Category: News

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.

BeBe and CeCe to be inducted in GMA Gospel Hall of Fame

Congratulations to BeBe and CeCe Winans, who are among this year’s inductees into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame.  The honors ceremony will be held May 5, 2015, at Lipscomb University’s Allen Arena in Nashville. Bishop Paul Morton, Founding Bishop of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship International and noted singer/recording artist, will also be honored.

Read more here: Gospel Music Association Announces Hall of Fame Inductees & Honorees

Gospel winners announced at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards

Congratulations to the gospel winners at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, announced last evening (February 8, 2015) in Los Angeles.

Best Gospel Performance/Song
“No Greater Love” – Smokie Norful
Written by Aaron W. Lindsey and Smokie Norful 

Best Contemporary Christian Performance/Song
“Messengers” – Lecrae featuring For King & Country
Written by Torrance Esmond, Ran Jackson, Ricky Jackson, Kenneth Chris Mackey,
Lecrae Moore, Joseph Prielozny, Joel Smallbone and Luke Smallbone
 
Best Gospel Album
Help – Erica Campbell

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. – For King & Country 

Best Roots Gospel Album
Shine For All The People – Mike Farris

Nominees for 30th Annual Stellar Awards announced; Campbell, Dillard lead nominations

Nominees for the 30th Annual Stellar Gospel Music Awards were announced today (January 13). Erica Campbell and Ricky Dillard and New G lead the list of multiple nominations with 10 each.  Check out the full list here.

This year’s awards show moves to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will be taped for telecast on March 28, 2015. Comedian/actor David Mann and wife, Stellar winner Tamela Mann will share hosting duties with comedian/actor/radio personality Rickey Smiley.

Industry giants Andraé Crouch and Al “The Bishop” Hobbs will be honored posthumously with the Dr. Bobby Jones Legends Award. Bishop Paul Morton and President Barack Obama are set to receive the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award and the Thomas A. Dorsey Most Notable Achievement Award, respectively.

Tickets for the taping are available at www.orleansarena.com.  The official site for the Stellar Awards is www.thestellarawards.com.

Congrats to all nominees and honorees.

www.thestellarawards.com#sthash.eivo5Ged.dpuf
(www.orleansarena.com#sthash.Kudos to all nominees and honorees.

Film First releases trailer for forthcoming Mavis Staples documentary

Film First has released a trailer for its forthcoming doc film, Mavis!  The movie is directed by Jessica Edwards, founder of the independent film production and media company based in Brooklyn, NY.

According to its site, Mavis! is a feature-length documentary chronicling the music career of Mavis Staples and the Staple Singers. It will premiere in March 2015 at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, TX.

Watch the trailer here: Mavis! Exclusive

Andraé Crouch Hospitalization: Official Statement from Sandra Crouch

Yesterday (Sunday, January 4), reports circulated throughout social media about Andraé Crouch’s hospitalization.  Crouch’s sister Sandra has released an official statement that you can view on USA TODAY at the following link: Gospel great Andraé Crouch hospitalized

GMF joins thousands of others in praying for Pastor Crouch and his family.

Update (1/6/15) @ 6:47 a.m. – Yesterday at 12:58 p.m., the update below was shared on Crouch’s Facebook page.

UPDATE FROM SANDRA CROUCH:

Andraé Crouch, who was hospitalized on January 3rd, has had some positive response to the medical attention that has been given to him. The medical team has given some encouraging news and we are so grateful for the many thousands of people who are praying on behalf of my brother.

With the continued medical attention and your prayers, we are trusting the Lord for a full recovery.

Al Green fêted at 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, airs Dec. 30

Rev. Al Green is among five recipients of the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors. The gala was held December 7, at the Kennedy Center and will be broadcast on CBS tomorrow, December 30, at 9 PM ET.  The Kennedy Center explains:

The Honors recipients recognized for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts—whether in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures, or television—are selected by the Executive Committee of the Center’s Board of Trustees. The primary criterion in the selection process is excellence. The Honors are not designated by art form or category of artistic achievement; the selection process, over the years, has produced balance among the various arts and artistic disciplines.

While Al Green demonstrates musical excellence in both the soul and gospel genres, gospel great Marion Williams (whose career included tenures with the Clara Ward Singers and the Stars of Faith) is the only strictly gospel singer to have received the honor since its inception 37 years ago. Don’t you think it’s time for more of our deserving gospel artists to be recognized?  I can certainly think of a handful who merit recognition for their lifetime contributions and excellence, such as Shirley Caesar, Andraé Crouch, Richard Smallwood, and Edwin Hawkins. 

So, here’s a challenge to GMF readers: review the criteria for this honor and submit your recommendation for 2015 here: Submit A Kennedy Center Honors Recommendation

Tankards’ reality series ‘Thicker Than Water’ returns in January for second season



(New
York, NY)  Bravo
Media’s Thicker Than Water season two will
premiere on Sunday, January 4, at 9 PM ET/PT. Season two features the
unpredictable Tankard clan as they continue to live their lives as best as they
can with their strong religious convictions at hand. Ben and Jewel Tankard are
back, leading their self-proclaimed “Black Brady Bunch” family with
children Brooklyn, Britney, Benji, and Cyrene. Joining the family in the
“Tankard Palace” is Ben’s oldest son, Marcus, who returns to Tennessee with his
wife, Tish, to a warm welcome from everyone—except Britney.


Beginning Monday,
January 5 through Friday, January 9, fans can join the Tankard Family
throughout the week for a series of live Facebook Q&As on the Thicker Than Water Facebook Page. Viewers
will get the inside scoop on the family, the drama and what to expect from
the upcoming season.
For
a sneak peek at the series, visit: www.bravotv.com/thicker-than-water/season-2/videos/first-look-thicker-than-water-season-2
Thicker Than Water is produced by Sirens Media with
Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton Drescher and Lucilla D’Agostino
serving as executive producers, and by John Doe Productions with Renard Young and
Darren Toon serving as executive producers.