Uprise Festival 2025 Review - Day Three
Day Three of Uprise Festival was upon us and the Rockstar Stage shifted over to the Hip-Hop tent, since the physical stage had been torn down overnight. Since this was a bonus day, the morning started off slow, although we were told there was a worship service in the tent in the morning. I had the pleasure of interviewing both Brotality and Saved By Skarlet before the Rockstar portion of the day began. We got to see our friends Brotality play, always a treat. We first saw them in 2019 at the Creation Festival, when they were teenagers, and they have grown a lot as a band and as individuals. They bring a passion for thrash and groove metal and incorporate their faith into their songs. Aggressive, loud, and invigorating, they had a great mosh pit going on the right side of the tent. Sprinkled in among the songs were some technical issues with Bryce’s guitar, which lent to a cool jam session on bass & drums and a “unique” set, as they called it. During one of the technical interludes, bassist Reese made a passionate plea for the audience to know they are not alone in this life. Brotality is partnered with HeartSupport, a mental health non-profit for the metal community. Fan favorites like “Salting The Wound” and “Blasphemy” were played, and they debuted their brand new single “The Body,” which was released a few days later.
Next was a new band for us, Saved by Skarlet. They were featured in Kingdom Core’s Top 60 Albums of 2024 and this metal band from New England were eager to get up on stage and bring the noise. I find it encouraging watching rockers, both young and old, getting in the mosh pit and keeping the scene alive. Saved by Skarlet also debuted their new song “Memory Relapse,” which is a banger about self-reflection. These guys brought the energy with consistent pacing and guitar riffs that were aggressive and entertaining. For me, the band selection for the Rockstar Stage performances over the course of the weekend was excellent. Each band brought the energy and absolutely lit it up. They kept the pace moving and made sure the crowd was engaged every step of the way.
While Saved By Skarlet was crushing it in the Rockstar/Hip-Hop tent, Jen enjoyed the opportunity to relax in the early evening light at Main Stage for Elevation Rhythm. We knew a few of their songs, and knew they were high energy, but we weren’t expecting the beautiful time of worship, with songs like “Praises” and “O Come To The Altar.” They even did a fun re-mix cover of Elevation Worship’s “Praise,” a favorite in our household. It was a little awkward watching all five singers try to fit on the stage extension, while singing and jumping about, trying not to run into each other! But they brought the energy for their final song, “Goodbye Yesterday.” However, the crowd was not ready to say goodbye and kicked off the “one more song” chant, leading to another mid-day encore, which is usually a rare thing, but the Main Stage was ahead of schedule with the cancellation of Gio as the opening act for the day.
It was finally time for the Sunday night headliner on the Main Stage, Phil Wickham. Phil was in the area back in July with his summer tour with Brandon Lake where 30,000 people attended the show in Hersheypark Stadium. He kicked off his set with hits like “Battle Belongs” and “This is Amazing Grace.” Throughout the weekend, it was great to hear rock, metal and hip hop, but there was something about ending the weekend with worship that felt like it was thrusting you into the presence of the living God. Phil has this genuine joy that he seems to be fully engulfed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. That kind of joy is infectious to all those who hear and see him. Whether it was singing along to “The King Is In The Room” or “What An Awesome God,” it was absolutely refreshing to be laying it down and allowing God to minister to our hearts and souls.
Uprise Festival 2025 was a great festival. While it won’t replace Creation Festival or Purple Door Festival in our hearts, it’s a solid, fun Christian music festival. There were some disappointments when we heard that Red and Spoken had to drop off as well as Gio, but there were a bunch of highlights. For me, I got to see and meet incredible bands, hear some excellent music and allow my heart to be ministered to by the Holy Spirit through the avenue of music. I would highly encourage you to check out every single one of these bands and to keep your eyes on for next year’s Uprise Festival. Next year, the festival returns to their 2 day schedule, save the dates for September 11th and 12th at Shippensburg Fairgrounds, be there for Uprise Festival 2026.
Favorite Concerts of the weekend:
Garrett - XIII Minutes & Bloodlines
Jen - Disciple & Brotality
