Switchfoot and Newsboys to headline Stadium Fest 2013

Christian rock bands Switchfoot and the Newsboys will headline this year’s Stadium Fest event at Spain Park High School’s football stadium.

The free Christian music and speaker festival hosted by the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association (SDEA) will extend two days, April 12-13.

In its first year, 2009, the biennial event hosted more than 25,000 people in Samford University’s Seibert Stadium. popularity grew to more than 39,000 attendees in the 2011 Stadium Fest.

Gina Mayfield, director of conference administration at SDEA, said with this year’s headliners, Stadium Fest is expected to draw 50,000 in attendance.

The event begins on Friday night at 6 p.m. with a lineup that includes: Contemporary Christian singer Jamie Grace; Christian alternative band Rhett Walker Band; Bill “Bubba” Bussey and Rick Burgess from The Rick and Bubba radio talk-show; and Switchfoot, who won a Grammy award in 2011 for Best Rock Gospel album. Friday night festivities end at 9:30 p.m.

Saturday’s events begin at noon with an evening lineup of Christian rock singer David Crowder; a message from Stadium Fest host and evangelist Scott Dawson; and the Newsboys as headliners. The two-day festival will conclude with a fireworks show at 9:30 p.m.

Stadium Fest 2013 provides entertainment for all ages with events like comic stuntman Bello Nock and the famous Bello the Clown from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

A section of Spain Park’s stadium will also feature Bronner Burgess Playground. The playground will be a tribute from Stadium Fest to the son of Rick Burgess, Bronner, who died in an accidental drowning in 2008.

SDEA was formed by Scott Dawson and is in its 25th year of existence. Its purpose is to spread the news of Christian faith, a calling of Dawson’s since his college years at Samford University. He began the evangelistic association when he was 20.

Since then, Dawson and his team at SDEA have used festivals and conferences as a forum to reach the association’s goals. SDEA also hosts AtlantaFest, Safe at Home conferences and the Strength to Stand Conference, which began in 1989.