Rock the Universe

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The 2007 Logo for Rock the Universe

The 2006 Logo for Rock the Universe

Rock the Universe is an annual Christian rock festival that takes place at Universal Studios Florida. It started in 1999, and it normally takes place in the first or second week of September. The festival has three main stages. One is "The Yard Stage", which is located on the edge of the park in between the Jimmy Neutron and Twister attractions. Another is "The Hollywood Stage", which is by the Central Park area and the lake, close to the middle of the park. The third stage is "The Praise and Worship Stage", which is located in the Animal Planet Theater.

The bands that have appearred the most (not counting the upcoming 2008 festival) are the Newsboys and Relient K at six appearances, and Audio Adrenaline, Third Day, Skillet, and Jars of Clay at five appearances. TobyMac has appeared four times as a solo artist, but also appeared twice with dc Talk, making 2007 his sixth visit to the Christian rock festival.

The schedule for the 2008 festival was announced in March 2008.

Rock the Universe is one of three Christian rock festivals held in Florida each year, and all three are held around the Orlando area. One of the other festivals is Cornerstone Florida, a spinoff of the original Cornerstone Festival, and the Florida version is held in May. The other Florida festival is Night of Joy, which is held at Walt Disney World, on the same nights as Rock the Universe. The two festivals are both successful, despite the matching dates, and the main part of the differences comes from what bands the two festivals book. Many bands tend to switch between the two festivals anyway though.

The festival is a member of the Christian Festival Association.

1 Skillet and Rock the Universe
2 Lineups by Year
- 2.1 2008
- 2.2 2007
- 2.3 2006
- 2.4 2005
- 2.5 2004
- 2.6 2003
- 2.7 2002
- 2.8 2001
- 2.9 2000
- 2.10 1999
3 External links

[edit] Skillet and Rock the Universe

The festival has been given much support by both the fans and the bands who play it. John Cooper of Skillet has said on numerous occasions that it is his favorite show to play each year, and has already expressed his desire to return next year. [1] [2] [3]

Cooper spoke at Rock the Universe 2007 about how their guitarist Ben Kasica had been very sick and almost missed the show, and he went into detail on the subject of Kasica and Rock the Universe in an interview. Jesus Freak Hideout [4]reported on this, saying, "A serious illness set back a member of Skillet recently. Frontman John Cooper writes, Our guitar player, Ben, has had several weeks of feeling ill. We took him to the emergency room late one night on the road and he was diagnosed with strep throat. We had a show that night, and after a shot and some medication, he played the show at a festival called Enfuego... The next week Ben seemed to get worse and we had to take him to the emergency room again where they were confused of what he actually had. As it turned out Ben was going to have to have immediate removal of his tonsils because of the swelling and bleeding he was experiencing. I thought we would have to cancel some shows since we would be leaving that same night to go to Florida. The biggest bummer was that we would have to miss "Rock the Universe" at Universal Studios, which is one of my all time favorite shows we have ever played. So, we sat up all night and taught our guitar tech Sean some guitar parts so we could do the shows. We slept for a total of ZERO hours and then drove to the airport to fly to Miami! Nothing can stop Skillet from the rock show baby! We played 6 songs with Sean on guitar. Then something happened that I hope never happens again: I had to play guitar for 4 songs because we did not have time to teach them to Sean. I stink on the guitar! It was the first time in 11 years that I have played guitar on stage and it was uncomfortable! But, it wasn't too bad because the show was rockin'!! Then, amazingly enough, the doctor postponed Ben's surgery a day because Ben was too weak to have it. Then he woke up the next day feeling 100% better and the doctor released him to fly down and meet us in Orlando for "Rock the Universe"! On the lighter side, Cooper also noted, Lori has been proposed to a lot on the road at shows. However, if I am not mistaken the one this year in Orlando was the first guy who actually brought a ring! We were signing some autographs, and the next thing I know there is a guy on one knee, holding up a ring!!"

[edit] Lineups by Year

[edit] 2008

Bands listed are not officially guaranteed as of yet, though these bands are all listed on the official web page.

Friday, September 5:

Saturday, September 6:

Third Day
Jeremy Camp
Jars of Clay
Stellar Kart
Leeland
This Beautiful Republic
Shonlock (rumored, though unlikely as his band is at Night of Joy)

[edit] 2007

Friday, September 7:

Saturday, September 8:

Special Appearances and Speakers:

Bethany Hamilton (Friday and Saturday)
Daren Streblow (Friday and Saturday)
David Nasser (Friday)
Dr. Jay Strack (Saturday)
Brent Crowe (Saturday)
Chris Peck (Sunday)

[edit] 2006

Kutless playing on the Hollywood Stage at Rock the Universe 2006

Friday, September 8:

Saturday, September 9:

[edit] 2005

Friday, September 9:

Saturday, September 10:

[edit] 2004

Friday, September 10:

Saturday, September 11:

[edit] 2003

Friday, September 5:

Saturday, September 6:

[edit] 2002

Friday, September 6:

Saturday, September 7:

[edit] 2001