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 Christians, Christian community, in support of performers of Contemporary Christian music, Christian music. The festivals ...

that takes place in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

, 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 annually ...

. 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 Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

track. It was unveiled for the 2018 event. The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 Kevin Michael McKeehan (born October 22, 1964), better known by his stage name TobyMac (styled tobyMac), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His road band is known as Diverse City. Widely regarded as one of the most ...

Casting Crowns Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band which began in Daytona Beach, Florida. The band was formed in 1999 by lead vocalist Mark Hall. They moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, and more members joined. Some members of the ...

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

Newsboys Newsboys (sometimes stylised as newsboys) are a Christian rock band that has existed in various permutations since its founding in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia, by Peter Furler and George Perdikis. Now based in Nashville, Tenness ...

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 cont ...

, For King & Country,

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

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 was formed in 2004 by brothers Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, and Jac ...

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. ...

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

Tenth Avenue North Tenth Avenue North is an American contemporary Christian music band from West Palm Beach, Florida. The band released a total of fifteen original music projects, including eight full-length studio albums (six of which reached the Billboard 200, i ...

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 vocalist Dawn Michele, Glenn and Wendy Drennen, guitarist and bassist respectively, and gu ...

FM Static FM Static was a Canadian Christian rock duo based in Toronto, Ontario. The band was formed in 2003 as a side project for Thousand Foot Krutch. The band consisted of Trevor McNevan and Steve Augustine. The original lineup included John Bunner o ...

Sanctus Real Sanctus Real is an American Christian rock band formed in Toledo, Ohio, in 1996. The group is composed of Chris Rohman (lead guitar), Mark Graalman (drummer, drums), and Dustin Lolli (lead vocals). The band is best known for their number one sin ...

Building 429 Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. The band's name refers to Ephesians 4:29, a Biblical passage that (in the New International Version of the Bible) reads: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come ou ...

Thousand Foot Krutch Thousand Foot Krutch (often abbreviated TFK) is a Canadian Christian Rock music, rock band formed in Peterborough, Ontario, in 1995. The band has released ten studio albums, two live albums, and three remix albums. The core members consist of ...

, 4th Point,

Superchick Superchick, originally known as Superchic was an American Christian rock/Alternative rock#Alternative pop, alternative pop band that debuted in 1999 and disbanded in 2013. Their music incorporated various styles such as Pop music, pop, Punk ...

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 A ...

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 group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...

Matt Maher Matthew Guion Maher (born November 10, 1974) is a Canadian Catholic contemporary Christian music artist, songwriter, and worship leader based in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Christian Albums, Top 25 Christian Albu ...

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 Reco ...

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 Palau Jr. (November 27, 1934 – March 11, 2021) was an Argentine-American international Christian evangelist. He was born in Argentina but moved to Portland, Oregon, in his mid-twenties to enroll in a graduate program in Biblical studies. ...

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

Tony Campolo Anthony Campolo Jr. (February 25, 1935 – November 19, 2024) was an American sociologist, Baptist pastor, author, public speaker, and spiritual advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. Campolo was an influential leader in the evangelical left. ...

, 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 northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay. History The newspaper was founded as the ''Green Bay Gazette'' in 1866 as a weekly paper, becoming a daily newspaper in 1 ...

, 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