Skillet & Stryper at Skyglass Ridge Winery – August 16, 2025

Christian rock royalty wowed fans at Spyglass Ridge Winery in Sunbury, PA (8/16/2025)

Skyglass Ridge Winery in Sunbury, PA provided a striking setting for a night of Christian rock and metal on Saturday, August 16. The winery sits on a hilltop surrounded by farmland, with the stage set several hundred yards below. Fans filled the open lawn with chairs and blankets, some holding handmade signs expressing how much the music of Skillet has meant to them.

Stryper – A Rare U.S. Appearance

The evening began with Stryper, the 1980s Christian metal band known for blending heavy riffs with faith-driven lyrics. The group—Michael Sweet (vocals, guitar), Robert Sweet (drums), Oz Fox (guitar), and Perry Richardson (bass)—has been together in various forms since 1983 and is still performing with conviction more than four decades later. Their signature yellow-and-black motif was present, a nod to Isaiah 53:5 (“By His stripes we are healed”), and their set drew on a catalog that includes The Yellow and Black Attack, To Hell with the Devil, and more recent releases.

This show carried extra weight for fans because it was one of only three Stryper dates scheduled worldwide in 2025: Sunbury, PA; Warrendale, PA; and a September festival appearance in Germany.

Skillet – High Energy in a Pastoral Setting

As the sun dropped behind the ridge, Skillet took the stage. The band—John Cooper on vocals and bass, Korey Cooper on guitar and keyboards, Seth Morrison on guitar, and Jen Ledger on drums—launched into a set that ran over 90 minutes.

Skillet has built a reputation for polished live shows, and this evening was no exception. Korey Cooper’s aggressive guitar playing set the tone early, with John Cooper engaging the crowd from the first song. The setlist pulled from across their catalog, with staples like “Hero,” “Awake and Alive,” “Rise,” “Legendary,” and “Feel Invincible,” alongside newer material such as “Surviving the Game” and “Ashes in the Wind.” The balance of old and new gave long-time fans plenty to cheer for while keeping the energy fresh.

Looking Ahead

For fans who missed the Sunbury date, Skillet’s tour continues with stops in Ohio, Tennessee, Nebraska, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, and Oregon through late September.

Stryper’s limited 2025 schedule made this Pennsylvania appearance feel like something of a one-off—an opening set from a band that helped lay the foundation for Christian rock, paired with one of its most successful modern torchbearers. Together, the two acts created a night that connected past and present in front of an appreciative hillside crowd.

STRYPER:

SKILLET: