THE (UNOFFICIAL) CORNERSTONE FESTIVAL GUIDE

Excerpts from a blog by Jay Newman. Click through to read the entire post! http://badchristian.com/searching-for-cornerstone-festival-in-2015/

“I stood among the cornstalks as they danced in the wind, swaying as though they knew they were rooted in hallowed ground. I stared at them for what must have been hours, moving down the rows as the ghosts of dancers past glided between fields. I came here to see what it looked like now – to see if there was anything left. Over there was where we always camped. And behind me was the food court and Gallery stage. Down the way, past the lake, was where they used to have the Main stage. All of this used to be Cornerstone Festival. Now it’s only corn.”

“For three decades Cornerstone was one of the major Christian music and arts festivals. But it always stood alone within that category. You can listen to veterans of the fest talk about it, read memorials on their blogs, and while no one can quite put their finger on why, everyone agrees this place was different. Ask any of the bands that played. They’ll tell you... The appeal transcended the typical draw of a festival and brought people from vastly differing demographics ­ from gutter punk to pop mainstream and everything in between. This was a place of belonging. There were a lot of reasons for this and I’m sure you can find many who have articulated it better than I can. But the hard reality is that place is gone.”

A bunch of us Cornerstone people will be at Audiofeed Fest again this summer - I hope to see you, too! 

audiofeedfestival.com

If you’re planning on going, let me know!

Cornerstone Festival directors Genesis and Scott sent out an email to update everyone on what they've been up to in Chicago. Read below.

This is a great article about the people and spirit of Audiofeed and its parent fest, Cornerstone Festival. 

An excerpt from the blog post "Why the Church Needs AudioFeed" by author and speaker Preston Sprinkle about his experience at Audiofeed Festival 2014.

The thing that encouraged me the most was the intellect and passion among the participants. It’s a counter-cultural crowd, but you only become counter-cultural by thinking outside the box, asking hard questions, and not being satisfied by recycled answers. It’s not uncommon, as a speaker, to get questions about apocalyptic readings of Revelation, reader-response hermeneutics, or various theories of the atonement from a dude wearing black eye shadow and spikes. This is why I came back to AudioFeed this year. The festival reminds me that the kingdom of God is pushing forward through all types of people who live out their faith in nontraditional ways. And most of the people who attend this festival have a massive, cross-shaped heart for people. Yes, it’s true. Many of them have problems with patriotism, militarism, capitalism, suits and ties, combs, and the traditional evangelical church. But walk around and talk to them. Get to know their stories. Have a 5 minute conversation with a stranger and he’s likely to give you the shirt off his back. Even if you’re a suit-and-tie wearing CEO of a large company that served in Desert Storm. Disagreement doesn’t interrupt love.

Happy Father's Day weekend to all you Cornerstone dads! 1987 and 2008

Continuing the tradition we started at Cornerstone Festival, I would like to host a tumblr meetup on the first official day of Audiofeed Festival this year! If any of you will be making the journey to Champaign/Urbana, I'm planning to have a get-together on Thursday, July 3rd, time and exact location TBA. We can grab a lemon shakeup and reminisce about Cornerstone, and maybe even watch a show together. 

Many of you may know or have heard of Mama Linda. For years, she has housed and fed touring bands and was a part of our Cornerstone Family, taking care of bands at the fest and also hosting a pre-fest hog roast. When Cornerstone ended, she stepped up to help keep the family together with Audiofeed Festival. She has been a blessing to many with her service and hospitality.

On Saturday night, May 10, her house and almost everything she owned was lost in a devastating fire. This family who has given so much to so many, now needs our help.

A Facebook page has been set up to support the family and coordinate donations at God Bless Momma Linda and Family and a GoFundMe page is collecting monetary gifts for her at Let's give back to Mama Linda.

Please keep her family in your prayers.