Big News with Dave Crampton
23,000 people: Parachute Festival or Parish Hoot?
Last weekend, up to 23,000 people gathered for a four-day music festival in Matamata. It is the biggest festival of its
kind in the world, outside the US. As these festivals have been running in some shape or form for more the 10 years it
is the oldest festival and the biggest long-running festival in the country. Punters came to see artists, DJs and
speakers from around the world performing on at least six stages. Most stages ran simultaneously.
Yet most Scoop readers probably were not aware it was on. If they were, they would not have heard of bands such as
Skillet, Earthsuit or the OC Supertones. That’s because the festival, the Parachute festival, is a Christian festival
with Christian bands and a big Christian crowd. Like The Gathering, it was a drug-free event, but unlike the Big Day
Out, there was hardly any media coverage of the event. In fact there was more media coverage of what Shihad’s new name
might or might not be, or when they might or might not announce it, than a Christian festival that draws 23,000.
Most music followers have heard of Parachute Music. Their band, the Parachute Band, release an album most years that
deservedly collects the gospel album of the year at the following music awards. A Parachute Band vocalist was also a
finalist for a vocalist award last year. Christian music is one of the fastest growing genres of music in the world, not
because it is popular, but because it is increasingly popular. This is mainly due to the fact it had a very minimal
following five to ten years ago when Amy Grant and Cliff Richard, and a heavy metal band called Stryper were the “in”
bands. Now we have bands such as Newsboys, DC Talk, POD, MXPX, and Creed who carry the Christian can, as does Wash in
New Zealand. Others like Dave Dobbyn and Zed, shun the local Christian industry. Yet Wash, one of this country’s top
Christian bands, was not at this year’s festival, despite being one of the best bands at last years gig. Although
sponsor World Vision had a presence, fellow Christian relief organisation TEAR Fund was missing, as was Wellington’s top
ska band, the Royal Rumble. They support TEAR Fund so wonder why they weren’t asked? – there’s something going down
there……
The Top selling Christian band in the world - POD - were not at the Parachute festival yet they are performing in
Auckland in a few weeks. You’d think they would have had more exposure at a Parachute festival, and wonder why the
festival organisers did not invite them to their event. Perhaps they didn’t know POD were coming to NZ.
Now before you say, “well, who cares about Christian bands we have never heard of”, you’d think that anything that draws
more than 20,000 people on an annual basis would be worth covering in the metropolitan dailies. Yet journalists at the
NZ Herald, the Evening Post, and the Dominion probably didn’t know it was on either, if they did they didn’t know much
about it or who the organisers were. I didn’t get any media releases either. When I contacted the organisers this week
they weren’t sure whether any were sent out to the metropolitan dailies – the person “assumed they were”. I don’t know
how many releases I got from the BDO, but it was more than none.
Which brings me to wonder what kind of media strategy Parachute Music has. They run media conferences at these
festivals, but most of those attending are wannabe journalists writing for Christian rags for the weekend and the odd
one or two bone fide journalists. No journalists or photographers turn up from the main city metropolitan dailies, but
there were a few clips on TV seen by a fleeting few. Sometimes I wonder whether the media, if they know about it, sees
the Parachute festivals as a newsworthy rock gig or a Parish Hoot filled with lots of happy clappy excited religious
teenagers from the many youth groups in the country. Some of the music is actually quite good and would cut it at any
Gathering or Big Day Out.
Once again, Christian music in this country has missed out on a golden opportunity to increase its profile outside those
in the know at their flagship event. Now that the event is over I guess we won’t hear from them until the next Parachute
album wins a gospel award, or, if we are lucky, get to hear of their next festival the same time next year.
- Dave Crampton is a Wellington-based freelance journalist. He can be contacted at davec@globe.net.nz