Skillet arrived on the music scene with a bit of an identity crisis. Not theirs, the public's.

“When we came out 18 years ago, and even 10 years ago, people saw us as maybe not quite hard enough for rock radio, too Christian to play mainstream and maybe not Christian enough for Christian,” says John Cooper, lead vocalist and bassist for the Wisconsin-based band that includes his wife, guitarist and keyboardist Korey Cooper; drummer-vocalist Jen Ledger; and lead guitarist Seth Morrison.

Identity isn't as much of a problem these days for the high-energy rockers who are headlining the 20th anniversary Winter Jam 2015, the Christian music tour featuring 10 bands at Consol Energy Center, Uptown, on Jan. 31.

It has been the touring industry's No. 1 first-quarter tour, regardless of genre, for four consecutive years.

Skillet's “Awake” was one of three rock albums — along with mainstream artists the Black Keys' “El Camino” and Mumford & Sons' “Bable” — certified platinum in 2012 for sales of more than 1 million copies. The band's diverse fan base of youth and adults, male and female, call themselves Panheads.

Skillet is happy to be returning to Winter Jam for a third time.

“I just love what the tour stands for, such a positive message,” John Cooper says. It promotes the hope the musicians on the bill have found in their faith, he says, and serves as “a great family event, too.

“It's a safe place for a family to come and hear great music, and it's also a comfortable place where kids can go without their parents,” says Cooper, who is a parent himself.

The acts represent a variety of faith-based musical expressions.

Cooper says music has meaning beyond its entertainment value. “It is an expression of identity of who I am and what I believe,” he says. “Music brings hope to people.”

Cooper says Skillet's biggest strength, and the reason their music resonates, is that they are honest about their music and what they believe.

“We have been very vocal about our feelings,” he says. “It's the honesty of having a bad day and writing about it in a song and not feeling you have to lie to yourself to get through a day. Sometimes, I feel like I'm alone, but I know I'm not alone. People relate to that.”

What makes Skillet different from some Christian bands, Cooper says, is that the faith message is not as overtly presented.

“We're not better than other Christian bands. I love those bands where every single song is overtly Christian. We are not like that, though. Our songs have more poetic meaning and hidden truth about God and can be taken in different ways,” he says. “I think it's cool that our songs can be open to interpretation to the listeners, who can ask themselves, ‘What does this song mean to me?' ”

Cooper says what makes Skillet overtly Christian is what the band members say onstage or in interviews — they are quite open about their faith.

“If someone takes one message from us it is that God loves them no matter who they are, what they've done, the color of their skin or how much money they have,” he says.

Cooper says there is an erosion of belief in today's society. “I think people, and not just religious people, are looking for hope and want to believe we, as a society, can change it.”

Rex Rutkoski is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4664 or rrutkoski@tribweb.com.

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---