But when I spoke with lead singer Adam Agee, the Creation people had just announced the unprecedented cancellation due to the massive amounts of rain that have hit the central PA area in the past week. Adam seemed to be taking it all in stride, and as he shared with me his favorite parts of the festival scene I got to see what really drives this guy. It's all about the kids.
"There are a lot of kids who wait all year for the festival to hit their area. It's often a really big point in their youth group year, whether they've been raising money all year for it or not. They've been looking forward to it, they're happy to be there, and it makes it fun because they're all going crazy," he laughs. "They want to meet as many artists as possible, and so we try to hang out and meet a lot of kids. The festival is also fun for us because we get to hang out with and meet a lot of different bands and friends of ours in bands so it's like a family reunion of sorts."
"The Stellar Kart guys are kind of unique in that we really like to watch the other bands perform their shows. We watch as many bands as we can, and just hang out in the crowds. It's something that we love," he says. "We never got to go to festivals as kids growing up. There just weren't any festivals in the Phoenix area, so it's all still pretty new to us, new enough that we still love it."
It's all about connecting with people for this energetic band. "It's hard for some artists to really take time to connect with people because you're on stage for however long, and then you sign autographs, and then it's time to pack up and move on to the next city," Adam explains. "But we started out in youth camps where you get to be with the kids for a longer period of time. You get to hang out with them, play around with them. They will respect a lot of what you say because you're in a band. Everything you say they will listen to with a little more thought. You get the opportunity to share with them what you believe and why and it really impacts them, which for us is very cool."
It is their desire for real connection that leads them to cover real life issues in their music.... But that's in Part 2 of my Stellar Kart interview with Adam Agee, so keep clicking!
