Category: News

Kingdom Encounter Family Conference to feature Eddie James, Maranda Willis

The Covenant Triangle’s Kingdom Encounter Family Conference will present an amazing “REACH” experience at a Triple E.E.E. Block Party at NC Central University’s Library Bowl on Thursday, July 28, at 6 PM, featuring the amazing gift of Eddie James & Dream Life Ministries. The New Covenant Christian Church’s Triple E.E.E. theme is indicative of the season of “Excellence in Evangelism without Excuse,” so come expecting an outpouring of God’s glory and vision manifestation!

Dream Life Ministries is a team of 40 young people who were saved off the streets of Atlanta, GA by the power of God through the evangelism/outreach ministry of Eddie James. They lead worship with Eddie and give their testimonies intermittently throughout the experience. Prophetess Kathy Lindsay of New Covenant Christian Church of the Triangle said in a message to GMF, “We are believing our God for 100+ souls to be saved, prodigal sons/daughters to ‘come to themselves,’ fathers and sons to reconcile, and this Joshua generation to be drawn back to our heavenly Father through the power of God!” 

On Saturday, July 30, at New Covenant (3308 Durham Chapel-Hill Blvd. in Durham), the Kingdom Encounter Family Conference continues with a benefit concert featuring Maranda C. Willis (“Nobody Like You Lord”), along with guest artist Vernon Gordon and others.  Melissa Wade and Dr. Angelia Riggsbee, Founder/CEO of Healing After Domestic Violence (H.A.D.), are the special guest co-hosts.  All proceeds will support H.A.D. families for back-to-school supplies.  If you can’t make the concert, you are asked to share the love of God through giving at www.newcovenantchristian.org and note your donation is for either H.A.D. or to support evangelism efforts to reach the lost for Christ through Triple E.E.E. event. 

‘Sunday Best’ winner Amber Bullock to sing at funeral of Alton Sterling

The family of Alton Sterling is inviting the
community to mourn with them today, Friday, July 15, at a public funeral held
at Southern University in Baton Rouge.  The services will be held at the F. G. Clark
Activity Center, which will provide seating capacity for about 4,500
people. BET’s Sunday Best winner and soul singer Amber Bullock (right) are among those who will sing at the funeral.

Other special invited guests include The Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond,
who are scheduled to make remarks at the service,
according to Gary Chambers, who has been appointed by the family to
assist with funeral arrangements.

Sterling
(left) was fatally shot by police officers last week in front of the Triple S
Food Mart in North Baton Rouge. His death has contributed to the
national debate about black suspects shot by the police and drawn
hundreds to Baton Rouge for several days of protests in Sterling’s name.

The viewing for Sterling will be open casket and will go from 8 AM to 10:30 AM., with the funeral following at 11 AM CT/12 PM ET.
The funeral will air live on CNN and other local affiliates. After the
funeral, the family will be escorted by law enforcement to an undisclosed
location for a private burial.  Update (7/15/16 @ 2:00 PM ET): Now streaming at http://www.nbcnews.com/video/watch-live-alton-sterling-funeral-322519619939
– J. Hardy Agency

John Thorpe and Truth, Chosen prep for live DVD recording – July 16

John Thorpe and Truth and Chosen are gearing up for a live DVD recording set for Saturday, July 16, at the Kirby Theater in Roxboro, NC.  Doors open at 4 PM, and the recording begins at 5 PM.  Advance tickets are $10 ($15 at the door).
Tickets are available from Light of Day Productions (336-818-0880), Truth Ministries (434-429-6130), members of both groups, and at the following sites: johnthorpeandtruth.com, chosen-ministries.com.

Tonya Lewis-Taylor to release new single, ‘I’m A Winner,’ off forthcoming EP

(New York, NY)  EARS Music Group is pleased to announce the release of “I’m A Winner,” the highly anticipated first single off Tonya Lewis Taylor’s forthcoming EP, I’ve Got to Win. Tonya
Lewis Taylor wrote and  co-produced the song with Martin Christie
and  husband J.P. Taylor.  This catchy motivational song features
Tonya’s signature vocals with a strong engaging beat that makes you
want to stand up and declare, “I’m a winner!”  The song is set to hit
airwaves July 11, and will kick off the countdown for the I’ve Got to Win EP coming out later in the month. 

