Adelaide:
Australia's Christian Music Capital? 

Adelaide is known both as the City of Churches and a UNESCO City of Music. Does that automatically make Adelaide Australia's Christian Music Capital? A slightly biased Australian Christian Records investigates the history of Christian music in the city and exciting recent developments.

Perhaps South Australian children are no longer taught this, but part of my education was learning about the founding principles of South Australia. It was to be a new settlement with both freedom of religion and separation between church and state i.e. no state-run church. Accordingly, many free settlers came with their own Christian traditions and established churches around Adelaide including the Methodists, Anglicans, and notably German Lutherans who were escaping religious persecution in Prussia.

Nearly 200 years later and Adelaide has retained its title as the City of Churches (as well as the nation's wine capital - so be sure to check out Adelaide communion), but over the past few decades has also built up a global reputation for music and in 2015 was recognised by UNESCO as Australia's only 'City of Music'.

This naturally begs the question, 'Is Adelaide Australia's capital of Christian music?''

In 1974, an unassuming nun teaching music at Adelaide's St. Aloysius College reached number 4 on the US Billboard charts. Sister Janet Mead's rock version of the 'Lord's Prayer not only received a Grammy nomination, but also kick-started 'rock mass' at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral making worship more relevant to her students and that generation. 

That same year, a number of Adelaide's evangelical congregations came together for 'Kairos 74'. 

Inspired by the Jesus Movement in the US, local artists, bands and performers came together to participate in what they termed a 'cultural and Christian assault on the city'. Taking advantage of South Australia's moniker as the 'Festival State', the coordinators hosted open air concerts in Rymill Park, Elder Park and Adelaide University as well as art installations across Adelaide with a highlight being the Jesus March through the city.