Rock and Religion : Christian Music Nights Strike a Chord at Theme Parks

As the lights went down, it looked like any other rock and roll concert.

Throngs of boisterous teenagers filled the 3,500-seat Golden Bear Theatre waiting for Audio Adrenaline and two other guitar-driven bands touting “bold, in-your-face music” in their fliers.

But it was soon clear from the chanting audience this was not going to be a typical rock concert: In deafening unison, they yelled, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”

Welcome to Six Flags Magic Mountain’s semiannual Hallelujah Jubilee--a Christian music night typical of concerts that have become favorites among young churchgoers at a number of theme parks across the country.

Magic Mountain officials don’t release crowd figures, but spokeswoman Bonnie Rabjohn said the Jubilee is one of the park’s more popular events. Magic Mountain has been booking Christian artists since the early 1980s.

“It’s been so successful that in the last five years we’ve added a gospel music night twice a year,” she said. The next one is Friday featuring Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin.

Many in the crowd Friday night, mostly suburban teenagers and families with small children, said they came to the amusement park for the concert.

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“I like the music and I like the message,” said Rod Youngblood, of Rancho Cucamonga, who brought his 8-year-old son, Bryce, to hear the bands.

Youngblood said he also listens to mainstream pop bands but prefers that his son grow up listening to music with a positive message. “These bands have a modern sound. It’s upbeat. It’s not the old church music you used to hear,” Youngblood said.

Northridge teenager Robert Ham said that secular bands, unlike Christian rock, feature lyrics that “tell people it’s OK to have sex before marriage and that drugs and alcohol are OK. The Christian bands sound like alternative rock that’s out there, but with better words.”

After their show, members of the band Big Tent Revival stood in front of the theater signing T-shirts, posters and hats for the crowd. They waited until they talked to the last fan before returning to their dressing room.

Steve Wiggins, Big Tent Revival’s lead singer and songwriter, said being a good Christian is more important to him than being a rock and roll star. And he worries fans pay more attention to members of bands than their message.

“Bands like Stone Temple Pilots are singing about heroin, that’s what their lives are about,” Wiggins said. “The most important thing to me is my relationship to Christ. When I go to write music, that’s what comes out.”

Knott’s Berry Farm and Great America in Santa Clara are among the theme parks that regularly book Christian bands. Disneyland and Universal Studios do not.

Christian music nights can easily draw 10,000 to 15,000 people, said Jon Robberson of Celebration Concerts in San Jose, a booking agency for Christian musical acts. He also directed a Christian concert Saturday at Great America, which also featured Audio Adrenaline.

The influx of young evangelicals has not produced complaints from non-Christian park-goers about being proselytized, according to Robberson and Magic Mountain’s Rabjohn.

“I don’t think it was ever an issue,” said Robberson. Most young Christians attending the events were focused on the music and the fellowship with other believers, he added.

Great America began promoting Christian music nights in 1980, Robberson said. But it was Knott’s Berry Farm that started the idea in 1973.

Bringing a Christian event into a secular, amusement-park setting was not a cultural stretch for the Buena Park facility, which has long had a functioning church on its property.

Knott’s currently is planning an all-day, Christian music event in the spring and a New Year’s Eve celebration for families called “Praise ’97.”

“We’ve increased our mailing lists over the years in working with church youth groups and Christian music publications,” said a Knott’s spokeswoman.