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Jeff Elbel attended his first Cornerstone Festival in 1991 while he was living in Champaign, Illinois. The event was 150 miles away in the small Illinois town of Bushnell, and was such a formative experience, he made sure to carve space in his schedule to make the trip for the next two years. Then he relocated to California in 1994 and decided against traveling half way across the country to attend the event—the distance proved more than he could bear.

"The entire week that Cornerstone was going on, I was looking at my watch," Elbel recalls. He kept track of when his favorite bands were performing, as well as the seminars whose subjects most attracted his attention. The obsession took its toll on his work productivity, and tensions developed at home. "I basically made my wife miserable, so she finally just told me to go from now on." He hasn't missed a festival since.

Cornerstone is perhaps best known as the premier alternative rock festival of Christian music, with performance opportunities for a mind-bending range of genres that span punk, folk, metal, jazz, and bluegrass. The event often draws attention for the freedom that many attendees feel concerning their fashion sense, sporting multiple piercings and tattoos while shaping their hair into strange configurations. But those who travel by plane, train, and automobile to spend their July 4 holidays in Bushnell are attracted to something more that what outsiders first notice.

Crazy haircuts are common at Cornerstone—among all age groups. (Photo by Megan Sontag)

"They're not coming to see a particular band; they're coming to be part of the community," says John Herrin, the festival's director. Over the years they have shared campsites, the love of music, the notoriously cruel weather, and most of all, a passion for Jesus. The 2008 Cornerstone reunion—from June 30 thru July 5—is extra special for attendees; the festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The idea for Cornerstone originated with Herrin in the 1980s when he was the drummer for Resurrection Band (often called REZ or Rez Band), whose members live in the inner-city commune Jesus People USA. While on tour, the band played at the few large Christian festivals that existed at the time, even though they didn't always fit in. The hard rockers drew their sound more from Led Zeppelin than Pat Boone, with lyrics that went beyond inspirational themes to cover ground that other Christian artists often feared to tread, like the pain of divorce and the injustice of apartheid.

"We were the odd man out," recalls Herrin. Turns out that was something they shared in common with many of the young people who also attended such festivals, often dragged by their parents. The band was relegated to playing mid-day while acts such as Dallas Holm and The Imperials were the featured evening acts.

Herrin began to envision a new kind of Christian music festival—part church conference, part Woodstock. To the joy of some and the consternation of others, JPUSA succeeded.

Cornerstone was first staged in Grayslake, Illinois from 1984 to 1990. In 1991, JPUSA moved the festival to Bushnell, where they had purchased 570 acres of property—mostly pasture and including a 44-acre lake. As many as 25,000 people have camped there in any given year since.

Some changes will be made to celebrate Cornerstone's 25th anniversary. On Friday night, for only the second time in the history of the festival, all but the Main Stage will be closed for a combined evening of worship. More than a dozen bands will play during the service, entitled "Worship God with Dirty Hands," and singer/songwriter/producer/pastor Charlie Peacock will lead communion.

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