Concert Review: Winter Jam 2023 (Greensboro Coliseum)

We The Kingdom
BY MARK DOLEJS

Winter Jam brought its tour to the Greensboro Coliseum on Saturday night to a near capacity crowd. The Christian music tour brings ten bands/artists and a speaker on the road with the purpose of sharing the gospel with the crowd and showcasing a variety of musical styles.

NewSong
NewSong, one of the ten bands performing Saturday night, founded the tour in 1995. When the tour first started, the entry fee was only $3. Nowadays, a general admission seat will cost you $15, not bad for the chance to catch 10 artists.

RENEE
Greensboro was the 22nd stop on the 40-city tour. The night opened with three Pre Jam artists, Thrive Worship, Sean Be and RENEE, with each artist performing around four songs.

Featured artists for the night included, NewSong, Austin French, Disciple, Andy Mineo, Jeremy Camp, Anne Wilson and headliners, We The Kingdom. Each of the featured artists performed 5-7 songs, during the five hours of music.

Andy Mineo
Mineo took command of the stage with his set of hip-hop, wearing a bright orange puffy jacket and pants. Leading the crowd during several rowdy choruses, the crowd was constantly jumping in unison.

Disciple brought the heaviest tunes to the stage, rocking their heavy metal guitar riffs and thunderous beats. Front man and vocalist Kevin Young is the only original member of the band. The band originally formed in 1992 and Young commands the stage the same now as he did when the band first started, with non-stop energy.

Anne Wilson
21-year-old Anne Wilson brought her brand of country Christian music to the stage, celebrating her birthday just a couple days before the show. Since her 2021 debut, she has taken the industry by storm with several hits, including "Sunday Sermons," "Hey Girl," and "My Jesus," which she shared with the audience Saturday night.

We The Kingdom
We The Kingdom finished out the night with a powerful set and kept the crowd on their feet. Its hard to match the energy of this family band, made up of brothers Ed and Scott Cash, Ed's children, Franni Rae Cash Cain and Martin Cash, and Andrew Bergthold, who technically is not related, but is considered as part of the family. The band started their set with a compilation of their song, "Left It In The Water," and portions of "Proud Mary" and "Johnny B. Goode." Finishing out the night, they closed with their hit "Holy Water."

We The Kingdom's Franni
The tour returns to the area on March 17, in Raleigh at PNC Arena. If you get a chance to go, make sure you get there early to hold your place in line. These are general admission shows and you are not able to purchase tickets in advance.

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MARK DOLEJS

Photography is an avenue that Mark Dolejs uses to learn about the people and places that cross his path. After more than 30 years as a photojournalist, Mark enjoys concert, macro, and roadside photography. Follow Mark on Instagram at @solidrockpix.

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