Location: Tampa, FL
Venue: Bush Gardens
Date: 05/09/2009
Line Up: Relient K, Sanctus Real, NEEDTOBREATHE, This Beautiful Republic, and Worth Dying For.

Thousands of people came out to the music festival Glory at the Gardens May 9, 2009 at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. Bands that played at the event included the following: Relient K, Sanctus Real, NEEDTOBREATHE, This Beautiful Republic, and Worth Dying For.

Worth Dying For started off the event with lots of energy. Hailing from Modesto, California, Worth Dying For is a rock worship band directed towards teenagers. With songs like “Revolution”, Worth Dying For is a band that rocks for Jesus.

Next up was the band This Beautiful Republic. Even in the 90-something degree Florida sunshine This Beautiful Republic, as always, gave everything they had during their performance. Towards the end of TBR’s set frontman Ben Olin even jumped off stage, climbed over the barrier, and sang right in the midst of the crowd. Songs such as No Turning Back were the highlights of TBR’s set.

Changing the pace a little bit, came NEEDTOBREATHE, a “rock’n’dance-a-billy” band from Charleston, South Carolina. Known especially for their song “Washed By The Water”, NEEDTOBREATHE played a fun show that the crowd enjoyed.

The crowd started growing and by the time the Dove award-winning band Sanctus Real started playing there were a large amount of people in the Gwazi field. Haling from Toledo, Ohio, Sanctus Real, captivated the audience. As somewhat “old-timers” in the Christian music industry, Sanctus Real showed that even after thirteen years of being a band, they still know how to rock. One of the highlights of Sanctus Real’s set was when they played the title track off of their newest record “We Need Each Other”. The crowd sang along and everyone couldn’t help but have a great time along with Sanctus Real’s lead singer Matt Hammit.

The last band to play for the afternoon was the definite crowd-favorite, Relient K. The band started off with the song “Chapstick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry”, which fit with the setting of a theme park well. They continued with songs that typically fall on their list such as “Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet” and “Sadie Hawkins Dance”. After Relient K was done playing they left stage, only to have the audience yell for an encore. Relient K came back on and played “Deathbed”, a song that clocks in just over 11 minutes long, complete with trumpets, an accordion, and other fun instruments, which is quite incredible to view live.

The first annual Glory at the Gardens was definitely a success. Many people drove in from all over central Florida and some even flew in from places as far as New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. Even though the sun was scorching I am sure everyone had to agree it was worth the nasty sunburn and dehydration to see the awesome shows throughout the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on May 23rd, 2009