While many southern gospel groups prepare to head to Louisville, Kentucky for the National Quartet Convention, some of the biggest names in contemporary Christian music will be going further south to Orlando – specifically, to Walt Disney World Resort for the annual “Night of Joy.”
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL – Dove Award-winning NEEDTOBREATHE will raise the curtain on Walt Disney World Night of Joy 2009, playing a 7 p.m. show on Sept. 11 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as the first of 19 Christian music acts performing during the two-night event (Sept. 11-12). Night of Joy concerts take place after regular park closing and require a separate ticket which provides admission to Disney’s Hollywood Studios from 4 p.m. until 1 a.m. on event days.
The lineup for this 27th edition of Night of Joy is musically diverse, with multi-platinum Christian rock band P.O.D. making its 2009 concert debut as part of the Sept. 11 show schedule, and before Grammy Award-winning alternative contemporary Christian band Jars of Clay brings down the curtain with a late-night show on Sept. 12, the studios’ stages also will have been alive with MercyMe, newsboys, Skillet, Flyleaf, Chris Tomlin, Kutless, Grits, Leeland, Superchick, Mandisa, Family Force 5, Francesca Battistelli, Revive, Josh Wilson, Above the Golden State and Abandon.
Nine of the acts are new to Night of Joy: P.O.D., Grits, NEEDTOBREATHE, Family Force 5, Francesca Battistelli, Revive, Josh Wilson, Abandon and Above the Golden State. They join a legacy of 139 Christian music acts that have played Night of Joy since 1983.
For Mandisa, Night of Joy will mark her second “guest appearance†at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2009. On Feb. 12, she was among an unprecedented gathering of 27 “American Idol†finalists – including the winners from each of the show’s first seven seasons – who participated in a Hollywood gala-style event to premiere “The American Idol Experience,†an attraction that immerses guests in the excitement of the hit TV show “American Idol.â€
Night of Joy concerts are at four stage locations throughout Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park. The schedule also includes star conversations with select performers – plus the opportunity for guests to experience many popular Disney’s Hollywood Studios attractions.
More details are available at nightofjoy.com. Individual tickets may be purchased online or by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets online or by calling 877/NITE-JOY (648-3569).
