BREAKTHROUGH Concert

There is nothing like a rock concert to get people together.

Esp. one with all the bells and whistles.

Early this month month we met some young guys who told us that they were planning a concert where they wanted good music and some solid messages addressing social issues and helping young people be free from the challenges they face.

I was hesitant and skeptical - because of how difficult we have found organising the YAA festivals so far. But also very excited about other people organizing something for young people. After a bit of prayer we told them that we were on board.

These guys really put together an amazing show. 3 bands - straddling the spectrum of growling hard-core head-bangers 24x7 (a band from Lonavala) to Hindi-oriented rock from our old friends Commonunion and finally Sheldon + band - a group of Hindi rock/worship guys.

Vijay, the frontman of Commonunion lets loose

Having organised the YAA festival so far on an absolute shoe-string, it was awe-inspiring to come to a stage flanked by a 3 story high scaffolding holding the sound and lights. During the sound testing I understand that some of the window panes in nearby buildings were shaking.

The crowd was good - a mixture of folks who had been invited and people off the streets who had seen the publicity. One of the church leaders present said that he saw a lot of young guys at the event whom he had not seen in church for a long time.

I was asked to speak on Preventing AIDS and Smoking. On one hand it was a hard sell - to talk to a bunch of concert goers. But on the other hand it was a lot of fun. There is a different atmosphere in a good concert - folks are ready to respond and we were able to put together a pretty hard-hitting set of materials which was much appreciated.

The JSK team was also present to give our literature on HIV and to counsel people. While we did not have huge numbers coming to us to talk (it was after all mainly a rock concert) a number of our staff were able to talk and pray with young people who had different personal needs.


I would say that there were at least 1000 folks who were there over the course of the evening. It was wonderful to see what can be done by young people who put their hopes and dreams into action.

Hats off to the LinkLife team - to Jobin, Blesson, Joy, Benny, Sam, Betty, Richard, Sarang, Biji and all the others who worked behind the scenes!