Night of Joy (festival)
Night of Joy was an annual contemporary Christian music festival that took place from 1983 to 2017 at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The festival was normally hosted at the Magic Kingdom in early September. It was cancelled in 2018 and replaced with a mainstream Eat to the Beat concert series, with Christian pop rock artists MercyMe and Tauren Wells joining the lineup.[1] Night of Joy inspired two other Christian rock festivals in the Orlando region: Cornerstone Florida, which ran in the month of May from 2003 to 2007, and Rock the Universe at Universal Studios Florida, in operation since 1998.
Venues
Most concerts were held at the Magic Kingdom, in front of the Cinderella Castle. Other venues include:
- Disney's Hollywood Studios for the 2008 and 2009 concerts
- ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for the 2016 and 2017 concerts
Six artists have performed at all three venues: Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, MercyMe, Newsboys, Red and tobyMac. Several other artists have performed at two of these venues.
Recent events (2010-present)
2017
Friday, September 8:[2]
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Saturday, September 9 (cancelled):
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The event returned at the ESPN Wide World of Sports and was scheduled to last two nights,[3] but the September 9 event was cancelled as a precautionary measure against Hurricane Irma. Park tickets for September 9 could either be honored on September 8 or obtain a full refund.[4]
2016
Friday, September 9:[5]
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Saturday, September 10:
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2015
Friday, September 11:
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Saturday, September 12:
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2015
Friday, September 11:
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Saturday, September 12:
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2014
Friday, September 5:[6]
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Saturday, September 6:
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2013
Friday, September 6:
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Saturday, September 7:
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2012
Friday, September 7:
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Saturday, September 8:
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2011
Friday, September 9:
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Saturday, September 10:
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2010
Friday, September 10:
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Saturday, September 11:
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The event returned to Magic Kingdom after two years of being held at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
History (1983-2009)
2009
Friday, September 11:
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Saturday, September 12:
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The official 2009 lineup was announced in March 2009. It featured more rock bands than usual and incorporated three acts common to both days of the performance, following "Conversations" with acts performing one of the two days. This is the final Night of Joy held at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
2008
Friday, September 5:
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Saturday, September 6:
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This is the first of two consecutive events held at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Previously, Night of Joy was held exclusively at the Magic Kingdom theme park.
2007
Friday, September 7:
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Saturday, September 8:
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2006
Friday, September 8:
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Saturday, September 9:
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2005
Friday, September 9:
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Saturday, September 10:
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2004
Friday, September 9:
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Saturday, September 10:
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Saturday, September 11:
- Kirk Franklin
- Jaci Velasquez
- CeCe Winans
- Salvador
- Jump 5
- Jeremy Camp
- Joy Williams
- 12 Stones
2003
Friday, September 5:
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Saturday, September 6:
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2002
Friday, September 6:
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Saturday, September 7:
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2001
Friday, September 7:
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Saturday, September 8:
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2000
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1999
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1998
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1997
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1996
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1995
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1994
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1993
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1992
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1991
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1990
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1989
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1988
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1987
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1986
- Darrell Mansfield
- Leon Patillo
- Petra
- Stryper
- Russ Taff
- Sheila Walsh
- The Winans
1985
Friday, May 7:
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Friday and Saturday, September 6 and 7:
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Night of Joy 1985 is the only instance where an event occurred outside of September.
1984
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1983
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References
- Bevil, Dewayne. "Disney World ends long-running Night of Joy event". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
- "Night of Joy Schedule of Events for 2016 - TouringPlans.com Blog | TouringPlans.com Blog". Retrieved 2016-10-04.
- "Disney Night of Joy Christian Music Festival".
- "Information on Hurricane Irma". Walt Disney World Resort. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- "Night of Joy Schedule of Events for 2016 - TouringPlans.com Blog | TouringPlans.com Blog". Retrieved 2016-10-04.
- "Night of Joy News".