Fans will enjoy live performances by 12 of Christian music’s most compelling talent in the heart of Universal Studios Florida. This year’s line-up includes Billboard chart-topping band Casting Crowns; six-time Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist TobyMac; the musicians of Jesus Culture; and, more.

Plus, enjoy a moving Candlelighting Ceremony on Saturday and the FanZone presented by Coca-Cola® where you can catch more live performances and electronic dance music spun by Sarah Reeves and DJ PROMOTE. You’ll also enjoy the park’s most awesome rides and attractions like Revenge of the Mummy, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and the all-new, high-octane ride, Fast & Furious – Supercharged, which is opening this spring! It’s an unforgettable weekend of faith and fun.

2018 Rock the Universe Artists

Friday, September 7

• Jesus Culture-Music Plaza Stage
• TobyMac-Music Plaza Stage
• Lauren Daigle-Music Plaza Stage
• Red-Hollywood Stage
• Zach Williams-Hollywood Stage
• Trip Lee-Hollywood Stage

Saturday, September 8

• Casting Crowns-Music Plaza Stage
• For King & Country-Music Plaza Stage
• Family Force 5-Music Plaza Stage
• Brandon Heath-Hollywood Stage
• Andy Mineo-Hollywood Stage
• Ryan Stevenson-Hollywood Stage

Rock the Universe is a special ticketed event at Universal Studios Orlando. Tickets and packages will be going on sale soon so make sure to check back for that information when it becomes available.

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2017 Rock the Universe Artists

Friday September 8

• Chris Tomlin
• Lecrae
• Kari Jobe
• Lauren Daigle
• 7eventh Time Down
• Social Club Misfits
• Steven Malcolm
• Hollyn
• GAWVI
• Kolby Koloff

Saturday September 9

• Casting Crowns
• For King & Country
• Thousand Foot Krutch
• Andy Mineo
• Family Force 5
• Ryan Stevenson
• DJ Promote
• For All Seasons
• Hannah Kerr
• Aaron Cole

Individual tickets, group tickets, and the Rock Your Weekend Group Getaway vacation package will all be available soon. Now is the time to decide if Rock the Universe 2017 fits into your September calendar so that when the tickets and packages go on sale you and your youth group are ready.

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Friday, September 8

• TobyMac
• MercyMe
• Natalie Grant
• Danny Gokey
• Matt Maher
• Colton Dixon
• Rend Collective
• Zack Williams

Saturday, September 9

• Amy Grant
• Steven Curtis Chapman
• Kirk Franklin
• Jordan Feliz
• David Crowder
• Jeremy Camp
• Tye Tribbett

I’m already stressing a bit trying to figure out how I am going to catch all of my favorite acts! I love TobyMac and he puts on one of the best stage shows currently touring. I’ve also waited over 30 years to see Amy Grant in concert. The only time I have ever seen her was as part of the Young Messiah tour in the early 90s! I have a feeling I’ll be running between the 3 concert venues at the ESPN Wide World of Sports venue to catch as many concerts as I can.

Which artists do you most want to see at this year’s Night of Joy? I’ve never seen Jordan Feliz, Danny Gokey, or Jeremy Camp so those 3 are also on my must-see list!

This year’s event is hosted by Matthew West so that will be different than years past. Tickets and vacation packages aren’t on sale yet but they usually go on sale in early June. Now is the time to start planning and get your friends on board so that when tickets go on sale you can get them before they sell out!

Artists and schedules are subject to change without notice.

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This year’s luncheon featured three artists, one of which was performing at Night of Joy. During the event the artists take turns visiting the different tables and chatting with the media present. I like this format because it isn’t a formal interview time, it is time to chat. Once everyone got seated we had a special visit from Mark Hall and Casting Crowns. They weren’t able to stay for lunch, because they had to do their sound check, but they said “Hi!” and posed for pictures.

The first artist at our table was Hannah Kerr. I had the pleasure of meeting Hannah last year at this luncheon. She also leads worship at her home church, and attends college! She is currently on tour with Casting Crowns and Matt Maher.

Next we had Brandon Heath. I was excited to spend some time chatting with Brandon because he is friends with my son Aaron. I met Brandon backstage when he was here in town for the “Brandisa” tour a few years ago. As soon as I told him we were Aaron’s parents he freaked out and wanted to take a selfie to send to Aaron. Brandon also wants to start blogging about his travels so we helped him with some ideas about how to get started.

Last up was Tim Timmons. This was the 3rd time I’ve met Tim at this luncheon. Honestly, the first time I met him, I didn’t like him. He was highly opinionated and off-putting. I am pleased to say, probably thanks to his publicist, he has mellowed some over the years and was more enjoyable to talk to. We spent a lot of time with him helping him beef up his social media presence. I also got to hear a few of Tim’s songs at Night of Joy in the Jostens Center on Saturday night.

I love this event and I am always honored to be invited by Disney. I can’t wait for next year!

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I am pleased to say that, in my opinion, moving the event to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was a wonderful idea. Holding the event at WWoS (Wide World of Sports) had some positives I hadn’t thought of originally. All 3 venues had seating available and 2 of the venues had air conditioning! On top of that, they were just better concert venues. As awesome as it is to worship in front of the castle, it isn’t awesome if you are in the throngs of people packed in all the way down Main Street USA.

The headliner concerts were held in Champions Stadium, a baseball stadium where the Atlanta Braves hold their spring training. Here we saw Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, For King and Country and Newsboys in a stadium concert setting with great audio and lighting effects. VIP floor seating was available for an additional $20 per person per night.

The HP Fieldhouse was home to concerts by Matthew West, MercyMe, Switchfoot, Red, and Thousand Foot Krutch. In this building the floor was open for standing and the arena seating was open. The Jostens Center was a multi-purpose venue holding concerts for up and coming acts like Tim Timmons, Veridia and Zealand Worship. Unfortunately, the audio in this venue wasn’t nearly as well done as at the other locations. It was very bass heavy and often downright painful to listen too. This stage was also used for some artist Q & As on Saturday night. This building was also home to character meet and greets, classic video games, Minute to Win It competitions and the first ever artist merchandise tables at Night of Joy.

Down on the “Fields of Joy” were food trucks for additional dining options, a great DJ and from 5-9pm there were fun athletic competitions. While the “Fields of Joy” activities couldn’t take the place of a ride on Space Mountain, it was nice to have some activity options for kids who wanted a break from the concerts.

It has already been announced that Night of Joy 2017 will again take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and that there will be even more musical acts. Mark your calendar now for September 8-9, 2017. Event tickets aren’t on sale yet but its not too early to book your Walt Disney World Resort Stay. Just Email Me for more information!

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