought we would get a music group of this caliber in year two,” Jones said, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. “I thought maybe in year four or five we could make a run at a band like this, but not year two.”
You can read the entire column in the April 2024 issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $20. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $20 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8907.
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