On March 15th, 2001 the Back Forty Tour made a stop in Madison, Wisconsin. The concert was held at the Cornerstone Church of Madison. The setting was a former nightclub that has been transformed into a place of worship. The audience was approximately 600 people of all ages.

Justin McRoberts started out the night by playing an acoustical set of heartfelt songs that are a product of his personal journey through life. Justin shared with the crowd his personal testimony of his fathers' suicide and how it related to the work on his 2000 release called "Father." After his set I hooked up with Justin and asked him what it was like to share such a personal testimony. Justin had this to say; "The only thing you really have in terms of communicating God, or communicating the Gospel, to other people is your life." Justin stated that peopleunderstand this and that he enjoys sharing because he can see that it makes a difference. When it comes to being on the road and the nonstop touring I was curious as to how Justin maintains his spiritual growth. For Justin it's a matter of being disciplined and making the time for worship. Justin's wife is on the road with him and he states that between the two of them they hold each other accountable. Justin has a great bio and some free audio samples on his web site at www.justinmcroberts.com.

Second up was Bebo Norman, on stage alone with his guitar, broken strings and all, sharing the gospel through music. The broken string caused a slight delay and extended his set past his allotted time. It was good to see that he wasn't concerned with following the timeline and he was more interested in performing. Bebo will be releasing a new CD in May called “Big Blue Sky.” Bebo is an awesome addition to the Back Forty Tour and if you would like to know more about him check out www.bebonorman.com.

Finishing out the night was Grammy nominee Jennifer Knapp. After giving Bebo some grief for going to long the crowd knew she was there to have fun. Jennifer would occasionally pick someone out from the crowd and have a little fun teasing. She also shared some persona testimony of a younger Jennifer Knapp who was not interested in the Bible. Jennifer was certainly pleased with the fact that she was headlining. I don't like the term but it suits the occasion, "Girl Power." That's what this diamond in the rough was communicating. Her set started off low-keyed and more acoustical, but by the end of the night and during her encore she ripped up the stage with hits like "Undo Me." Her vocal power is amazing and lucky for us, the anticipating fans; she will be releasing a new album next fall/winter. Jennifer had hopes that it would be out before Christmas. The perfect stocking stuffer!

Check out www.jenniferknapp.com for more information on Knapp and the Back Forty Tour.