Guess who's playing the Alive Music Festival? Former Canton rockers making comeback

MINERAL CITY − Pop punk band Relient K will be playing a surprise homecoming show of sorts at the Alive Music Festival.

Although the lineup has been set for months, the three-day festival announced on July 1 that Relient K will perform at 2:15 p.m. July 18 on the Woods Stage, the smaller area for live acts at Atwood Lake Park.

While some fans likely may deem Relient K worthy of the main stage, it will be a welcome performance regardless.

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Headliners at the Christian-oriented music festival are Crowder on July 17; Chris Tomlin on July 18; and Switchfoot on July 19. Other acts include Anne Wilson, Gable Price and Friends, Chris Renzema, KB, Frani Cash, Lecrae and Cory Asbury.

Ken Ferguson, who owns the Alive Music Festival with his wife, Susan, said he's thrilled to add Relient K to this month's festival.

"It's simply amazing to have Relient K back to Alive after so many years, as they have been such a part of Alive's history and our fans just love them," he said. "The guys are such great representatives of the Canton area and always speak so well of their time growing up here.

"They are such great artists, musicians and people, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome them home for an old school rock show," Ferguson added. "Bring your friends. I'm confident it's going to be something special."

Relient K got its start in the Canton area in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The band achieved mainstream chart success and had slots on major tours while appearing on network television talk shows, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Vocalist and songwriter Matt Thiessen also co-produced Owl City's No. 1 song"Fireflies" in 2009.

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The band's popular songs include, "Be My Escape," "High of 75" and "Sadies Hawkins Dance."

Relient K has maintained a relatively low profile in recent years. Live concerts and tours have been rare, although they performed at the House of Blues in Cleveland in 2022 as part of a small tour. And they created a buzz among fans when they had a free pop-up show at Brown's Diner in Nashville recently, their first live performance in around a year.

Pop punk band Relient K will be playing a surprise homecoming show of sorts at the 2025 Alive Music Festival near Mineral City.

Relient K most recently performed June 29 at the All Your Friend's Fest at Burl Creek, Ontario, opening for Simple Plan and Avril Lavigne.

Relient K released its last studio album in 2016, "Air for Free." A live album came out in 2020. Despite their inactivity, the band's fan base is large as evidenced by 823,000 Facebook followers and 95,000 followers on Instagram.

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Playing Alive Musical Festival is a return to their musical roots. As success continued, the band transcended theChristian music scene where the groupstarted.

"We are going to have so much fun playing Alive Fest this year," Matt Hoopes, an original member of Relient K, said in a text message. "It feels like coming back home, but also to the start of our band at this festival specifically.

"We have so many fond memories of going to this festival as kids, and then playing throughout our career," he added.

Hoopes said the band requested the smaller stage because "this felt a lot more fun."

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"We are stoked to play the Woods Stage," he said. "It's always so much more of an energetic experience and easier to interact with the crowd. We are gonna blow this out, so get there early!"

Riding the pop punk wave: Canton's Relient K reflects on fame: 'The story got crazier and crazier'

Relient K has wanted to play the Alive Fest again

In a 2022 interview with The Canton Repository, Thiessen responded excitedly when asked if he would like to play the Alive Festival again.

"We'd love to, absolutely," he said. "I remember attending it before the band even existed. Afunny story was always that there was three of us. Our old bass player Brian Pittman still lives in Canton. And it was Matt Hoopes, Brian Pittman and I,and we all went to an Alive Festival ...and we all got to see this ska band called (The O.C. Supertones),and after seeing it, Matt and Brian were convincedRelient Kshouldbe a ska band.

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"We were very early in writing stuff,but Iwas seton being a pop punk band,and Ithink for a moment I got kicked out of Relient K,but Iwas also the songwriter, so they,without even telling me, Iwas brought back into Relient K," Thiessen said. "And then we got to start playingthe Alive Festival, and yes, of course, we wouldlove to come back and do it if they wouldwant us to come."

Relient K has left the door open for new music

Alive is also where they began to attain fame.

"The Alive Festival ... playing things like that, and forthe first time, someone wants your autograph,and (I thought), 'What is my autograph?'and that sort of thing," Thiessen said. "Andyeah, we think about that stuff all the time, and it'spretty crazy how it changed our lives."

Thiessen, a 1998 Tusky Valley High School graduate, and Hoopes, a 1999 McKinley High School graduate, are co-founding members of Relient K. Hoopes is the guitarist.

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Both Hoopes and Thiessen live in Nashville.

Canton Matt Thiessen, left, said he writes new music regularly as the frontman for the punk pop and Christian rock band Relient K.

Asked during the 2022 interview how long he thought Relient K would last as a band, Thiessen said: "Matt and I always said the band will always exist as long as we're having fun."

For the same article, Hoopes said new music and more touring were possible.

"I don’t think we are too concerned with retiring or doing a farewell tour, but hey, you never know," he wrote in an email at the time. "The future is undetermined, but that’s what makes it exciting."

Atwood Lake Park, 9500 Lakeview Road, isat the boundaries of Tuscarawas and Carroll counties.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the Alive Musical Festival, go to https://www.alive.org.

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Reach Ed at [email protected]. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Relient K making Ohio return to Alive Music Festival at Atwood Park