Shippensburg Area Senior High School welcomed Christian rock band, RED, among other Christian music groups with open arms Sunday as the group stopped in Shippensburg on its RED: Recalibrated Tour.
With the doors to the auditorium opening at 5 p.m. and the opening acts beginning at 6 p.m., the auditorium at Shippensburg Area Senior High School was beginning to pull in a crowd. In attendance at Sunday’s concert were four special guests — All Life Set Apart, Benjah, Spoken and Disciple.
To the random eye, it would not be unreasonable to be oblivious to the fact that all of the performers are heavy believers and promoters of the Christian faith. But, one should not judge a book by its cover.
After witnessing the screaming, hair-flipping, roof-raising, inspiring and emotionally exciting performances all four guests brought to the stage during the opening acts, it would be hard to miss the message everyone was trying to convey.
All Life Set Apart, also known as ALSA, and Benjah, a Grammy-nominated and Dove-award winning songwriter and performer whose genres of choice are hip-hop, reggae and R&B, took to the stage first — hyping the fans with each performance.
Both Benjah and ALSA performed multiple sets before heading to the lobby of the auditorium for a meet and greet with fans and to promote their merchandise.
With their performances complete, Christian rock bands Spoken and Disciple hit the stage. Offering a more hardcore genre of music, both bands blew the roof off the building as the crowd in the auditorium began to grow.
By the time Disciple finished its last set, the crowd in front of the stage was beginning to resemble a scene out of the movie “Wayne’s World” as Wayne and Garth head-banged to the guitar solo of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
The once accessible standing room in front of the stage was no longer as accessible as it once was. The fans were anxious for RED.
REDOpening up the concert with a boom, RED performed many of its hit songs and had fans of all ages singing along word for word.
Tickets for the event were $15 for pre-ordered tickets and $20 at the door. For more information about future events and ticket prices, visit shopuprise.com. The same people who bring Uprise Festival to Shippensburg in September sponsored RED.
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