The UK's first ever mainstream gospel music festival has been announced for Stanley Park on September 9.
The event will take place alongside a drive by the UK's gospel music community to help emphasise Gospel Heritage Month. Liverpool Lighthouse, the Anfield-based charity spearheading the event, also acts as a hub for supporting and developing gospel music and gospel music artists in the North West.
Members of the public can expect internationally known artists, including headliners The Kingdom Choir and CalledOut Music. As the festival develops to be an annual event, it will also include panel discussions with artists, meet-the-artist events, participatory activities for families, the community and wider celebrations of black culture.
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The festival has already received support from Liverpool Football Club players Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Luis Diaz who surprised the staff and choirs while they were rehearsing. The pair entered the theatre in the Lighthouse and joined in, with Oxlade-Chamberlain persuaded to play drums while Diaz enjoyed the music.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “It was really, really good! Alisson plays it (Hallelujah) non-stop in the changing room, so Hallelujah is what I hear most days. It's where a lot of soulful music comes from."
Anu Omideyi, Liverpool Gospel Music Festival director and music director at Liverpool Lighthouse added: "It has been wonderful to see how gospel music has featured on a national scale recently, for example, during the Coronation ceremonies and celebrations and as highlighted through Lighthouse Choirs during the Eurovision programming in Eurovision Welcomes the World.
"But gospel music and musicians have significantly supported mainstream popular artists for decades and now we’re excited to build a mainstream platform that celebrates and platforms the genre itself. We welcome gospel music lovers from all over the world as well as those who want to get to know more!”
The Liverpool Gospel Music Festival lands in Stanley Park on Saturday, September 9. Tickets are available here.
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