Petra is an American Christian rock band from the 70s. I don’t think there ever was a bigger Christian rock band. In their prime they toured the biggest stadiums, and even in my home country in the middle of Europe, if you say Petra, the majority of Christians over 40 will raise the horns.🤘🏻

I discovered them through my friend back in high school when I was 15. This guy was my first Christian influence. He gave me my first Bible and a cassette of “Beyond Belief” by Petra. He gave me those right before our class went on a two day school trip, and we then spent the whole trip listening to this album together (my girlfriend, who was also in my class, didn’t like that at all 😁).

Being a rock fan since forever, Petra became one of my absolute favorites. I love how their music evolved throughout 21 studio albums (btw they’re still releasing new music, and in 2026 they rock harder than ever) but they always kept their typical vibe. I especially love their drummer Louie Weaver always wearing his iconic Mickey Mouse tshirts.

In 2011, when I was in the middle of hitting rock bottom, Petra was touring Europe. I grabbed my best friend and a 5 liter wine demijohn, and we took a 6 hour train trip to Hungary to see them. I remember the audience being pretty conservative, mostly men over 50 who went to see the Christian rock legends. We, on the other hand, were typical rock fans, so we enjoyed the show, properly strengthened with wine.

I just had to meet the band after the show, so I attempted to slip through security, but to my great surprise, the security couldn’t have been nicer - and now get this - they took us backstage and left us with large plates of awesome Hungarian goulash and drinks until the band was ready to meet us. I finally get to meet Louie, almost gave him a hug, and the first words he said to me were: “You’re a drummer, right?” (I am.)

The whole meeting with the band was so nice and kind - what world known rock legend will feed you after you invade their backstage?!
Heart. Character.

Although I was pretty drunk the whole trip, I remember every second of it, and it’s one of my favorite memories about music in general. Some Christians sure know how to rock.

on the picture: random kid with Louie Weaver, 2011