Oh wowwwwwwww. Yesterday was insanely busy, but soooo much fun.
The Gospel Announcer’s Guild (GAG) held its annual luncheon and showcase at the Duke Energy Center. The event, co-hosted by David Mann, featured a BUNCH of artists with new music either available now or coming soon. Among them– Sheri Jones-Moffett, Melinda Watts, Tamela Mann, Bishop Paul Morton, New Direction, Philip Carter, Karima Kibble…
And let me say this real quick… that Bishop Paul Morton is a preaching and singin’ somebody. I NEVER get tired of hearing him sing. By the way, it’s his BIRTHDAY week, so there’s much celebrating going around. In any case, he sang his new single, “Don’t Do It Without Me” (with son, PJ Morton on keys), and got the entire GAG Luncheon crowd HYPED. I’ll do some feature stuff soon. In the meantime, some pics are at the bottom of this post.
Donald Lawrence, Dorothy Norwood and Vashawn Mitchell were among several artists in the house to support… and a BUNCH of industry vets and execs were milling around including Jojo Pada, Neily Dickerson (The ND Co.), Torrence Glenn (BET.com), Vicki Mack-Lataillade (LillyMack/Central South/CCLI/etc.), Larry Blackwell (EMI), Mitchell Solarek (Maximum Artist), Tammy Taylor (One EnTiTy), Sheilah Belle (The Belle Report), Lisa Collins (Gospel Industry Round-Up), Kia Jarmon (Light Records) and soooo many more.
I tried to take a quick nap, but I didn’t quite make it. My wife and I were invited to an intimate little dinner celebrating the release of Melinda Watts’ debut project, People Get Ready. Special shout-out to her incredible team, with whom my wife and I have kinda fallen in love!
No rest for the weary… I had about 45 minutes to freshen up for the highly anticipated Donald Lawrence concert, sponsored in part by Verizon Wireless & How Sweet The Sound.
IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Maaaaan… he’s like… becoming one of my absolute faves. He and his singers ministered with songs from his latest project, The Law Of Confession Part 1, including the title track, “Let The Word Do The Work,” “The Blessing Is On You,” and the hit single “Back II Eden.” He also dipped back a bit and performed “Healed,” “Giants,” ”The Blessing Of Abraham,” and brought Sheri Jones-Moffett to the stage to take us STRAIGHT in on “Encourage Yourself.” It was better than I could ever recap. GEEZ.
Sheri also performed her rising single, “Renewed,” from her debut solo album of the same name, due on August 11th. Such a sweet spirit (and her family is THE BEST).
The whole shebang ended at about 2am and I was knocked OUT shortly thereafter. Where’s my coffee?!
More recaps later!
The annual publication, the brainchild of former Billboard Gospel Music Editor Lisa Collins, is an incredible resource, compiling contact info for everyone from managers, to agents, to radio stations, to record labels. In addition to listings, it contains features on the hottest people and trends in gospel for that year, along with great how-to tips from industry leaders.
In case you didn’t know, it’s a phenomenal publication and resource that features EVERY thing you need to know about the gospel music industry– from artist contact info to annual conference dates, from tips on how to enter the industry to must-have info for everyone within it…
