Related Links: About MVNU | SonFest Site | iTickets.com

Tenth Avenue North includes Mike Donehey (vocals/acoustic guitar), Jeff Owen (electric guitar and backup vocals), Ruben Juarez III (bass and backup vocals), Brendan Shirley (keyboard and backup vocals) and Jason Jamison (drums), and formed while its members attended Palm Beach Atlantic University. Each member brings a distinct flavor. Jamison explains, “We’re pretty eclectic. We really have a very strange conglomeration of musical interests.” Those diverse musical roots meld to create a fresh, warmly textured sound.

According to the band’s website, “What we’re hoping for with this music that we’re making is to not just entertain people. What we’re wanting is to see people encounter truth. We desire to be cut to the heart. To be honest, genuine, and faithful to what we believe is truth.”

With two Dove Awards under their belts for New Artist of the Year (2009), Song of the Year for “By Your Side” (2010), and three 2011 nominations (Group of the year, Song of the Year and Artist of the Year), Tenth Avenue North has arrived full force on the contemporary Christian music scene. The band has toured with the likes of David Crowder Band, Casting Crowns and MercyMe and headlines its own tours throughout the United States. They released “Tenth Avenue North Live: Inside and In Between—The Shows, The Songs, The Story” in March 2011 and expect to release their next album in mid-2012.

Hailing from Atlanta, Family Force 5 (FF5) has spent the last six years touring clubs and arenas worldwide, making the band the poster child for DIY business models in the music industry. Boasting a gritty concoction of mammoth beats, mouth-watering melodies and explosive guitars, members Solomon “Soul Glow Activatur” Olds, Jacob “Crouton” Olds, Joshua “Fatty” Olds, Nathan “Nadaddy” Currin and Derek “Chap Stique” Mount have crafted an impressive resume.

Assembled in 2001, FF5 draws crowds from assorted music subcultures (rock, punk, metal, alt-rock, hip hop) and has participated four times in the Warped Tour. They are incredibly close to their diverse fans, who are anticipating the band’s release of its third full-length album, hailed as one of Alternative Press’s most anticipated albums of 2011. Over the years, the band has continued to drop jaws—placing songs in major films (Almost Alice, Warrior’s Way); winning countless awards by landslide amounts (Yahoo’s Who’s Next, MTVU’s Freshman Class, AP Reader’s Choice Awards, etc.); earning two Dove Award nominations; and scoring significant press in nearly every major outlet.

Other SonFest artists include Decyfer Down, Jamie Grace, Sent By Ravens, Mike Mains & The Branches, Wolves at the Gate and more. There will be two stages, free inflatables for all ages, festival food and giveaways. New this year is a jumbotron screen. This is a rain-or-shine event.

Tickets will be available at the special early-bird price of $12 starting June 6. Regular tickets go on sale June 14 and are $13 for groups of 15 or more, $15 for individuals or $40 for VIP tickets, available at iTickets.com (1-800-965-9324), the MVNU Cougar Corner Bookstore or Columbus-area LifeWay Christian Stores. Tickets are $20 at the gate (group rate not available at the gate).

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students and working adults. U.S. News & World Report ranks MVNU in the top 50 Regional Colleges (Midwest) for the seventh year in a row. With a 400-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and eight additional satellite Graduate and Professional Studies sites throughout the state, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education to more than 2,600 students from 26 states and seven countries/U.S. territories.