Did not I have a TIME on Saturday?! 
My wife and I went to the Beyond Potential Summer Showcase, sponsored by Artistic Soul Entertainment (led by Brandon Egerton & Antonio Neal), at The Foundry in Nashville, TN. The event was like an educational Thanksgiving feast for aspiring artists, consisting of a panel discussion in the morning (I didn’t make it to that), followed by a showcase at which aspiring artists performed and industry vets offered constructive criticism.
First, lemme say that some of those artists are INCREDIBLY gifted. A few I wanna point out (and I’ll try to feature REALLY soon): Kenny Springs, Kevin Gray, Crystal Cooper, Harmony and the Eternal Life crew. There were other talented artists there, but these five really stuck out to me.
Kenny Springs is a gifted songwriter with a smooth voice reminiscent of John P. Kee (and so humble!). Kevin Gray… well, I just talked about him on the site recently– click here. Crystal Cooper is a young lady who writes well and plays the acoustic guitar during her set– really enjoyed her. Harmony is comprised of six dudes who did NOT look like they’re about to sing (maybe rap), but when they opened their mouths, they were quite impressive, especially their lead vocalist. And the Eternal Life crew is a holy hip-hop crew out of Louisiana. They were good, but their draw for me was that they had a female in their crew by the name of L.O.V. (Lady Of Virtue) who flows VERY well– and the holy hip-hop game doesn’t really have a ”Holy Ghost Girl” (it’s the name of her single) in the game right now.
The judges– industry vets Brandon Egerton, Monica Coates and Eboni Funderburk-Grimes– thoroughly critiqued each artist, addressing songwriting, image, stage presence, vocal ability and more. Three winners were selected from the showcase– each receiving a good deal of free advertising dollars from GospelCity.com, a very nice prize if you’re trying to get started.
Lemme quickly address the virtues of an event like this. I know that I’ve got a lot of folks who desire to be artists reading this blog and I need you to understand the value of DEVELOPING YOUR ARTISTRY. Events like this, and books like the one that Monica Coates has written (The Beginner’s Guide To The Gospel Music Industry), are not merely “options you might consider pursuing.” They are necessary because they CHALLENGE your artistry and give you tools with which to build yourself.
At the showcase, it was simple to distinguish the artists who have really worked on developing themselves from the person who just saw an ad, got off their couch and made their way to the venue. I don’t care how great your calling, YOU must prepare for the place it will take you.
Okay, enough preachin’. Check out http://www.gobeyondpotential.com for more info on this showcase series– it may be coming to your area SOON.
Anyone heard of these artists I mentioned? Anyone planning to go to one of the regional events? Whatd’ya think???
On the evening of Friday, April 16th, there will be time to chat with Joey Elwood (President, Gotee Records) and Wade Jessen (Sr. Chart Manager, Neilsen/Billboard), followed by an Open Mic Showcase hosted by Wayne “Holla” Waller.
