Welcome to the K-love Fan Awards Weekend Celebration!
On Friday May 30, 2014 I embarked upon a three day weekend in Nashville, Tennessee at the ultimate KLove Fan Experience located at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. Once you get past the glory and splendor of this beautifully decorated resort and retrieve your guest passes for the extravaganza you make your way to the Ultimate Fan Zone entrance.
Upon entering the zone we were greeted by some very friendly volunteers from Trevecca University. Not only did they offer guests tasty popcorn samples but throughout the entire weekend, smiling students made the lives of the K-Love event planners simpler by offering their services in every area of business. I must at this point give a huge shout out to the University for providing such friendly people to man the stations so often over seen in these types of events.
I was able to speak with Lindsey Bell, one of the many volunteers with a burden for youth.
She gave her life to Christ when she was fifteen years old and is now studying education. She plans to marry her fiancé, who is a youth Pastor on October 11, 2014. I asked her, "What is one thing you feel Trevecca has taught you?” She smiled and said, “The importance of realizing that we are all Christians despite our denomination, you know to love each other and to love Christ. That is what it’s all about.” I say Amen to that and wish this lovely young lady a bright future with her soon to be husband.There are numerous activities for family members of all ages throughout the weekend. It’s almost like you are in overdrive because you can’t really decide what you want to do or what you want to take part in. The best thing about the design of the zone is that you don’t really have to choose. The way it is set up you can wait in line to get autographs signed and meet your favorite artists, while watching several other singers play basketball against each other.
Another perk to the zone is while partaking in all the events, there are live concerts by some of your favorite artists taking place like Sidewalk Prophets, Josh Wilson and Rhett Walker.
It’s coordinated so that you don’t have to miss out on anything. I really enjoyed seeing all the people who took part in this event sitting around introducing themselves to new friends and sharing testimonies and experiences with each other. It becomes a moment in time when you can just enjoy the goodness of the Lord in an environment with like-minded individuals. Jamie Grace was a special treat for me always shining with her quirky personality and sense of humor.
I looked around quietly and thought; “Yes everyone is excited to be here. Yes we are all going to hear music performed by all these gifted musicians and played by these talented disc jockeys that bless our lives on a daily basis and encourage us as we go through life. Yes we might get the opportunity to introduce ourselves to a few of them throughout the weekend, but what is the most relevant factor of this experience?” It did not take long for God to whisper to me; “The person standing next to you, the person in front of you and the person behind you all have a story to tell.”
I have had many opportunities to interview talented artists in different settings and get to know them on a personal level. However, this event is planned for the fans. In other words, for the Body of Christ that might not be known by a song they sing or by the name of their band. They might not work for a Christian radio station or be a recognizable face that passes by. However, they could be your neighbor or the person who took care of you in the hospital when you were sick. They might be the teacher who taught your child how to read, or the person that drives your son or daughter to school every day. She could be the barista that fixes your coffee for you on or he might just be the young man who took your order last night at dinner.
The K-Love Ultimate Fan Experience is about people. Those of us who support K-Love, and the artists who bring the love of God to radio and into our homes and our vehicles. If it wasn’t for God using all of us each with our talents and gifts K-love would not be able to operate in the fashion that it does, and this weekend is all about them paying it forward. It’s a recognition of thankfulness to all those who come together and partner with them and support these musicians by buying their albums and going to concerts. So since we were in the fan zone, I took it upon myself to recognize some of these amazing individuals who were happy to take the time and speak with us and share some of their personal testimonies.
Flying in from Roseburg Oregon, Heather Faught was enjoying her first experience at the Klove Fan Awards. She shared with us that her favorite band was Casting Crowns, who happened to win a special award that weekend. She was thankful to be a part of such an amazing experience. Heather came through a very difficult illness with several specialists not offering her much hope. One year prior to this event she gave her life to Christ and through the ministry of Klove strengthened her relationship with God and led her to a doctor that was able to help her. Heather said, "Klove was a huge part of my healing process."I have to stop for a moment here and focus on one of the most emotional moments for me personally. I want to encourage anyone out there reading this right now to never stop chasing your dreams. If God has put a vision inside of you or a dream inside of you fan that flame. Chase it with all that He has put inside of you and believe in yourself that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
I have had a desire for many years to work in Christian Radio. The fact that I was able to meet JD Chandler from K-Love and watch how all the DJ’s interacted with listeners and people in general just ignited that for me even more.
It’s not about what they do as much as it was about God showing me to continue to follow that path. It was a personal moment for me with God; though JD Chandler was physically in this picture with me; if you look at the smile on my face, God was in my heart saying “You can do this. Keep that vision alive.”
My husband and I were strolling along the resort pathway enjoying the water and speaking lightly with other guests that were there. I was enjoying trying to figure out who some of the band members were that I seen other people stopping to take photos with.
I suppose as someone in media you would assume that I would recognize everyone, but unfortunately I relate musically more so than by physical appearance. I bumped into Lila Tuck and made this confession only to have her bust out laughing at me and say “Girl you know I work for K-Love and I am the same way.” It’s nice to know that you are not alone in the world and someone could understand my dilemma. Not to mention Lila was so much fun to get to talk to, even if it was for only a few minutes a day. K-Love is blessed to have this fire cracker on their staff.
There are so many talented Christian bands out there and so much great music in this industry it is extremely difficult to know what everyone looks like. However, there are several that have ministered to me for quite some time that I have seen in concert or met on occasions enough to recognize immediately.
David Frey lead singer from Sidewalk Prophets happens to fit into that category. We bumped into him on our stroll and he was nice enough to introduce us to their new guitar player Daniel Macal and pause for a moment to allow my husband to take a photo of us together.
While walking back to the fan zone I seen a couple holding hands walking towards us and decided to stop and chat with them about their experience. We introduced ourselves and I asked them if this was their first time attending the K-Love Fan Awards weekend and they looked at each other and just kind of chuckled. Lo and behold out of all the people we could have interviewed, God led us to Michelle and Dale Harrison.
Michelle told us that during the week that K-Love was taking pledges from their listener supporters she received a phone call. They had donated to the station and had been chosen as the winner for the weekend trip not even knowing they had a chance to win anything. They said God has been good to them in their marriage and through the counseling conferences that are held at their home church in Lafayette, Indiana. The weekend was really like a wedding Anniversary gift since they celebrated on the 27th of May. It was a blessing to meet this couple and we pray and wish for them many more years of happiness!
With so much stuff going on in the world today and so many negative things to influence young children and teenagers, K-Love and Christian music is a huge benefit for parents. Many of the artists that are rising up in this industry are teenagers and young adults themselves so they can easily relate lyrically to the things others in the same generation are facing. Last July Rita and Richard York made it a point to book this as their family vacation. As parents of teenagers R.J (14) whose favorite band is Capitol Kings and fifteen year old Kim who loves Switchfoot, they came in from Tucson, Arizona to share this time growing closer together.
With a message of hope and encouragement and showing them they don’t have to go with the flow, but to be unique and to be steadfast in faith shows strength and character. One family we met during the weekend knows exactly how important it is incorporate that into the lives of their children. This family was really a treasure to meet. We hope to see their smiling faces again next year, Lord willing.
After we met some amazing fans we decided to make our way back to the fan zone. Upon entry everyone has the opportunity to have their photo taken with a K-Love Award on a red carpet. How could we possibly pass that by without striking a pose? We then ventured over to the memorabilia section where they were sporting the K-Love Nascar driven by Michael McDowell.
In this section you can see several points of history marked by different Christian artists who have opened up so many doors for the Glory of God to be exalted in the music industry and around the world through song.
One of the coolest things in this section to me was the Newsboys rising and spinning drum set. I remember the first time I seen them in concert during Spirit Song Festival at Kings Island Amusement Park and I was just mesmerized by it. I have no idea how Duncan Phillips does not get extremely ill on that thing but I definitely would not challenge him to a scrambler duel. For avid fans of musical instruments and sports memorabilia there was also a silent auction in the fan zone.