With the highly anticipated release of her national debut album Delayed But Not Denied in
2014 (on which she wrote and co-produced all of the songs), Tonya’s music
has seen incredible momentum, blazing radio airwaves.  Her gospel music
classic, “Thank You,” reached number 15 on the Billboard charts.  Tonya
has been afforded opportunities that emerging artists rarely receive. 
She was hand-picked to be the opening act for the 32-city Festival of Praise Tour with Fred Hammond and Donnie McClurkin. She has been featured on Trinity Broadcasting Network with Clifton Davis, and in concert on TBN’s 15th Street Live.  Tonya has appeared on Bobby Jones Gospel, ABC’s Here & Now, and MSNBC’s Melissa Perry Show. 
Tonya
Lewis-Taylor is not only a gospel singer/songwriter and producer but a
teacher and award-winning philanthropist and author.  Wherever Tonya
Lewis-Taylor goes, she engages, encourages, and empowers people to reach
their full potential in their personal, entrepreneurial and spiritual
lives.  God has fueled this woman with tremendous passion to help
broken people and build character in youth through her Women of Power Fellowship (an organization created to mentor women) and the “I WILL GRADUATE PROGRAM” (youth development organization).  Simply put, she is called to help people become what God created them to be in excellence.
For all things TLT visit www.tonyalewistaylor.com.
From a press release

Bri Babineaux gets six million views in six days, kicks off second leg of tour

Social media singing star Briana “Bri” Babineaux has done it again.  Over
the last year, she has posted several singing videos on Facebook that
have netted millions of views.  This past week, a fan posted a video
on Facebook of Bri singing “He’s Able” and it garnered over 6.8
million views within six days
and won her a new fan in Grammy® Award winning vocalist
Donnie McClurkin.  

“I’ve been listening to you all morning long and the
anointing you carry is so full and genuine,” McClurkin wrote on Facebook. “I
look forward to sitting in your ministry one day and experiencing first
hand what I’m experiencing online.”

Fans will experience that
throughout the month of July.  Bri kicked off the second leg of
the  “New Artist on the Block” tour this past Tuesday (July 5) at The Celebration
of Life Church in Hendersonville, TN.  The first leg of the tour
launched in March, selling out all seven cities and earning a major New
York Times write-up revolving around Babineaux’s meteoric rise to
fame. This incarnation of the tour also features Geoffrey Golden
from BET’s reality TV show Sunday Best and YouTube singing sensation Kelontae Gavin.

Meanwhile,
Bri’s new self-penned gospel radio single “Jacob’s Song” is also
picking up heat, receiving airplay on a dozen gospel radio stations. 

“It came from a place of determination,” Bri says. “I had been
going through so much in my personal life and I was determined to be
just like Jacob was in the Bible and I told God that I’m not letting go
until you bless me. So this song means the world to me because it came
from an experience that I overcame.”

The second leg of the “New Artist on the Block” tour is stopping in the following cities:

7/11/16   Bethel World Outreach, Olney, MD.         
7/12/16   Have Life Church, Charlotte NC
7/13/16   Valley Brook Outreach Baptist Church, Pelzer, SC
7/14/16   Heritage Christian Center, Jacksonville, FL
7/18/16   Dothan High School, Dothan, AL
7/19/16   KVIC, Columbus, MS.
7/20/16   Showers of Blessing Church, Hammond, LA
7/21/16   TBA, Dallas, TX

Visit www.brination.org for more Bri news and eventbrite.com to purchase concert tickets. 

– From a press release

Kirk Franklin wins the BET Award in its only gospel category

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Kirk Franklin emerged as last night’s winner in the BET Awards’ sole gospel music category, the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award (formerly called the Best Gospel Artist Award).  Kirk edged out Erica Campbell, Lecrae, Anthony Brown and group therAPy, Tamela Mann, and Tasha Cobbs.

The 2016 BET Awards took place June 26 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and was aired live on the BET Network.  Last night after the show, he and wife Tammy took to social media to thank fans for their support of his music (below).

Kirk recently wrapped up a successful nine-week “Twenty Years in One Night” World Tour, selling out several venues across the country.  Tomorrow (June 28), he is scheduled to speak at the Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for Pastor Shirley Caesar (see Shirley Caesar’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedication set for June 28).
 

A video posted by Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) on

Shirley Caesar’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Dedication set for June 28

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Pastor Shirley Caesar’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will be dedicated during a public ceremony at 6126 Hollywood Boulevard, in front of the Fonda Theatre, on Tuesday, June 28.  As GMF reported when the honor was announced here last June, Caesar is among only a handful of black gospel music artists to have stars cemented into the famous Los Angeles walkway.

