On Friday, January 13, 2012, BMI held its annual Trailblazers of Gospel Music awards luncheon at Nashville’s Rocketown. The invite-only industry gathering has become the hottest ticket in town.

This year, BMI saluted the music and ministry of Bishop Hezekiah Walker and Kirk Franklin.

A virtual who’s-who was in attendance… Kim Burrell, Israel Houghton, Fred Hammond, Isaac Carree, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Jason Nelson, Jonathan Nelson, Jessica Reedy, Virtue, Asaph Ward, Ricky Dillard, Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, BeBe Winans, DJ Rogers, David & Tamela Mann, Dayna Caddell, Brian Courtney Wilson, Dorinda Clark Cole, Marvin Sapp… my fingers are tired, but just think of EVERYONE in gospel music.

Check out these photos from the event!

The 13th annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards, held during Stellar Awards weekend each year, will honor Kirk Franklin and Hezekiah Walker at this year’s event on Friday, January 13, 2012 in Nashville, TN.

No word yet on who is slated to perform, but we’re hoping Donald Lawrence will, as always, arrange the musical tribute.

The invite-only tribute luncheon has become one of the most well-attended, highly anticipated events of the weekend. In recent years, the event has been later broadcast on gmc.

Folks, just a quick heads-up to let you know that the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour wraps up next Saturday, September 10, 2011 in Washington, DC.  If you’re close by, I urge you to get there!

As a reminder, the Tour features Bishop Hezekiah Walker & LFC, and has visited nearly a dozen cities across the U.S. since its kick-off in Atlanta this June. This was McDonald’s fifth year presenting the concert series to the community, uplifting cities and educating them on the work being done by the Ronald McDonald House and other initiatives.

One of the best parts for you– it’s totally FREE to attend!

I attended the kick-off in Atlanta and had an awesome time (read my recap). I also got to chat with Bishop Walker about his involvement in the Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour– check that interview out right here.

So, make plans to attend the concert in DC if you can–

Saturday, September 10, 2011 – 5:30pm
The National Mall – Near the Smithsonian Institute
Washington, DC
Admission is FREE

Anyone planning to attend?

The Gospel Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit founded by Dr. Teresa Hairston (of Gospel Today magazine) fifteen years ago, is adding regional conferences to its ever-popular annual Praise & Worship Conference, the first of which begins TODAY in Cleveland, OH.

Each regional conference will consist of Friday evening ‘Worship and Word’ services, followed by an artist showcase featuring local talent. From that talent pool, local artists may receive an invitation to perform at an upcoming annual conference or live recording.

Regional conferences end  on Saturday mornings with a three-hour seminar featuring Dr. Teresa Hairston, along with national speakers and recording artists, including Bishop Hezekiah Walker, Wess Morgan, Joe Pace, JJ Hairston and Dr. John Guns.

A quick look at the cities/churches sponsoring a regional conference:

Aug. 19 – Aug. 20 | Cleveland, OH | New Spirit Revival Center
Sep. 23 – Sep. 24 | Bloomfield, CT | First Cathedral
Sep. 30 – Oct. 01 | Washington, DC | Mt. Calvary Holy Church
Nov. 11 – Nov. 12 | Sacramento, CA | This Is Pentecost Fellowship Ministry

Next year’s annual conference will again take place in Jacksonville, FL, from February 16-18, 2012.

For more info about the regional conferences and the annual conference, visit Gospel Heritage’s website at http://www.gospelheritage.org.

Be there!

As you know, I attended the kick-off concert of the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour this past Saturday (click here for my recap on the tour and to see why you NEED to make plans to attend it when it comes to your town).  Bishop Hezekiah Walker is headlining the 9-city tour.

Before the event, Bishop Walker took a minute to chat with me about a few things, including his involvement with McDonald’s and plans for a new album!

*****

EJ: How are you?

HW: I’m good, thanks!

EJ: Thanks for taking a quick minute to chat with me.  I’m curious about your experience with McDonald’s and this tour… what prompted you to become a part of it?

HW: Well, this is our first night, so I’m really excited about that. The experience has been great so far.  I’ve been a part of McDonald’s for quite some time, actually. Back in New York, the McDonald’s Gospel Fest is the thing that really took off my career, back in 1985!

EJ: Oh, right!

HW: So I’ve partnered with them for years now. But as far as the Inspiration Celebration tour, there’s an amazing connection there. I’m really all about community and to see McDonald’s giving back and wanting to embrace our community, and embrace what we do, I think it’s big.

EJ: Absolutely. I know you’ve been able to visit some of the Ronald McDonald Houses as well.

HW: Yes! It’s been amazing.

EJ: You’ve seen what they’re doing first-hand. How has that impacted you?

HW: It’s amazing! Growing up, you hear of the Ronald McDonald House, but you never really know what they do. A few years ago, I had the privilege of visiting St. Jude’s and I thought it was the only institution that does what they do– taking care of children and their families. But when I really got involved with the Ronald McDonald House, it blew me away.

EJ: Yeah.

HW: It brought tears to my eyes– just to see the kids there. They had smiles on their faces, they weren’t complaining, they were happy. The establishment was a very good environment– good to live in, good to eat in, to socialize in… they have really good, positive people around them.

EJ: That’s great.

HW: And the craziest thing– it’s right in my backyard! Right in New York, you know what I’m saying?

EJ: And you didn’t even know about it.

HW: Yeah. And it really made me feel good to know that there are other people, outside of all I knew (St. Jude’s), that are doing things on this level. Especially where I live, there’s a McDonald’s maybe every 10 blocks.

