Christian Music, Ministry, and Entertainment News
Saturday, we have 4 good Quartets for you to view at the Showcase. We will let you out in plenty of time to grab lunch and the afternoon matinees each day at the Memphis Quartet Show. If you have any questions, please email me.
God Bless and hope to see you in Memphis,
Libbi is also announcing that The Perrys will be welcoming Dayton Gay of Brownsville, TN. Dayton commented, “What an honor it is to have this opportunity! I grew up loving great Southern Gospel music and The Perrys have always been a favorite group! They have always had such powerful and beautifully written songs and the group has always seemed down to earth and ready and willing to minister to God’s people, whatever the need might be! I’ve always admired that about the group and now, to get to be a part of it, is truly humbling. I am so excited to begin this journey with The Perrys and I can’t wait to see what God has in store!”
“We are excited to welcome Dayton and his wife, Katie, to The Perrys,” Libbi adds, “Dayton’s talent and enthusiasm will be great additions. I think people are going to love him!”
Troy Richardson always had a love of music. Born in Richmond, KY he grew up listening to the “Grand Old Opry” on Saturday night with his parents. His mother’s favorite was Kitty Wells and his dad’s was George Jones. Music was also played in the home and he got his first guitar at age 13. A Gene Autry guitar with Black Diamond strings. His hands would not even fit around the neck of the guitar, however he was determined to learn to play. Nothing to compare to the Martin D28 which are commonly played today. Troy continued playing and singing. He played in several “bands” during his teenage years.
Adulthood came and Uncle Sam also came calling. Troy was drafted during the Vietnam Era and stationed in Germany. Even though he was young, he felt it was his duty to serve his country. After leaving the service, he settled down with his wife and family but music was always part of his life.
Although life was progressing as life does, still he felt something was missing. The next milestone in his life was he gave his heart to the Lord. In a little country church during a 6-week revival, he surrendered his life to Jesus and he would never look back.
He started singing in church and eventually began ministering in word and song for over 15 years. His goal was to share the love of God in word and song and be a blessing to the Body of Christ. Later in life he started writing his own songs. His love for the Lord and his love of music have continued hand and hand as he continues to minister wherever the door is open.
Among a string of long-awaited concerts in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, and Germany this month, the multi-GRAMMY® nominated genre tastemakers' May 20 show at Rafaël Evangelism Center in Amsterdam will be recorded for a forthcoming live album.
“The Netherlands holds a special place in our hearts,” Haase shares. “It’s such a beautiful country with a rich history, and we’ve always received a warm welcome from audiences. We thought it would be an extraordinary place to record our 20th anniversary project. This album will not only be a celebration of two decades, highlighting the songs that have defined our career, but it’s a celebration of God's faithfulness.”
Live In Amsterdam: A 20th Anniversary Celebration will showcase renditions of such Ernie Haase & Signature Sound favorites as “Oh, What a Savior” and the Dove Award-winning “Reason Enough,” among many others. Reflecting on the quartet’s unparalleled career as they stand poised for the future, the recording is set to release later this year from Gospel leader StowTown Records, the label co-founded by Haase.
“Over the years we’ve had the privilege of singing in so many special places, including the National Day of Prayer, NBA games, NASCAR races, Franklin Graham Crusades, Gaither Homecoming events, and our own tours, both across America and around the world,” Haase continues. “But the biggest highlight for us is the friends we have made along the way and the fans who have become like family. The testimonies of what God has done in their lives—and the fact that He used our music in some fashion to bring about the grace they needed—is the greatest achievement we could ever hope to gain this side of heaven.”
