Jump5 plays their last concert, disbanding after nine years

December 20, 2007 On Sunday, after nine years of touring and recording, Christian pop group JUMP5 performed their last show in Nashville, Tennessee.

Playing at Rocketown in downtown Nashville, the performance reunited the group of four with Libby Hodges, who left the group in 2004.

Preceded by a VIP meet-and-greet, the show was scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Opening for JUMP5 were pureNRG, Cali, and Jessie Daniels, three artists who were touring with the group on their "Hello & Goodbye Tour".

The tour stopped in 30 cities across North America, playing to over 25,000.

Group member Brittany Hargest said in press materials, that it's "hard to believe that everything is ending after this show. We've spent our last nine years together doing shows and touring the country, and its all coming to an end."

"We have been so blessed to be a part of your lives for so long," she said, thanking their fans for continued support.

Created in the era of long-gone acts like N*SYNC, Aaron Carter, and the A*Teens, and when Britney Spears wasn't nightly fodder for talk show hosts, JUMP5 managed to stay active and for the most part together throughout the years. Even nine years in, the song "Shoot the Moon" from their album "Hello & Goodbye" was able to chart on Radio Disney, one of the key indicators of success in the youth-targeted pop market.

The band has recently released an online-only holiday album, Christmas Like This, which is available on iTunes and Rhapsody.

Over their nine years, siblings Brandon and Brittany Hargest, along with childhood friends Lesley Moore, Chris Fedun and Libby Hodges sold over 1.4 million albums, and touring with Radio Disney.

Soundtracks for kids movies and TV shows included them with some regularity. Jump5 were heard in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Sleepover, Spy Kids, Ella Enchanted, Ice Princess, and Brother Bear. Best Picture-nominee Beauty and the Beast included one of their tracks on its DVD release. MTV's Newport Harbor, Disney Channel's Kim Possible and the Lilo & Stitch: The Series all featured their songs. Once the group even performed for United States President Bush at the White House.

Wikinews was there
Photographer Jeb Wilson from Nashville Photography Group attended the farewell concert on behalf of Wikinews. Locally based, concerts and other live events are among their specialties.