EJ: Absolutely.

HW: And when you see one, you think of hamburgers. *laughs*

EJ: *laughs* Right!

HW: But to see them working outside of just serving hamburgers, but really giving back… that made my heart feel glad.

EJ: Sure. And it’s a reality of that we don’t often get to see.

HW: We don’t get to see that. Not at all.

EJ: Well, that’s awesome. Congratulations, by the way, on being installed as Bishop! That’s tremendous.

HW: Thank you very much!

EJ: And are you working on a new album?

HW: Yes, working on a new album. Right now, we’re still trying to figure out which way to go. I have a big pull to do something in South Africa, so I’m debating whether to do the next album in South Africa.

But, if not, we’ll do it here in the States and we’ll wait until next year to do something in Africa.

EJ: I love it. I’m looking forward to it, for sure.

HW: Definitely!

EJ: Well, thanks for taking a quick minute to chat with me. Congrats on everything and great work on this tour!

HW: Thank you, man. Good to see you again.

EJ: Yes, sir!

*****

And there you have it, folks.

I don’t know how many more ways I can encourage you to attend one of these FREE concerts, but I think you’ll really enjoy it. Get there, if you can! Click here for more info on the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Tour.

On Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend the kick-off concert of this year’s McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour in Atlanta, GA.  This year, the tour features the incomparable Bishop Hezekiah Walker as the headlining act and I had a BLAST.  Lemme tell you a bit about it–

Traffic in Atlanta was BRUTAL this weekend, but the concert was well worth the trip.  I arrived at Ray of Hope Church in Decatur, GA at around 5:30pm and met with some of the great folks that organized and executed the entire tour event.  Their passion– not just for putting on an excellent concert, but also for the philanthropic work that McDonald’s does– was evident and contagious.

After chatting with the organizers for a bit, I popped into Bishop Walker’s dressing room for a quick chat (I’ll give you a recap of our conversation in another post– he talks about his work with McDonald’s and, yes– plans for a new album!).

I made my way to my seat in the practically-packed sanctuary, and not a moment too soon– gospel artist and radio personality Darlene McCoy was just about to hit the stage to MC the event!

We heard a bit about McDonald’s 365black.com initatives, as well as other ways in which the restaurant chain gives back to the local community.  Aside from the famed Ronald McDonald Houses, in which provide a “home-away-from-home” to children receiving medical treatment, and their families.  It struck me as a really profound need that is somewhat easy to overlook.

After meeting two children who benefitted from the help of the charity– India and Terry– the concert began with urban gospel artist Canton Jones.  I think we stood on our feet the ENTIRE time of his performance, which included one of his latest hit tunes (and my favorite of the evening),  ”Window.”

Up next was Hezekiah Walker with a full band and members of the Love Fellowship Choir (there were 11, but it sounded like 40!).  I’ve always said they’re my favorite choir EVER, but concerts like Saturday night just serve to confirm that all over again.  Starting his set with “Power Belongs to God,” before moving to “Clean Inside” and “I’ll Make It,” the show was full of energy and the accompaniment of an entire audience singing along.

The pace slowed down a bit as the group moved into “Grateful” and ”I Need You To Survive,” during which Bishop Walker talked about the importance of the community outreach efforts of McDonald’s.

The night closed out with the entire audience on their feet, dancing and singing to “Souled Out.”

I STRONGLY encourage you to make plans to attend one of these events, folks.  The McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour not only provides uplifting entertainment and ministry, but you’ll get an opportunity to learn more about the heartbeat of one of the world’s largest companies.  And you’ll see that it does a bit more than serve some of the best french fries on this side of Heaven.

Nearly all of the events are FREE to the public and well worth your time.  For more info on the tour, including upcoming dates, visit http://www.mcdonalds.urbanministries.com/.

In his latest video to educate us on all that McDonald’s is doing in our local communities, Bishop Hezekiah Walker chats about the importance of fathers spending quality time with their children.

Check it out!

Also…

To see his earlier video on Giving Back, click here.

To watch his video on Encouraging Children, click here.

And don’t forget to make your plans to attend the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, which kicked-off this past Saturday (click here to read my recap of the first concert!).

For more info on the Tour, click here!

On the heels of their successful current project, Resting On His Promise, JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise are prepping for the live recording of a new project on Friday, July 8 at 6pm at The First Cathedral in Bloomfield, CT.

You don’t wanna miss this one, folks.  With guests including Bishop Hezekiah Walker, Jessica Reedy, Tye Tribbett and Kathy Taylor, I’ve got a feeling that the night is going to be one to remember.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and can be purchased right now, right here: http://www.youthfulpraise.org. You can also grab them at The First Cathedral (360 Colorado Avenue, Bloomfield, CT).

For more info, visit http://www.youthfulpraise.org.

In partnership with the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, Bishop Hezekiah Walker recently shared the importance of having fathers giving back in their local communities (click here to watch his first video).

Now, he’s back with a video about the need for fathers to encourage their children, and the impact that it has in a child’s life and development.

Check it out–

As a reminder, the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour is nationwide, hitting multiple markets this summer. For a recap about the Tour, click here!

In partnership with the McDonald’s Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour, Bishop Hezekiah Walker recently shared the importance of giving back, especially as it relates to fathers being involved in their communities.

As a reminder, the Tour is nationwide, hitting multiple markets this summer. For a recap about the Tour, click here!

Click below to watch the video!