For further information, please contact:
Brian Smith
PRESIDENT
Emily Kohl
VICE PRESIDENT
turningpointpr.com
Christian Voice Magazine, 2023 Gospel Music Fan Award Winners
FAVORITE SOUTHERN GOSPEL GROUP -Karen Peck & New River
FAVORITE COUNTRY GOSPEL GROUP - Singing Cookes
FAVORITE BLUEGRASS GOSPEL GROUP - Bobby Jones Family
FAVORITE SOUTHERN GOSPEL DUET - Webster Brothers
FAVORITE COUNTRY GOSPEL DUET - Sonshine Road
FAVORITE SOUTHERN GOSPEL SOLOIST - Troy Richardson
FAVORITE COUNTRY GOSPEL SOLOIST - Michael Austin
FAVORITE MALE VOCALIST - Joseph Larson (Jimmy Swaggart Ministries)
FAVORITE FEMALE VOCALIST - Chris Freeman (Freemans)
HORIZON MALE - Bill Baker (Bill Baker & Country 3:16)
HORIZON FEMALE - Barbara Jean Smith (Soloist)
HORIZON SOUTHERN GOSPEL GROUP - Chosen 4:13
HORIZON COUNTRY GOSPEL GROUP - Carolina The Band
HORIZON BLUEGRASS GOSPEL GROUP - King James Boys
FAVORITE CROSSOVER ARTIST - William Golden & The Goldens
FAVORITE COMEDIAN - Mark Lowry
FAVORITE BAND - Chosen
FAVORITE MUSICIAN - Chris Golden (Soloist/William Lee Golden & the Goldens)
FAVORITE SONGWRITER - Don Stiles
FAVORITE ALBUM - Till The End, The Freemans
FAVORITE VIDEO - Daddy’s Bible,
Keith Barkley & Family Tradition
FAVORITE SONG - Beautiful Messes,
Small Town Sunday
FAVORITE RADIO STATION - King of Kings Radio Network
FAVORITE RADIO PERSONALITY - Paula Probus
FAVORITE TV SHOW - Huckabee
FAVORITE WEBSITE - www.gospelmusictoday.com
RADIO PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Tim Goshen
Believers Media Group
CONCERT PROMOTER OF THE YEAR - Troy Cupp / Williamsburg Gospel Barn
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR - Chris Golden
FAITHFUL SERVANT - Robin Tanner
LIVING LEGEND - Darrell Freeman
About Gospel Music FanFair
In 2005, Wilds & Associates organized and promoted the first Southern Gospel Music FanFair in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The event was relocated to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 2009. The following year, Wilds & Associates launched the Country Gospel Music FanFest, adding even more variety for Gospel music fans. In 2014, both events were combined into one six-day event and broadened the spectrum of musical styles. The name was officially changed to Gospel Music FanFair. The annual six-day mega concert event features a variety of talent from new artists to living legends performing throughout the week. Gospel music fans gather from all over to enjoy morning worship services, daily showcases, afternoon matinees and spectacular evening concerts. Perhaps, one of highlights of the week is the annual Gospel Music Fan Awards. Six days and nights of live Gospel music, fellowship, and family fun!
19th Annual Gospel Music FanFair was held May 8 - 13, 2023, at the Center For Rural Development, Somerset, Kentucky.
Those who feel like running away, feel lost in the darkness, and just want to find the way out; that’s who the debut single from Flynt Adams is for.
Who Walks On Water tells his personal story of overcoming obstacles and leaning on his faith in God to get out of one of his darkest moments. "I had been living in sin as a born again believer, impatiently waiting on God in my life, so I went my own way,” says Flynt. “One morning when it was just me and my guitar, I got hit with a realization and was weeping about my rebellion in Christ. I wondered after all I had done if God would still take me back.” He was struck with the phrase, “How can I drown a man who walks on water?” From that, the single was born.
Signed to Private Label Artists, Flynt has been working faithfully to share his story through music. His sound is fresh and welcoming. With soaring vocals and expert musicality along with a strong rhythmic feel to drive it forward, Who Walks On Water will appeal to fans of any genre.
Radio Contact:
Private Label Artists
music@privatelabelartists.com
www.PrivateLabelArtists.com
PR Contact:
Brickshore Media
nicole@brickshoremedia.com
www.BrickshoreMedia.com
Like its predecessors, Something Good, Volume 3 finds the famed ensemble — now boasting a new lineup as they head toward their 40th year as Dollywood’s resident gospel group — drawing from the deep well of long-beloved yet ever-timely songs to create an album that will not only bring old memories to life, but make new ones, too.
“Over the past 6 years, we’ve recorded a series of albums entitled Something Good,” says singer Loren Harris. “This is the third volume in that series, with the current lineup of myself on lead and Andy Stringfield on baritone along with Jacob Ellison and Jeff Chapman on tenor and bass respectively. This recording, like the two before it, has some of our favorite songs that have been recorded over the years by other groups, by groups that we may have performed with, or remakes of Kingdom Heir classics!”
From the opening “I’m Forgiven,” a spirited, horn- and piano-driven celebration of God’s mercy that dates back to the late 1970s, to the classic quartet sound of the closing “Glory Road,” first introduced in 1973 by The Kingsmen, Something Good, Volume 3 is a loving survey of Gospel music treasures, each given the Kingdom Heirs’ unique treatment. Country flavors predominate, with the pedal steel guitar and harmonica making regular appearances alongside the ever-present keyboards, but there is room for much more, too, including elaborate orchestrations that surround the quartet’s voices with a rich sonic tapestry on songs such as The Kingsmen’s “The Cross Has Won Again,” Happy Goodman Family’s “That Sounds Like Home To Me” and The Perrys’ “He Will Hide Me,” and a two-part arrangement of “Moving Up To Gloryland” that puts the Kingdom Heirs’ own unique stamp on the popular favorite. Indeed, with each song, whether it features Harris, Stringfield, Ellison or Chapman — or all four voices throughout — the Kingdom Heirs manage to summon echoes of earlier performances while shining through with a musical character and a spiritual richness that’s all theirs.
