Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman invites attendees to sing along. (Israel J. Carreón Jr./Staff)
San Diego alternative Christian rock band Switchfoot turned the Yucaipa Performing Arts Center (YPAC) into a sing-along celebration on the cool Aug. 17 evening, delivering a set packed with their biggest hits that kept fans on their feet from start to finish.
The group, consisting of Jon Foreman (vocals, guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Jerome Fontamillas (keys, guitar), and Chad Butler (drums), has sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide of their twelve studio albums. Notably, highlights include their 2003 double-platinum breakthrough “The Beautiful Letdown” and 2009’s Grammy award-winning “Hello Hurricane.” They have also accumulated a string of alternative radio hit singles and performed sold-out tours, selling over 5 million concert tickets across more than 40 countries.
Foreman kicked off the show with a track from their 2019 album, “Native Tongue,” titled “Take My Fire.” The song has a spiritual tone, touching on themes of temptation, sin, and the desire to overcome them.
Calimesa resident Jose Estevez, 30, came to the concert because he wanted to support civic entertainment at YPAC, but is also a fan of the band’s musical ministry. “Christian rock is awesome,” Estevez said.
Foreman and company played several of their hits from their nearly two-decade history, including “Dark Horses (Vice Verses, 2011),” “Bull in a China Shop (Where the Light Shines Through, 2016),” “Hope Is the Anthem (Where the Light Shines Through, 2016),” “Mess of Me (Hello Hurricane, 2009),” “Live It Well (Where the Light Shines Through, 2016),” “Dare You to Move (The Beautiful Let Down, 2003),” and “Meant to Live (The Beautiful Let Down, 2003).”
Avery Baber, 13, is a devoted Switchfoot fan. Baber, a Corona resident, made the trek to YPAC with her dad to see her favorite band. If Baber had to select one song from Switchfoot’s entire catalog, it would be “Saltwater Heart” from the 2014 album “Fading West.” Baber’s interpretation of the song is all about being a “good” person. “It’s a song about connection,” Baber said.
Foreman would likely agree. Between the band’s setlist, Foreman would comment on how thankful he and his bandmates were to play in Yucipia, being only a short drive to “sleep in our own beds.”
“Many of these songs were created a little down the road,” Foreman said. Feeding off the energy, he concluded, “Love is a movement.”
The Yucaipa Performing Arts Center is located in the heart of Historic Uptown Yucaipa, at 12062 California Street, Yucaipa. It’s situated at the corner of California Street and Yucaipa Boulevard. To check out the next featured event, visit online at yucaipaperformingarts.org. For the box office, call 909-500-7714.