Flipside - Parachute Music Festival

Television (Excerpts) – 2004

Parachute had become New Zealand’s longest-running music festival when it shut up shop in 2014, after an impressive 24 years. This clip from youth news show Flipside looks at the 2004 edition. Flipside presenter Mike Puru interviews Parachute Music Festival founder Mark de Jong. Focussing on Christian music, Parachute brought Christian musicians to a large young audience. De Jong mentions that Parachute is more than just a festival — the organisation helps train and record young musicians, and includes a label and a publishing company. Band Detour 180 are also interviewed.

Christian music is kind of like it's come out from behind the four walls of the church ... Christians are making music that everyone's listening to, which is quite a neat change.
– Mark de Jong, on Parachute's role spreading Christian music