The news on the telly or in the newspaper is most often about violence, war and other miseries that make us viewers depressed and makes us lose hope about mankind. As a counterbalance to all this misery Newsboys tour around the world to spread the good news about Jesus Messias who came to our earth to offer us salvation from our sins by His death and resurrection.
Newsboys was founded in Queensland, Australia in 1985 and they has been a bringer of the good news to their audience since then. They has been one of the biggest Christian rock bands since the late 80s. They have numerous live shows and 16 studio albums in their trunk. Newsboys have had a huge impact on other Christian bands over the years. They play pop orientated rockmusic and their lyrics are based on the Rock of life - Jesus Messias. In 2009 the band's original lead singer Peter Furler decided to step back into a support role and to continue as the band's primary songwriter and producer. Peter was replaced by Michael Tait, formerly of DC Talk which is one of the most successfull Christian bands of all times. In the Tait era the band has been a little bit more comfortable in their own shoes and they are daring enough to stay interesting for their audience. As a result of that the band peaks the album list in the United States with their new album "Restart". Some 30 years after the start of the band they are the head line on many festivals in the states. The timing for their concert at Gullbrannafestivalen couldn't be better.
Newsboys show in Skeppet at Gullbrannafestivalen was super-professional. Michael Tait are the perfect frontman for the band, his heart and soul are in the songs and he delivers them with lots of feeling, he seeks contact with the audience and involves them into the show, but he doesn't grab all the attention, the very energic drummer Duncan Phillips grab's a whole lot of attention thanks to his very expressful and powerful drumming. The guitarist Jody Davis and keyboardist Jeff Frankenstein are more laid back on the stage. It's obvious that the band has a great time and their perfomance really involves the audience in the show. Newsboys know how to deliver an awesome concert experience without compromise. The band is very open with their Christian faith and Michael Tait shared his faith with the big audience in both songs, words and expressions. After the show the band took time to thank the audience for coming and participating in the show. Newsboys have once again proved that they still are a force to be reckoned with!
Newsboys and Michael Tait has played for almost 30 years and one can imagine that their audience should mostly consist of men and women between 30 and 50 years. Therefore I was surprised that the big audience mostly consisted of younger men and women. I don't think that the band has lost it's older audience. I think that the main reason was that Brazil played against Costa Rica in the quarter final of the Fifa World Cup. Some of their older fans choosed to watch soccer on the telly instead of getting a great concert experience. But it's their loss! I know that everybody that saw the concert left Skeppet with big smiles on their faces after seeing a really good show knowing that the Newsboy are a exellent bringer of the good news about Jesus Messias!
Click the following link if you can't see the slideshow on your phone or on your tablet: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasid68/sets/72157645687933129/
Klicka på den följande länken om du vill läsa recensionen på svenska - Newsboys förde med sig goda nyheter till Sverige: http://www.fotosidan.se/blogs/chasid/newsboys-forde-med-sig-goda-nyheter.htm
Text and Photo: Mikael Good
