New Subscriber Playlist: “A Return to Bushnell, Volume 2”

I was recently chatting with a friend when the topic of Cornerstone came up. If seeing that word doesn’t immediately bring on a wave of nostalgia, here’s a quick rundown: the Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music and arts festival that ran from 1984 to 2012, and from the early ’90s on, was held just outside the town of Bushnell, Illinois.

(Related: All of Opus’ Cornerstone coverage from throughout the years.)

This month’s playlist — titled “A Return to Bushnell, Volume 2″ — represents another nostalgic trip back to the Cornerstone grounds. I saw all of the playlist’s bands on Cornerstone’s various stages (the official stages as well as the unofficial generator stages) and they filled the Illinois sky with every manner of glorious racket. All that’s missing is the sweltering heat, the smell of the showers, and the sight of Christians from each and every subculture imaginable (e.g., punk, goth, rivethead, hippie, raver, metalhead, suburban youth group) having a great time.

Accompanying the playlist is the latest episode of my“Playlist Breakdown” podcast, in which I spotlight one of the playlist’s songs and why it’s so special, interesting, and/or meaningful. In this month’s episode, I discuss “Dark Divine,” an intense bit of shoegaze praise and worship from Fold Zandura.

Both of these are little bonuses for subscribers who support Opus financially. If you’d like to get access to them (and more), subscribe to Opus for $5/month or $50/year. (You can also subscribe for free and get my weekend newsletter.)