Gospel Fest strikes a chord

Colin Elliott of Brownlee Primary School, has been on a career break but will return in September.

During his career break he has been recording and producing music and as part of that he is involved in running this year’s Gospel Fest which runs from August 14 - 17.

Colin said: “I feel that being involved in Gospel Fest gives us the opportunity to bring people together and encourage each other through music. The word ‘Gospel’ means good news and the Gospel Fest weekend is a time to share our music and Christian faith in an informal way with no religious baggage. It is an event where literally everyone is welcome and afterwards they can leave feeling all the better for being there.”

Located just off the main road between Waringstown and Banbridge, Gospel Fest has now become one of the largest Christian music events of its kind in the British Isles and this is its fifth year.

The Gospel Fest story and the event itself have created a huge awareness of the quality of Gospel music in Northern Ireland and as a result this year’s event is being filmed for a television programme and there are also plans to produce a subsequent DVD.

Concerts each evening start at 7.30pm with special afternoon programmes on Saturday and Sunday starting at 3pm and 4.30pm respectively. Thursday August 14 will also include the first ever Northern Ireland Gospel Music Awards, celebrating the music and ministry of our local singers, songwriters and musicians. This year’s Gospel Fest will be headlined by the group “Scarlet Wool” from Georgia in the USA.

Further information is on Facebook and at www.liveissuemusic.com/gospel-fest