It's hard to believe that it's been about 8 years since I last attended Uprise Festival. The busyness of life is largely the reason for not getting back to the Shippensburg Fairgrounds sooner, but to say I've missed this event would be a gross understatement.

A lot has changed over the years - not only in music and Christian music, but live music. Creation Festival, among others, have gone the way of the dodo, leaving a void for events like these. Thankfully, Uprise Festival is still going strong, and 2025 marked the festival's 20th anniversary. And for that, they decided to celebrate it bigger than ever.

To my knowledge, Uprise has never been a three-day event. This year was the first time they carried the festivities over into a Sunday. Due to my schedule, and life in general, it only made sense for me to attend Saturday, which I realize leaves almost 2 full days unaccounted for in my coverage. However, Saturday is the longest day of the festival, with three stages full of music and plenty of other events and attractions for kids, families, and churches, starting pretty early in the day and running long into the evening. In the past, I don't believe the festival always had on-site camping options, so it was pretty cool to see that has become a part of the accomodations over the years as it's grown.

With three stages of music running simultaneously, there's always live music going, and I made it my mission this year to see as many of the acts on the bill as possible -- even if it meant just sampling a song or two from most of them. And I'm happy to say I caught pieces of 17 different sets throughout the day. (You can bet I got my steps in for the day before dinner!) As soon as I got through the gate after noon, I made my way to the Rock Star Stage at the far end of the Fairgrounds. The last time I attended, 8 years ago (sorry I never got that write-up finished and posted - it was my goal to do significantly better this year!), the Rock Star Stage was roughly where the Hip Hop Stage tent is now, so it surprised me to see it given a much larger location at the furthest point in the lot. But with this location, there's more room for the crowd, and it was a nice setup for people to park their chairs and camping gear for the full day. Solo artist Matt Sassano was performing when I strolled up to the stage. He kind of has that Seventh Day Slumber / RED vibe musically, and put on a rather passionate rock set. From there, I popped into the Hip Hop tent to check out indie rapper BigBreeze. I don't think I've ever heard of him, but he seemed to have no problem getting the Uprise hip hop fans moving.

One of the main reasons I really wanted to attend this year was to see John Reuben live once again. It's been years since I saw him perform. But with all the buzz around the fresh-faced pop artist Riley Clemmons in the CCM world today, I was actually kind of excited to check her out live first. Sure enough, the 25-year-old has a solid voice live, and she seemed really comfortable up there at the Main Stage. When I walked up, she was performing the hymn "Because He Lives." She took turns standing out on the catwalk stage extension and sitting at her piano playing. "Broken Prayers" followed, and the she introduced a brand new song called "Dear Me" that she wrote for her next album, which she's currently working on. She then asked the audience to stand and dance for "Runs Deep," and then also performed "For the Good," before getting more serious with the piano ballad she wrote after losing her aunt to cancer, "This Side of Heaven." She then closed her set with "Fighting for Me."

After a set change, John Reuben returned to the stage for his first performance in 4 years. He strut onto the stage to the tune of "Thank You" before bursting into "Divine Inspiration" from his 2000 Gotee debut, Are We There Yet?. I still remember seeing John live for the very first time opening for Audio Adrenaline. I was not a fan of his music at all - it just wasn't my cup of tea - but he told the SkiFest audience at Ski Roundtop that cold March night that they would be a fan after seeing his show, and for me, he was right. So aside from looking a little grayer, the Ohio native proved he's still got it as he tore into "Hindsight" before reprising his classic "Free T-Shirt" crowd hype bit and freestyling like a pro for the Uprise audience. "Move," now a John Reu classic, was next, and then he performed the more rock-based "Out of Control." Unfortunately, he was taken by surprise with his voice giving out on him a little bit, but he powered through anyway. "Word of Mouth" and "Make Money Money" followed, and then "Future Nostalgia" from his independently-released 2017 record Reubonic. He seemed to be back in business at this point and continued to own the stage as he invited his daughter Lily to join him for "Nuisance," before playing a medley of fan favorites that included "I John Reu," "Him Her He She," "Doin'," and "Gather In." He then closed his set out right with "Do Not," from his debut record, and promised the audience he'll be back to Uprise next year.

I stuck around Main Stage a bit so I could catch the beginning of Centricity Music artist Natalie Layne's set. She opened with "Amen," sitting at a piano and showcasing her stellar voice, before continuing on with "Steady." At that point, I ventured all the way over to the Rock Star Stage for a little bit of Behold the Beloved, and then caught a couple minutes of 1K Phew at the Hip Hop Stage. It's honestly so nice to finally see so many of these artists in the flesh whose names pop up in the releases list and news feed weekly. 1K was really working the audience when I popped into the tent, and it just seemed like it was a never ending party in there all day!

