Newsboys coming to Rock Celina

CELINA - Christian music supergroup Newsboys will bring two lineups to the Mercer County Fair at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Newsboys' groundbreaking tour, "Newsboys United," features sets from original band members, including Peter Furler, the lead singer from the late 1980s to 2009, and from current band members, including lead singer Michael Tait, who formerly sang with dc Talk. The concert gives fans a taste of both the group's old-school and new-school sounds.

"I love seeing people get stoked over the new and the old," Tait told the newspaper. "You can bring the kids and the parents and have a true family night and love it. That's the biggest thing for me because I love people. I see moms and dads and kids and grandparents happy and stoked about something they can all get something out of. All things to all people, baby."

The result is a rare occurrence. Two versions of the same successful band playing at the same time. And according to Tait, it works.

"A lot of the kids now, from about 8, 9, 10 (years old) to about 16, 17 or 18 know the Michael Tait-led Newsboys, and a lot of the 40-somethings and younger, they know the Peter Furler-led Newsboys, so it's pretty cool," Tait said. "I love it. I love it. It literally works like a charm. It's so much fun. Lots of people. Every night's packed. It's a blast."

The current band, with songs such as "God's Not Dead," "Born Again" and "We Believe," will open the show, and old-school members Furler and bassist Phil Joel will join with some of their hits from the 1990s and 2000s.

"We do 29 songs a night, so you have plenty to choose from," Tait said.

Many bands would not be able to overcome members' egos to work together for a tour mixing old members and new, Tait said, but they have been friends for many years, and Newsboys actually toured with dc Talk years ago. The idea to tour with both versions of Newsboys came when members were working on a new song.

"We finished a song called, 'The Cross is the Final Word,' and Peter (Furler) was a part of that song, and we thought, 'We do these shows, it's a blast, it's fun, why not have friends from the past, i.e. Phil Joel (former Newsboys bassist) and Peter Furler come out and join us for a song or two?', Then we thought, 'More than that, let's use both old-school and new-school in a big thing called 'Newsboys United.' It's that simple. It was not planned out. It was not thought through. It just made sense, and it's been fantastic," Tait said.

The "Newsboys United" tour has played more than 60 shows so far this year, and Tait told the newspaper the show is a hit with Newsboys fans and overall music-lovers.

"A Newsboys show is like a fiery black Baptist church service combined with an MTV/VH-1 Video Music Awards show," Tait described. "It's multimedia coming at you fast as lightning, solid songs, solid vocals, songs that praise the creator as they should and songs that lift and elevate the soul where it is to another spot. That's what it's all about. It's giving them hope. It's being a conduit, occupying 'til he comes. Share the word. Share the good news."

The band has sold more than 8 million units and collected eight gold records and many awards.

Fair schedule:
Today

• 6 p.m. - crowning of species royalty

• 6:30 p.m. - junior fair king and queen contest

• 7 p.m. - Town Team Class A Horseshoe Tournament; Erastus tailgate party before concert with T-102; Wolves of the World show; Lake Area Arts Guild showcasing area artists

• 8 p.m. - Neal McCoy, Joe Diffie and Walker Hayes in concert

• 9 p.m. - Erastus

Saturday

• 8 a.m. - poultry show and showmanship

• 9 a.m. - Country Horseshoe Pitch Class C & D; swine hurdle showmanship

• 10 a.m. - baby contest, 13-18 months; safety show

• 11 a.m. - baby contest, 9-12 months; horse pleasure, versatility and English show

• noon - registration deadline for Little Miss/Mr. Contest

• 1 p.m. - rides and games start; Country Horseshoe Tournament Class A and B; baby contest, 4-8 months

• 2 p.m. - 20th annual pie contest-auction at 4 p.m.; baby contest, 0-3 months; Wolves of the World show

• 4 p.m - princess contest, ages 19 months-2 years; wee miss contest, ages 3-7; prince contest, ages 19 months-2 years; Wee Mr. Mercer County Fair contest, ages 3-7