Category: News

Queens Caesar and Franklin, Mann, other industry greats to perform at the White House

Tamela Mann

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Gospel music returns to the White House this week.

Pastor Shirley Caesar, Bishop Rance Allen, Aretha Franklin, Tamela Mann, and others will perform as part of the “In Performance at the White House” series.  The ode to gospel music will take place Tuesday, April 14, and will stream live at whitehouse.gov/live at 7pm ET.

According to a press release from the Office of the First Lady, “The event will pay tribute to the fundamental role gospel music has
played in the American musical tradition and the important artists and
repertoire that have marked its vibrant history.”

If you miss Tuesday’s live stream, the concert, called “The Gospel Tradition: In Performance at the White House,” will be aired June 26, at 9pm ET, on PBS and be simulcast on TV One.
You can read the press release in its entirety here.

LIVRE’ unveils new CD cover, announces release date

Here it is: the cover art for LIVRE’s forthcoming debut CD, Jericho: Tribe of Joshua.  The project is set to drop July 7, 2015, and will feature Mali Music, Jason Nelson, and others.  

An Evening with Evangelist Dorothy Norwood and Pastor Shirley Caesar – April 19

Maurette Brown Clark signs exclusive recording deal with SRT Entertainment

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Just weeks following SRT Entertainment’s announcement that it has signed Luther Barnes to an exclusive recording agreement, the entertainment company now announces the signing of two-time Stellar winner, Maurette Brown Clark, affectionately known to many as the “Princess of Praise and Worship.”

Maurette is not a newcomer to the gospel music industry.  Whether she is performing with Richard Smallwood and Vision or on her own,
the singer, songwriter, musician, producer, wife, and mother is
committed to spreading a message of faith and uplift.

In a press release, Maurette commented, “I am very excited and
optimistic about this next move in my musical journey. To be working
with D.A. Johnson again is a joy and I look forward to what God has for
SRT Entertainment and my ministry. #forward”

Maurette’s hits include “Breaking of Day” and “Just Wanna Praise
You,” and in recent years, she has enjoyed chart success with her
singles “I Hear the Sound (of Victory),” “One God,” and “It Ain’t Over
(Until God Says It’s Over).”

Campbell, Dillard collect multiple Stellars during Gospel’s big weekend

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

It was a big weekend in Las Vegas at the 30th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards for Erica Campbell and Ricky Dillard. Campbell and her CD Help hauled a total of eight awards, including Artist of the Year, CD of the Year, Producer of the Year (Warryn Campbell), and Contemporary Female Vocalist of the Year. Dillard took home four trophies, two of which for Song of the Year (“Amazing”) and Choir of the Year.


The Walls Group also left Gospel’s big night with a pair of Stellars; along with Deitrick Haddon’s League of Xtraordinary Worshippers; and Lisa Knowles and The Brown Singers, who captured wins for Traditional Group/Duo of the Year and Quartet of the Year.

Check out the full list of winners at uGospel.com. The awards show will be televised April 5, 2015, on TVOne.

Bishop F.C. Barnes named as 2015 inductee into NC Music Hall of Fame

Bishop F.C. Barnes is one of eight artists to be inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame for 2015.

Bishop Barnes is recognized nationally for his homespun style of gospel music and particularly for his 1983 chart-topping hit with Rev. Janice Brown, “Rough Side of the Mountain.” The song boosted the duo’s album sales past 500,000 units.

The singer, songwriter, and preacher was also the founder Red Budd Holy Church, which he pastored for 52 years until his demise in 2011 (see “Bishop, singer, and patriarch Barnes has passed”).

The induction ceremony is set for October 15, 2015, at Gem Theater in Kannapolis, NC.  Tickets will go on sale this summer at the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame Museum.  Others in the 2015 class of inductees are Gerald Alston, Nappy Brown, Eric Church, The Fantastic Shakers, Warren Haynes, Chuck Jackson, and Jay Spell.

Update (10/14/15 at 8:17 PM) – As of the date and time noted, there are still a few tickets available for the induction ceremony.  Click here to purchase them online.

James Dixon to celebrate birthday with musical – April 4

James Dixon loves God and good gospel music–so much so that he’s going all out this year for his birthday and wants you to join him.

The former drummer for the Sensational Nightingales and current lead singer of James Dixon and Company invites you to his birthday musical which features The Joy Bells, Jennifer Baker, The Richardson Brothers, and others.

