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

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 United States census, 2020 census. History Agricultural expansion and the establishment of Willmar as a division ...

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 3,019 at the 2020 census. The village is located within the Town of Somerset. History Somerset was named by General Samuel Harriman after his fa ...

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 annually ...

, Sonshine has featured

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

musical artists from around the world. In 2012, the

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 ...

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

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