“Casting Crowns” concert draws a large crowd

Cristen Friddell

The Grammy and Dove award-winning Christian band, Casting Crowns, performed in Diddle Arena at 7 p.m. yesterday night.

The band consists of seven members including: Hector Cervantes, Juan DeVevo, Melodee DeVevo, Megan Garrett, Mark Hall, Chris Huffman and Brian Scoggin.

David Burnette and his daughter, Kayley, attended the concert along with his wife, Cindy, the director of student financial assistance.

The Burnettes are the relatives of WKU Lady Topper soccer player Kelsey Burnette.

“We choose this over her game tonight,” David Burnette said laughing. “She was jealous. She wanted to be here.”

Sisters, Emily and Casey Anderson, both juniors at Warren East High School, said that this was their fourth time seeing the band.

“They are the best band we have seen perform,” Casey Anderson said “And they have a really good message.

Bowling Green junior Nicole Hatchett, who has worked on the event staff team since she was a freshman, said she was surprised by the turn-out at the concert.

“We have a lot more fans here than we do at the classic events,” she said.

The Afters, a band from Dallas, Texas, opened for Casting Crowns.

During the concert, Casting Crowns encouraged crowd participation and had lyrics projected on an onstage screen so that fans could sing along.

Lead singer, Mark Hall, thanked the audience for the turn-out.

“This would have been really weird without y’all,” he said, laughing.

Bass guitarist, Chris Huffman, was cheered on by many family members in the audience throughout the show, while band member Juan DeVevo celebrated his birthday on stage.

During the show, the band also featured a video promoting their favorite charity, World Vision.

World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization that promotes the development of an impoverished community through the sponsorship of a child, according to the web site.

The band and helpers handed out information about child sponsorship and spoke about their own sponsorships at the event.