Says Harris, “I think you’ll enjoy this trip down memory lane as we relive this wonderful music that we love to sing” — and if the enthusiastic reception given by their fans to the previous volumes of Something Good is any indication, it’s a trip listeners will be happy to take over and over again.
Danny Riley says, “I couldn’t in my wildest dreams have imagined that we’d be welcoming Jeff to our group, but we are—and we are beyond excited! Jeff is one of the greatest bass voices of the current musical generation. Even more importantly, he is a man of God who has prayed over this decision for weeks. We appreciate that about him. I want you to know we are planning to have a great time on stage singing and working for the Lord with this man who can forevermore sing bass. I look at the men on the Gold City bus and just have to thank God for how he’s always been so faithful to this group. I’m a blessed man.”
Jeff has long been both a fan and student of Gold City’s legendary Hall of Fame bass vocalist Tim Riley. Prior to his tenure with the Kingdom Heirs at Dollywood Theme Park, Jeff spent time with both the Blackwoods and the Anchormen. He is greatly respected by fans and industry peers alike, and comes to Gold City much to the delight of so many who have liked what they heard when Jeff filled in for the group on a few prior occasions. Danny says, “The times we’ve sang with Jeff, it’s almost scary how much he sounds like my dad. It’s been just an incredible experience already and he’s just starting. We have much to thank God for and for which to be excited.”
“Shortly after I found out there was a opening with Gold City, I began praying about a bass singer for them. Then I realized that this is where God was leading me,” Jeff says. “Gold City is my all-time favorite group and Tim Riley is an earthly hero of mine. I have always wanted to sing with this group, and I’m grateful and excited about the opportunity. I know that God has worked out all of the details for me to be here at this moment in time. Those who have read my bio when I was with Kingdom Heirs know that my favorite group, singer, album and song all come from Gold City. So needless to say, this is truly a great moment for me, one I don’t take lightly. I’m looking forward to getting out to all the places Gold City is loved and meeting their fans. As happy as I am to be coming to Gold City, I will greatly miss my Kingdom Heirs brothers. And when I say “brothers,” I mean it. We’re a family there, so this has been a hard decision to make because of them. But I will always be their biggest supporter, and I hope they have many more years of making great music at Dollywood.”
Jeff’s first official concert with Gold City will be April 20, 2023.
"Over the last year, I've come to realize that I have taken for granted the ability to gather together as the church in worship," shared Chris. "Ever since I was young, I have felt a calling on my life to help give people a voice to worship God and for me, I can't think of a more critical moment in time for us to come back together and worship... unified and as one voice. Worship is more than a concert, it's about your soul connecting to God, it's eternal and an opportunity to join in everlasting praise. To not only worship outside amidst God's creation but to do it alongside some of the most influential worship leaders in the church right now is something I am honored to be a part of. This is truly going to be a moment of impact and one we will never forget."
On the heels of the success of Chris' #1 debuting album Chris Tomlin & Friends, which currently has over 150 million global streams and had two songs featured in Spotify's Viral 50, Tomlin is set to release a follow-up EP. The album included Chris' second-longest-running #1 song "Who You Are To Me" featuring Lady A that topped the charts for six consecutive weeks and debuted at #6 on the Country Billboard Albums chart. The Chris Tomlin & Friends: Summer EP is set to release on July 2 and will feature superstar artist collaborations which will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
"As we are coming out of this unique moment in history, my prayer for everyone as they listen to these songs is that they feel encouraged, uplifted, and be reminded that 'the greatest of these is love,'" said Chris. "It is with great anticipation that we head into this summer with the announcement of the tour and the upcoming release of the EP, knowing that it's going to be filled with new memories and powerful encounters with the living God."
As one of the most successful Christian touring artists today, Chris will launch the amphitheater tour this August which is currently slated for 13 cities running through September 3. Chris's headline tours have sold-out venues everywhere, including New York City's Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, Red Rocks, and many more. Additional touring plans will be announced in the coming weeks. For up-to-date touring information go to www.christomlin.com. A list of tour dates is below.
August 13 - Cedar Rapids, IA
August 14 - Detroit, MI
August 15 - Milwaukee, WI
August 19 - Rogers, AR
August 20 - Oklahoma City, OK
August 21 - Austin, TX
August 22 - Beaumont, TX
August 27 - Charlotte, NC
August 28 - Simpsonville, SC
August 29 - Albertville, AL
September 1 - Tuscaloosa, AL
September 2 - Orange Beach, AL
September 3 - Jacksonville, FL