Winter Jam,  a Christian music festival that travels around the United States, visited Pittsburgh Friday, Feb. 15.  

The Waynesburg University Student Activities Board decided to help students go to Winter Jam by chipping in $5 out of the $15  donation request per person. The headlining band of the show was Newboys United, and other singers and bands such as Danny Gokey, Mandisa, Rend Collective, Hollyn and Ledger appeared throughout the night.

“The atmosphere is definitely completely different from a regular concert,”  graduate assistant Luke Carter said. “It’s a little bit more personable. I think they all talk with the crowd a little bit more and everyone interacts a little bit more and everyone gets into it more than a regular concert.”

A total of 38 students signed up to go this year, but Carter has been attending Winter Jam for the past couple of years and encourages students to go.

“It is such a great experience,” said Carter. “A concert like that where it is all based off donations, so you don’t have to buy tickets that are 50 dollars and pay all of the fees on that, is a lot different than any other concert experience.”

Since Winter Jam is based off donations, they have people walking around to collect more donations and help for children in need around the world.

“Last year they were giving out signups to help fund families in foreign countries and you could also help support a child in need and you got to sign up during the event,” Carter said. “It was really cool to be able to see that happen right then and there.”

For Daniel Booth, sophomore history and political science double major with a minor in psychology, it was his first time ever attending Winter Jam. Booth enjoyed the event, saying that he loved its atmosphere because it was different from that of a usual concert.

“It was absolutely phenomenal,” Booth said. “It was electrifying, but it was also wasn’t random.” “It felt like we were on a journey, we had a path we had a mission that we were going towards and it provided a kick in the butt to get there as well.”

Booth said that when the students got to the concert, they went their separate ways and he found a way to get front row seats. Through that, Booth got to meet Newboys United in addition to hearing them play.

“We got front row seats because some people just didn’t want them,” Booth said. . “This lady came up to us… and gave us bracelets [to be able to meet the Newboys].”

For the rest r of the group, Booth said that the lights went out during the show and then came up and the lead singer of Newsboys was in the audience singing 10 feet away from him.

“I could have reached out and touched him,” said Booth. “But then I was like “dude I am going to meet him anyways”. So, I didn’t touch him. That was pretty awesome as well.”