Christian band begins concert schedule for county fair

If you are a fan of live gospel music, Big Praise will have you covered this summer with two upcoming performances at the Washakie County Fairgrounds.

Big Praise is a nondenominational Christian band founded on the message of the bible verse Psalm 95:1, which says, "Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation."

Kelly Schauble, a singer in the band who represented them in an interview said, "We have been together for six years, and basically, we are a team of Christ followers from the Big Horn Basin area. We are a scripturally based, contemporary Christian band, and we enjoy bringing the ministry of the good news of the saving grace of Jesus Christ to our area through music."

Band members include Schauble (vocals), Jenna Byers (vocals), Breck Buer (vocals, bass, electric guitar and acoustic guitar), Anne Bleicher (keys), Justin Macy (soundboard) and Paul Bleicher (soundboard and lyrics). 

Big Praise will be playing at the Washakie County Fair on Wednesday, July 24 at 6 p.m. on the main stage. Schauble said their setlist includes 10 songs, and they expect it will last about an hour. Attendees can look forward to hearing covers of contemporary Christian music from CeCe Winans, Elevation Worship, We the Kingdom and more. "We stick to scripture-based songs; there's a gospel message in all the songs we play," added Schauble.

This will be the third year the band plays the Washakie County Fair, which Schauble attributes to the comfortable atmosphere. She said, "We're trying to reach people wherever they are, and this is a really comfortable place to meet people; it's a way for us to reach people who wouldn't necessarily step into a church, and bring our message to them. Outside of that we just like the venue; it's fast-paced, it's busy - each year we've played it's been hot, too but that's OK!"

PRAISE UNITED MUSICFEST

Later this summer, Big Praise will also be hosting their second annual Praise United MusicFest at the fairgrounds. Schauble said, "We are super excited about that, and we have moved our location to Worland this year. The Circle J Ranch where we played last year is really beautiful, but it's a little out of the way being on the mountain. We think that it will be easier to attend this year and that should generate some more energy."

Praise United will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3, and will feature seven Christian bands from the Big Horn Basin, each playing their own sets, three food truck options as well as Arctic Blast Shaved Ice.

"We're excited to give it a shot here," said Schauble.