The ceremony will begin at 11:30 AM PT (2:30 PM ET) and stream live here: Shirley Caesar – Walk of Fame Ceremony.  Gospel luminaries Kirk Franklin and Yolanda Adams will speak during the 45-minute dedication.  Read more about Pastor Caesar’s upcoming star ceremony here.

Gospel music’s reigning queen, who is also a Raleigh pastor, is currently celebrating the success of her latest project, Fill This House, which debuted in the number one spot on Billboard’s Top Gospel Album chart and features the single “It’s Alright, It’s OK” with Anthony Hamilton and the tribute song “Mother Emanuel.” 

GMF’s Libra Boyd earns doctorate

Libra Nicole Boyd, founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™, was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in educational studies at the 125th Commencement of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) on Friday, May 6, 2016. Approximately 2,500 students received undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Libra’s research interests include cultural and social foundations of education, culturally responsive teaching and leadership, community-based pedagogical spaces, and the role of gospel music in social movements. In her dissertation, she explored the significance of gospel music to social activism in North Carolina. While completing doctoral studies at UNCG, she presented her research at conferences of the American Educational Studies Association, National Association for Multicultural Education, National Council for Black Studies, and the Southeastern Association of Educational Studies. She also served as a journal manuscript reviewer for Educational Studies and the Journal of Negro Education. Additionally, she published in the peer-reviewed journal, New Horizons in Adult Education & Human Resource Development and co-authored a chapter in the forthcoming (August 2016) book, Culturally Affirming Literacy Practices for Urban Elementary Students.

The UNCG School of Education recently honored Libra for her exemplary graduate research and presented her a Graduate Research Scholar Award during its 2016 Student and Faculty Research Award Ceremony. At the awards ceremony, she gave a poster presentation on the significance of gospel music within the context of the North Carolina-based Forward Together Moral Movement.  

In addition to being GMF’s founder, editor, and primary writer, Libra is an award-winning author, speaker, musician, and educator.

The doctor is in: Lee Williams receives honorary doctorate

From LWSQCs Facebook Page

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Congratulations are in order for Lee Williams–Dr. Lee Williams, that is.  This past weekend, the beloved quartet frontman of the Spiritual QC’s received the Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Music from Bible Believers Christian College in California.  Other members of the Spiritual QC’s–Leonard Shumpert, Patrick Hollis, and Al Hollis–were also celebrated with certificates of recognition in sacred music.

Williams began singing at eight years of age, mentored by his uncle Mitchell Thornton, who eventually formed the Spiritual QC’s.  The group established by Thornton disbanded in the 1960s, but Lee and his brother Willie maintained the group’s name and enlisted new personnel to continue singing.  His brother no longer performs with the Tupelo-based group, but Lee is a mainstay as the quartet’s lead singer and primary songwriter.  Since achieving national acclaim in the late 1990s with a pair of well-received albums–Jesus Is Alive and Well and Love Will God All the Way–he and the QC’s have become one of the most in-demand quartet gospel groups in the country with Billboard-charting albums, more than a dozen releases, and multiple Stellar Awards.  Lee Williams and the Spiritual QC’s currently travel and perform roughly 50 weeks of the year.

Desmond Pringle’s ‘Get Us Through’ single honors victims of Charleston church shootings

Desmond Pringle has a personal connection to Charleston, SC and the historic “Mother Emanuel” AME Church. The gospel singer and songwriter grew up less than a mile from the church where nine people were murdered during Bible study on June 17, 2015. Three attendees survived, including the pastor’s wife and daughter who hid.


Pringle remembers that horrific day and the national dialogue that followed concerning racism, hate crimes, and the symbolism of the Confederate flag. Exactly one year since the tragedy, he is releasing a new single, “Get Us Through,” to pay tribute to the victims and to send a message of hope and uplift to others who have been impacted by devastating events.



In a press release, Pringle shared his reaction to what has become known as the Charleston Church Massacre. He recalled, 

It
was very personal. As I watched the news, I am seeing places that
are very familiar to me–every street sign and every landmark. One of the
ladies who was killed was the wife of the pastor at the church I grew up in. I
sang at Emanuel AME just a few months prior and had been in talks with Rev. Senator
Clementa Pinckney (Emanuel AME’s pastor who was also killed) to come back and
do a concert there. It was crazy.


As
I watched the reports, I just sang to myself, ‘Get us through, Lord, Oh get us
through.’ And there the song was. It came very organically.

On June 25, Pringle will headline a gospel concert at Mother Emanuel. The concert starts at 6 PM, and will culminate a week and a half of events taking place in the city to mark the anniversary of the shootings.
“Get Us Through” will be released June 17 and will be available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and other digital platforms.