Saturday, April 4, 2015
6 PM
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
1012 East Hanover Road
Graham, NC
Free Admission (love offering will be taken)

Luther Barnes inks exclusive recording deal with SRT Entertainment

From D.A. Johnson


(Flowood, MS)  SRT Entertainment is proud to announce the signing of Grammy Award nominated, Stellar Award winning producer, artist, songwriter Luther Barnes to an exclusive recording agreement.

Luther Barnes brings his very successful solo career as well as his Sunset Jubilaires, Red Budd Gospel Choir and Barnes Family Reunion brands to the label.

Luther Barnes, son of “Mr. Rough Side Of The Mountain” the late great Bishop F. C. Barnes, has forged his own place and has made his own mark in the history of Gospel music. Cherished as one of the greatest balladeers of all time in any genre (urban, gospel, or blues), Luther Barnes has enjoyed airplay and sales  success with his many styles of gospel recorded albums from  quartet, choir, praise & worship to contemporary.


As a producer and songwriter, Luther Barnes has produced and penned timeless classics such as “I’m Still Holding On,” “So Satisfied,” and the Grammy nominated, Stellar winning “It’s Your Time,” Stellar nominated “Somehow Someway” and “You Keep On Blessing Me,” which was a Top 10 Billboard Gospel Song and experienced crossover success into the Urban mainstream, receiving airplay on Urban AC stations around the country. 


And just when you think he couldn’t get any better, continuing his family lineage, Luther Barnes has accepted the pastoral call on his life and is the senior pastor and founder of Restoration Worship Center in Rocky Mount, NC.

Virtue joins Pres. Obama and others in concert commemorating Selma March this Sunday

From Jason Hardy


Grammy-nominated sister trio Virtue joins President Obama, Tamar Braxton, Harry Belafonte, Kirk Franklin, Doug E. Fresh and more to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Selma with an All-Star Concert set to stream online live this Sunday, March 8, 2015 on BET.COM and CentricTV.com at 5pm ET, hosted by AJ Calloway.


Centric/BET Networks, in partnership with the Selma-to-Montgomery 50th Commemoration Foundation, will present a historical and all-star celebration concert that will honor those who stood up for freedom, equal rights, and the right to vote.


The concert will be held on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where the original march took place in 1965, and will feature performances by Aloe Blacc, Anthony Hamilton, Arrested Development, Bebe Winans, Fantasia, Bell Biv DeVoe, D-Nice, Donnie McClurkin, Eddie Levert, Eric Benet, Flavor Flav, Keith Sweat, Kelly Price, MC Lyte, Rick Ross,Tank, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Tyrese, and Vanilla Ice.


President Obama will deliver a civil rights speech and Harry Belafonte and Peter Yarrow (two original Selma marchers), Bill Withers, Cicely Tyson, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Tom Joyner are slated to make appearances.

With Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award nominations, over 500K in career sales, five recorded studio albums, and signature hits like “Get Ready,” “Put Your War Clothes On,” “Til’ You Believe,” “Lord, I Lift My Hands,” and “Follow Me,” Virtue is back on the music scene after a 10-year recording hiatus with their new rising radio single “You Are.”

Habakkuk teams with Central City to release Stellar Awards 30th anniversary CD

From Bill Carpenter


Habakkuk Music has announced a historic partnership with Central City Productions to release a special compilation album celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Stellar Gospel Music Awards. The highly anticipated album, Stellar Awards 30th Anniversary 1985-2015, (Habakkuk Music) releases March 31, 2015.
 
The first Stellar Gospel Music Awards television broadcast took place at the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago in 1985, and this year’s landmark program takes place at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The collector’s edition album will feature an array of chart-topping tracks by fifteen of the most legendary names to ever stand on a Stellar Awards stage and sing the praises of God. The final track will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
The Stellar Gospel Music Awards show is executive produced by Don Jackson and produced by Barbara Wilson for Central City Productions (CCP). Founded in 1970 by Don Jackson, the Chicago-based Central City Productions is a distributor of original targeted programming to television and cable networks. CCP’s award-winning television programs include The Stellar Gospel Music Awards, The Trumpet Awards, The Black College Quiz Show Series, Hispanic College Quiz, Our World with Black Enterprise and Women of Power, among others.


Founded in 2007, Habakkuk Music is distributed by UMG and IN grooves (a division of Isolation Network, Inc.) and has released gospel music by brilliant artists such as Lisa Page Brooks, Earl Bynum & The Mount Unity Choir, Kevin Levar, Cheneta Jones, Papa San, The Temple of Deliverance Women’s Choir and others. Habakkuk Music, Inc. (d/b/a HBK Media) has successfully formed marketing relationships with organizations such as the American Heart Association | American Stroke Association, Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores and Rejoice Radio Network, among others.