“We are not in the business of entertainment… we are in the business of winning souls.” -Esteban Vargas

The “Feed The Bears” tour is in full swing and off to an amazing start. Kicking off this incredible event, bodies filled the Life Center on Saturday, October 20th, to experience beautiful worship and amazing music. The building was full to the max with artists and attendees representing all different genres, churches, communities, and walks of life, gathered in one building sharing a passion for music and for the love of Jesus Christ.

The Redeemed Collection, representing three different churches, started the night with a time of praise and worship. Following them was the hip hop stylings of Imajj and ProzperaD, getting bodies in motion with encouraging lyrics and infectious beats. Next was the raw talent and emotional vulnerability of an original song from Alex Sanchez accompanied by Ryan Hawkinson and Christian Gilbert.

The musical diversity continued with hip hop from iGorilla and some R&B by The Saint, all declaring the glory of God in many different ways. The next band to perform was Jagg, a modern rock trio whose set was full of great solos, driving bass lines, and an amazing drummer who probably almost broke the drum set… and not to mention, the perfect head-banging hair. Next was the infamous Chad & Garrett who charmed the audience with friendly personalities and incredible harmonies.

A collab track from Richard Becerra and Daniel York (The Redeemed Collection), Paul Martinez (Yielded), King D, and Bboy Nesto closed the performance portion of the event on a high note. With amazing lyrics from King D and Bboy Nesto, a driving rhythm, and overall musical excellence, the crowd was energized, excited, and above all else, encouraged.

Esteban Vargas, the mastermind of the tour and The HD Platform, then proceeded to speak to the audience. Sharing an amazing message of rebellion to redemption, many hearts were softened and ultimately given to the Lord that night. With another amazing time of worship by Holy Kiss, hands were raised, hearts were turned, and ultimately the spirit of Lord was undeniable.

As mentioned, these unbelievable events, as much fun and as entertaining as they are, are not about the show, the artists, or even the Platform itself. The sole purpose of these events is to reach the community and change our world for Jesus Christ. These events are about letting everyone know what God means to each of us. These events are designed to tear down the walls of this desert and usher as many people into the kingdom as possible…and listening to amazing music in the meantime sure doesn’t hurt.

Kylie Foster

I had the awesome privilege of meeting Kylie Foster during one of our events in Barstow this past summer. She recently contacted to me to do an interview on The HD Platform and I was honored and humbled by this opportunity. Thank you so much Kylie for believing in the vision of The HD Platform, I look forward to having you contribute more writings to this blog and I can’t wait to see you perform at one of our events. -Esteban

“Loving God, Loving Others, and Loving Music” by Kylie Foster

The biggest struggle for young musicians is finding an audience. Using your music to profess an unpopular faith makes that even more difficult. Young, Christian artists could potentially change the face of music in years to come, but first they need a place to share their faith, their passion, and their music. It is beneficial to the artists, the church community, and even the local community to create a platform where music and faith go hand in hand.

Esteban Vargas, the founder and mastermind of The HD Platform, once struggled with finding open doors in his own experiences with music and wanted to provide these musicians with the doors and opportunities that he struggled to find himself. “We want to give Christian artists and bands an opportunity to share their music, share their talents, share their gifts and just put them on a place where they can be seen and heard.” (Vargas, Esteban. Interview on 9/17/2012)

“I experienced the struggles of an up and coming indie (independent) artist. I experienced everything an indie artist goes through to get their music out there so I knew what it was like to have that struggle, to have a dream and a goal, and not having any opportunity to meet those dreams and goals…So I felt the same for the Christian artists.”

After setting up fund raising concerts in his church, Vargas was driven by rekindled passion for music and struggling artists. He began contacting local bands and artists and inviting them to play at the church. Later, he began setting up shows with the same few artists at coffee shops, churches, and the Victorville Event Center. After much success, The HD Platform got into its own building (The Life Center). In this building, now functioning as a church, they started doing local showcases once a month to expose local artists to the church community and local community.

Beginning with approximately 4 or 5 artists on call to do shows in various locations, The HD Platform now, less than a year later, has over 20 bands and artists from the high desert that are being showcased to the community. Vargas even receives a continuous stream of e-mails and messages from artists that want to be a part of The HD Platform.

The HD Platform has plans to continue to fill up venues with positive music and people to enjoy it. They continue to keep up a website and a blog. (thehdplatform.com) The current project of the Platform is their “Feed The Bears” tour. This tour travels around the desert for 7 weeks, showcasing about 15 local artists, beginning Saturday, October 20, at the Life Center. Vargas will be continuing local shows with artists from the community in the next year and plans to kick off another successful year for the Platform in January.

“A lot of times we get stuck only playing in our churches because those are the only opportunities we have, so I want to create events so they (artists) have more opportunities than just in front of their church so they can minister to other people as well too.” Vargas encourages musicians to branch out of their churches and pursue an audience through The HD Platform as well as all around their community. Despite the struggles, he encourages the current artists as well as the up-and-coming artists to continue to chase after their passion as well as their faith and be willing and ready to share it with whoever will listen. “If you have a desire, if you have goal, go after it, no matter how big it is and no matter what people say…go after it with everything you have.” Vargas encourages artists to continually pursue their dreams because success and learning is found in just that, in the pursuit.

The HD Platform is a success in many different ways. Artists all around the desert are being inspired and showcased. The church communities are coming together to support young Christians. The local community is being influenced in a positive way. Ultimately, organizations like The HD Platform, through their drive and compassion, are creating servants of the kingdom that are driven to love God, love others, and to love music.