Proceeds went toward the support of the outreach in the middle of Detroit, Michigan called K-love Hope Center. Not only did the K-Love Fan Awards bless those who were able to attend, but through all the voting that went into choosing the winners in each category and K-Love partnering with World Hope Ministries, four families were provided homes. Praise God for that! They also had a 5K Celebrity Run For Love to benefit the children of Haiti.
Sunday morning the tide shifts and the focus of the celebration moves toward a wonderful worship service led by none other than Michael W Smith. After worship you have the option to enjoy more concerts and autograph signing at the convention center or relax and get ready for the main event at the Grand Ole Opry.
For those staying at the resort there is a shuttle that transports you to the event so there is no need for you to drive. It was very hot out that evening and people were dressed to impress. Not only were the fans sporting some fancy attire, but media as well as artists were looking quite snazzy and everyone was hot and trying to maintain their appeal. I spoke to a few fans that were really excited and trying to catch a glimpse of some familiar faces walking along the red carpet. I told them I was going to get a few of them all dressed up and excited about the evening out enjoying the day with friends.
As the red carpet began to fill up with familiar faces, artists like Colton Dixon were making some fans extremely happy. The thing I noticed about this whole weekend coming full circle is not only do the fans love these artists, but these artists love their fans and each other.
The smiles that were generated from each of these Christian artists, no matter what realm they work in whether it be in film or the music industry carried the expression of humble gratitude and joy of living in the gift they were given by their creator.Each category of nominee’s carried some tough competition. However, these artists love each other like brothers and sisters and don’t view it as a competition but more so as someone they love being recognized for the gifts they share with the world sharing the Gospel. I was able to stand in the hallway with all these super talented individuals as they visited each other and greeted one another as if they were at a family reunion.
I wanted to go to each of them and say “Hey, I just want you to know how much this song blessed me, or how what you said at that concert that night really touched my heart”. Instead I realized in that moment they were all getting exactly what they needed. These artists that we look up to so much do not see themselves as stars. They see themselves as one of us, as the body of Christ they are using the gifts and talents that God has given them to minister to others.
All of these creative vessels of sports, music, movie production and media coming together in one place for one purpose and in one accord is priceless. In that moment they were nourishing each other and reconnecting with people they genuinely care a great deal about.
One of the highlights of the weekend for me was seeing how happy they were to see each other.
The ceremony kicked off with Matthew West and Candace Cameron Bure entertainingly hosting. K-Love staff had a very nice area set up for media behind the scenes with food and a big screen with audio to view the unfolding events. Every few minutes or so a different group or artist would grace the media cave (as referred to by Toby Mac) and the microphone would be opened up and audio from the live show silenced for a few select questions from the media outlets.
Since each category can only have one winner, let’s start by giving a shout out to Mandisa
who took home Female Artist of the Year and Song of the Year with Overcomer.
Pepsi is a big sponsor for the Fan Awards weekend and they offer an exciting award for the artist who is chosen to be plastered on a seven-up can. The little comical musician Jamie Grace won the chance to quench the thirst of her fans and she is adorable.
Hillsong was chosen for Worship Song of the Year with Oceans which happens to be one of my personal favorites. Artists of the Year,which was one of the toughest categories got nabbed by Casting Crowns.
Hillsong was chosen for Worship Song of the Year with Oceans which happens to be one of my personal favorites. Artists of the Year,which was one of the toughest categories got nabbed by Casting Crowns.
The Book that fans voted had the Most Impact was by Max Lucado titled, You'll Get Through This. Thomas Davis took home the Sports Impact win. Best Live Show was stolen by the one who asks God to steal it from him, how ironic. Much deserved applause out to Mr. Toby Mac.
Group Duo of the Year got carried away by The Newsboys. Chris Tomlin, who happens to be one of my personal lyrical heroes took home Male Artist of the Year. God's Not Dead received the Film/ Television Impact award. Big shout out to the actors and filmmakers in this category and the much deserved winners.
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