New Zealand's long established Parachute Music Festival to close

THE LARGEST annual Christian music festival outside of the USA, Parachute Music Festival, held in Hamilton, New Zealand, have announced they are closing. Read a Parachute Music statement, "A lot has changed since those days in Waikanae. Running an event of this scale has become harder and harder in a saturated events market. Keeping Parachute Festival viable has been a constant challenge over the last few years - despite doing everything we can to lower costs and keep the festival alive, we're now at a point where continuing to run it would run the risk of burying us whole as an organization. It's important to us that we end well. Important that the legacy of this festival isn't tainted by trying to force it beyond a natural conclusion. So we're saying goodbye, with eyes to the future and hearts full of amazing memories."

The statement continued, "Of course, this is not the end for Parachute Music. As an organization, our mission has always been to help Christian musicians shift pop culture. Our festival has always been an important part of that mission, but it's also been something that's dominated our time and resource. We're excited about what the future looks like, what our mission will look like up-close as we journey with Christian musicians who are salt and light in their industry. Our studios are humming on a daily basis with a community of artists making great music. Our Artist Development initiative sees us investing into many artists each year, working closely with them to ensure they get a good, well-supported start to their careers. We're going to keep supporting and mentoring high profile Christian artists who are influencing NZ mainstream music and culture, helping them to be a positive voice in their sphere."