1:30 pm: After eating through some of the food I brought and exploring the Cornerstone campsites a bit, I find my way to Main St., where all of the generator stages are located. The first one I walk past is rather professional-looking—I later find out it’s the Solace tent, organized by a music promoter based out of Joplin, Missouri—and the music sounds interesting, so I walk in to and catch the last half of The Overseer’s set. This band plays a really tight and melodic version of screamo, with dual vocals from the frontman (Anthony) and guitarist (Darren). The band’s sound reminds me of Jersey faves Thursday, and is much better than I expected. I’m not really sure what I expected, to be honest—everything I’ve read and talked about with others has prepared me for the fact that, by and large, these underground Christian bands are just as good (or just as bad) as their secular counterparts. Essentially, their faith doesn’t necessarily detract from the musicianship, technique, songwriting ability, etc., although the message itself may prove to be a distraction to listeners with different priorities. Nor does the faith message necessarily cover for poor musicianship—not once over the course of the festival do I get the feeling that fans cut bands slack just because their message is positive. If anything, the fans are even more demanding than at other concerts or festivals—after all, there are literally dozens of bands every day for attendees to watch. That said, this band is blisteringly good, they put on a great show—especially given the constraints of the tiny stage—the sound is good in the tent, there are a few kids slam dancing, and everyone seems to be having a good time. At the end of the show, they ask people to come hang out and talk with them afterwards (and they seem really sincere about it!), mention a couple other sets they have lined up at Cornerstone, and quickly pack up their gear—the next band is scheduled to go on in 10–15 minutes.

Okay, so here’s the deal with the generator stages, based on what I observed, read on the Cornerstone website, and heard from attendees. Cornerstone Festival itself books several music tents and the Main Stage, presenting up to 5 or 6 musical acts at any given moment. For a number of years this was just fine, but apparently there was a big hunger for more bands. I don’t know whether or not this demand came from the fans or the bands—it was probably a mix of the two, and the distinction doesn’t even really matter any more—but at some point, people realized that they could bring a generator, plug in a PA system and a few amps, and play throughout the campsites. This went on unregulated for a while, until it got a little out of hand and Cornerstone was forced to bring it in check.

The way it works now: anyone who wants to setup a generator stage officially arranges it with Cornerstone. They apply for a free permit, pay a fee if merch will be sold, and book one of the (presumably limited) generator stage spots. These stages range the gamut of professionalism, from an amateur bunch of kids playing on the grass with only the microphone running through the PA to a full professional production, complete with tent, stage, live sound console, and full miking. The bands range the gamut of professionalism as well, although in terms of style, there are almost uniformly heavy—I hear lots of punk, hardcore, metalcore, metal, screamo, etc. while strolling the drag. Practically all of the generator stages are along Main Street, and you can walk down that road and hear a dozen different bands playing at once. According to the Cornerstone website, 31 generator stages had pre-registered for the 2009 festival.

The stages usually have a whiteboard with that day’s performance schedule written up, which they change daily. Some bands come to Cornerstone not having any performance time yet booked, and quickly network with generator stages to get one, two, or more gigs over the course of the week. These bands are rabid self-promoters, too: they drive around in golf carts with bullhorns, they hang up flyers literally everywhere (including papering the porto-johns), they walk around with handmade signs announcing their next gig, they network with other bands, they pass out flyers and handbills, they offer free food or drinks (the band following The Overseer at Solace promised free Gatorade, but I didn’t stick around to confirm), they get their friends to run PR for them, and so on. It all feels very spur-of-the-moment, and promotes the serendipitous discovery of music, far from the structured schedules and official set times of other festivals.

The generator stages actually start hosting bands before the official Cornerstone schedule starts—they can start as early as noon on Monday, while the Cornerstone schedule doesn’t kickoff until Wednesday. During Cornerstone, Wednesday through Saturday, the generator stages have to end by 6:00 pm, presumably so as not to conflict with the Main Stage and other higher-profile evening acts. The sheer number and quality of the generator stages is such that you could spend all day, everyday listening to bands without once stepping into an official Cornerstone tent. With the generator stages and the fellowship I experienced and observed in the campsites, I definitely got a sense that there’s not one but two Cornerstones—the official one run by JPUSA and festival staff, and the community-run one that appears and grows organically, sustained by festival attendees with no (or very little) profit motive (the generator stages can’t charge admission, though some charge bands a small fee to play, especially if they’re allowed to sell merch).

Anyway, after The Overseer, I spend some time walking down Main St. and checking out the various generator stages. I’ve honestly never heard of any of these bands, but I get the impression that very few people have heard of the bands playing the generator stages—these are not well-known acts but young bands with local audiences. Later in the festival, I hear bands discuss their history with Cornerstone—many of them start out playing generator stages their first few times at the festival, but eventually graduate to the official stages after spending time building up their audience. I ultimately wander into one of the official stages—the Label Showcase/Encore 2 Stage—and a band called Take the Sky are playing, but I’m not really impressed.

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