Disciple & ALTIRA at The Junction Center - June 2026
Last December, we were pumped to see Disciple & Honor & Glory in Manheim for a special Christmas show, but unfortunately a bus breakdown led to their show being cancelled. They rescheduled the Disciple show for late June and this time bringing along ALTIRA as the opener. If you grew up in the 2000s and 2010s, this show provides a great throwback between the thunderous sounds of Disciple, accompanied by the female-fronted ALTIRA featuring Dawn Michelle, former lead singer of Fireflight. This was shaping up to be a great night of rock and worship.
John Stafferi from WJTL’s “Some Sort of Rock Show” came out to share a few words about what to expect from the evening, share upcoming events (including The Protest in August, Behold the Beloved in October and Grace Graber in October) and plug his radio show. The anticipation was palpable as the band made their way out on stage. Dawn ripped into a stripped down version of “How Great Thou Art” to set the tone for the evening. Then they launched into an old Fireflight song, “For Those Who Wait.” On Tuesday, I had the chance to sit down and talk with Dawn, Gina and Ash about what it was like to start a new band, so it was exciting to finally see them throwing it down live. For tonight, they invited Ken Reed to play bass for them. You may recognize Ken from his time with Seventh Day Slumber. Dawn shared about how it felt great to be back on stage before diving right into their biggest hit, “Black Hole.” She could not believe that “Black Hole” has been on top of the Christian rock charts for the last six weeks.
They went into another Altira original, “Here I Am” and then slid into Fireflight’s “Die Free” which included a surprise collaboration with Kevin Young from Disciple. Dawn and Kevin matched energy with their strong vocals and massive hairflips. Dawn took the time to share about the mission of Altira and how they sense a call from God to help deliver people from a spirit of fear and used a verse from 2 Timothy where it says that “God has not given us a Spirit of fear.” This brought us to “Surrender,” a worship-minded song from Dawn’s solo run before going to “What I’ve Overcome.” There were various moments throughout the show where Ash and Gina highlighted what they brought on the guitars and drums.
Dawn also shared about another passion that they have, which is to help people escape from situations of abuse. Dawn is an abuse survivor and shared how they want to encourage those who are escaping abuse, before going into “Paper Doll.” The intensity of the lyrics accompanied by Dawn’s powerhouse voice was a highlight of the evening. They wrapped up their set with the title track of their EP, “Death of Fear” and then rocked out Fireflight’s most well-known song, “Unbreakable.” Overall, Altira served as a great opener for Disciple. There is a bright future for this project and we’ll certainly be on the alert for more from them. After the show, we had the opportunity to meet them in person for the first time, after our recent online interview. It was great to chat with them a little more!
Then, we had a chance to catch our breath before the main event. It’s hard to believe that Disciple has been at this for 25 years. I remember seeing them at Manheim BIC Church shortly after their self-titled record came out. Fast forward through different albums, influences, hair styles and band members to today. They featured a fun video package, highlighting the differences between 2001, 2003, 2020 and current day. There were clips from Cornerstone Festival and other highlights of the band’s history. It is amazing seeing how long this band has been around and what God has done through this band.
Kevin, Joey, Josiah and Ken (stepping in at bass) came out to thunderous applause right into “The Ballad of St. Augustine.” Then, it was straight into the catchy, high octane “Game On.” I love watching the stage chemistry between Josiah (guitars) and Kevin (vocals). The two are like wild lunatics on the stage, especially the wild eyed looks from Josiah. Next was “The Executioner” off their latest project Skeleton Psalms. They took a minute to catch their breath and express their apologies for not being able to make it last December which led Josiah and Joey into the opening bars of “Jingle Bell Rock.” Once everybody had a minute to get some water, the boys went right back into it with “Sound the Alarm,” “If You Say So” and “Erase.”
Disciple has always been an advocate for mental health and an inspiration for those who deal with mental health. Between the songs they’ve written and their own personal experiences, the band has always followed after God has called them to write about. “Promise to Live” was written for their most recent album, Skeleton Psalms. It was written as a challenge to anybody thinking that they’re not worthy of living and thinking that suicide is the answer. In the song, the band asks for those people who think of calling it finished to give them a promise to live and that there is a reason why they still have breath in their lungs.
Ken and Joey stepped off and left Josiah and Kevin left to do the next two songs in a stripped down, intimate fashion. They played “Invisible” and before they started the next song, Kevin gave the story behind “After the World.” In dealing with writer's block for the song, he stepped back and asked God what He wanted to say. Despite resistance from the label, it became Disciple’s first Christian radio hit. He shared the story of how a girl came up to the merch booth and said that she had planned to end it all two weeks prior to this show. She wrote her good-bye letter and before she went through with it, she looked up to heaven and said “God, if you’re real and you do love me, show me. Prove to me that you’re there. Prove to me that you love me. Prove it.” Then, she told Kevin (who was crying) that she reached over and turned on the radio and heard the song. Through the lyrics, she heard God answer her prayer. Kevin said that is one of the many stories of how God has used that song to save lives.
Josiah then left and Kevin gave an encouraging and rousing message on forgiveness. There is power in forgiveness. Kevin is a captivating speaker and keeps your attention. He certainly has that gift. He gave an opportunity for the crowd to respond to the gospel and five people made that decision to follow after Jesus. The boys joined him back on stage for one of my all-time favorite songs from the band, “Dear X.” Then they charged right into the high-octane hit, “Radical.” Listening to the song and reading the lyrics, it truly feels to me like a worship song, a powerful reminder that we are called to be radical.
Disciple ended their set with a plug for ChildFund and were willing to offer an incentive for fans to follow God’s call to give food to the hungry, clothe the naked and to offer a better life. They wrapped up the chaos with the title track from their 2012 release, O God Save Us All. As they exited the stage, the crowd immediately went into an united call for an encore. The band obliged almost immediately and brought the heat with an oldie “The Wait is Over.” While they wrapped up the song, Kevin made the promise to the crowd that there will be new music from the band later that year. He said that the music is written, recorded and ready for the finishing touches. This will be the band’s fourteenth album and third one released from Tooth & Nail Records. No date or any other information was given. They finished off the night with the latest single, “Bow Down.” The crowd screamed back the chorus as an anthem of how we submit our lives to Christ.
It was a great night of rockin’ worship. We were disappointed when Disciple had to cancel last December, but it was with good reason. Now, all this time later with no bus trouble, not only did we get to see Disciple once more but we also got to see the return of Dawn Michele to the stage with Altira. Altira featured a mix of original and Fireflight hits. While I was bummed to not hear “You Decide,” I was still excited to hear a great set list from a band that has a great future. It’s always a great time hearing Disciple and seeing their live show. They always bring a high energy, Spirit-filled, crazy show, packed with encouraging lyrics, incredible double bass and driven guitar riffs. This won’t be the last time that we’ll see Disciple this year as we hope to see them again in September at Uprise. Thank you to Disciple for 25 years of amazing, incredible Christian rock and looking forward to many more.
Altira Set List
How Great Thou Art
For Those Who Wait
Black Hole
Here I Am
Die Free (feat. Kevin)
Surrender
What I’ve Overcome
Paper Doll
Death of Fear
Unbreakable
Disciple Set List
The Ballad of St. Augustine
Game On
The Executioner
Sound the Alarm
If You Say So
Erase
Promise To Live
Invisible
After the World
Dear X
Radical
O God Save Us All
Disciple Encore
The Wait is Over
Bow Down