But... my heart still belongs to some of these old faithfuls. I made my way back over to Main Stage for hard rock legends Disciple. It's actually been several years since I've been able to catch them live, and I can say with confidence that they really haven't missed a step; they're as solid as ever. They opened with "Radical" and "Oh God Save Us All" before playing a couple newer tracks from the Deluxe Edition of their latest record, Skeleton Psalms - "Sound the Alarm" and "If You Say So." Both sounded great live. One of my favorite parts of a Disciple show is vocalist Kevin Young's talks/preaching. He always delivers inspirational and encouraging messages, and this time he focused on the topic of suicide and segued into the rock ballad "Promise to Live." They then performed the worship anthem "Firm Foundation" and merged it into "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever," before returning to their heavier material with "Dear X, You Don't Own Me." Young stopped again to talk about how their messages of war and fighting are metaphorical and always driven by love (a message clearly inspired by some of the awful violence in the news earlier in the week), and then performed "Scapegoat," encouraging the audience to shout along the lyrics, "Never again, never again!" They then wrapped up their set with "Bow Down," sneaking a little chorus of "RIP" onto the end before closing. However - the audience wouldn't stop chanting "One more song!" so the band obliged with one last offering, the chaotic rocker "Panic Room," from their album Love Letter Kill Shot.

After Disciple left the stage, I walked back to Rock Star where Decyfer Down had already been playing for a bit. While I was there, they performed "Break Free" and "Fight Like This." After they finished, I caught a few minutes of War of Ages for - what I believe is - my first time ever seeing them live. They put on a pretty energetic and passionate metal set that was a treat to experience.

I also finally got a chance to see Social Club Misfits live for the first time. The duo were seizing the attention of the audience in the Hip Hop tent, and they were performing "Who Dat Is" when I arrived. Afterwards, Marty said he was performing the next song live for the very first time, and launched into "Big in Japan."

Over at Main Stage, Gotee Records' Terrian was well into her set already and she was performing a cover of All Sons & Daughters' "Great Are You Lord" when I walked up. She then introduced a brand new song, due out September 26th, called "Testimony," keeping the vibe of her set more subdued. But after I wandered away - but still in earshot - to grab dinner and fuel up, I heard her pick up the energy quite a bit.

Between sets at the Main Stage, the emcee would hype the crowd up, and sponsors like Valley Forge College and local station WordFM would come out and speak to the audience. To my surprise, superstar sibling trio CAIN took the stage several minutes early, serving as the first Main Stage headlining act of the night. Large letters spelling out the name "CAIN," bookended by large floral shapes, were set up on stage all day, but this was the first time they were fully uncovered. Throughout their set, the words would illuminate, too, adding to the co-headliner production of their set. Among tracks the threesome played were "Rise Up (Lazarus)," "Hands Up, Sing Out," and "Yes He Can." I then trekked over to the Hip Hop Stage where Reach Records artist Hulvey had been performing. He had the crowd absolutely bopping when I peeked in. He was in the middle of performing the interactive fan-favorite "True," before continuing on with a song inspired by his wife Rachel, titled "Love Like That."

I made my way back over to the Rock Star Stage for the 8PM set from former Flyleaf vocalist Lacey Sturm. I'd totally forgotten that it was announced to be an acoustic set, but I absolutely love Lacey's voice and will take her live performance in any form I can get it. She opened with "Awaken Love" with a guest violinist accompanying her, named Melody. Her only other accompaniment was Chris from Jen Ledger's band on guitar, and he stayed on stage to perform every song with her. Her set consisted entirely of cuts from her solo projects, including "Reconcile," "Are You Listening?," "Thief," and "Rot." She then invited Melody back on stage with the violin to perform "Forever and Ever" for the very first time live. Lacey followed it up with a message about God's love and then performed "Terrible Mistake" and "Wonderful." Melody returned one last time for "Breathe With Me," a song Lacey wrote with Korey Cooper of Skillet, and just when she was about to close with her last song, Bubba - the founder of Uprise Festival - popped up down front and asked if she could play two more. Lacey was thrilled to oblige and performed "End of Wars" and then added on a Flyleaf original in "All Around Me." (Thank you, Bubba! I always love hearing her perform Flyleaf favorites!)

Even being all the way on the other end of the festival grounds, it sounded like the Main Stage set might have started early, but as I made my way over there, I didn't want to miss my chance to see KB live for (I think) the first time. The Hip Hop Stage was absolutely packed, overflowing with fans even gathering along the outside of the fence of the tent. KB owned the stage and people were clearly eating it up. But with the night growing late (and I had a long drive home ahead - solo, mind you), I pressed on to Main Stage where headliner Zach Williams was already underway. By the time I got within earshot, Zach was performing his hit "Fear is a Liar" to a captivated audience. He then followed it up with talk about his forthcoming album, Jesus Loves, due out the following Friday (Sept. 19), and then performed the title track - a song he wrote for the outcasts.

Man, I've missed Uprise Festival. Sure, I've missed festivals in general, but Uprise has always been something special. If you've ever considered going, I can't recommend it enough. They've already announced 2026's dates for September 11 and 12th, so keep an eye on www.uprisefest.com for the latest details! Maybe I'll see you there next year!