Corbin Gospel Music Concert organizers say this year will be even bigger, better

Corbin Gospel Music Concert organizers Rev. John Burkhart and Janus Jones spoke about the event at a press conference Monday.

Fresh off the success of their inaugural effort, organizers of the Second Annual Corbin Gospel Music Concert are confident that this year will be even bigger and better.

Set for Friday, April 25 at the Corbin Arena, the concert will be a showcase of local and regional gospel talent. Roughly 1,700 people attended last year’s event.

John Burkhart, a retired local Episcopal Church minister who is heading up the non-profit group planning the show, said this week the organizers have been emboldened by the success of their first foray into concert promotion. Last year, they planted the seed. Now they expect it to grow.

“An event like this was done last year for the first time,” Burkhart said. “We are trying to create a tradition that would promote and enormous sense of unity and oneness of all Christians.”

Burkhart said the show has the multi-fold purpose of shining a spotlight on local, talented gospel musicians and performers, showcasing The Arena as a first-class venue, and a non-denominational way for Christians to gather pray, praise and “celebrate the great contribution of Jesus Christ in giving us all life everlasting.”

The show will feature four groups that will each perform for 20 minutes each. The groups are:

• Clear Fork — a group formed in 1998 by Clifford Moses of Williamsburg and Robert Johnson of Jellico, Tenn. The group is comprised of Johnson, Moses, Bob Mansfield and Rebecca Moses.

• New Harvest — Formed in 2011 with the intent to spread the gospel through song. New Harvest is comprised of singers Kendra Le Wilson and Ashley Jo.

• The Cupps — based in Whitley County, this family of musicians began singing in local churches and gained national attention in 1996. They are comprised of Troy, Barbara, Sarah and Hannah Cupp.

• The Gospel Jammers — A group of talented musicians all part of singing groups including Radiant Light, Gospel Harmony, Josh Teague and Friend and others.

The concert will also feature four soloists: Ethel White, Matt Bowling, Wanda Cornelius and Janus Jones.

Each of the soloists will perform for 10 minutes.

Jones, who also serves as the Corbin Gospel Music Concert, Inc. Secretary and director of programming, said more time has been given this year to soloists, but that the concert “flow essentially the same” as it did in 2013.

“When you do a big event, you get all kinds of comments,” Jones said. “If I were charting comments we got, folks said do it again exactly like you did it [last] time. We didn’t’ do it exactly like that, but we did it very close.”

Jones said the performers were selected with variety in mind. Some have bluegrass roots, other a more traditional gospel sound. Some performers are full bands with drums and guitars, others perform with recorded musical tracks. Some perform well-known gospel hits while others stick to only original music they’ve written.

Group vice president Bob Terrell said he’s been happy with the planning for this year’s concert because so many small businesses in town have been interested in buying sponsorships to help out.

“Small businesses have rallied behind it,” Terrell said. “I think it’s because they want to have things here in Corbin that are a sense of pride, a sense of showing what we can do here in Corbin.”

The concert will start at 6:45 p.m. and last until 9:00 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at The Arena box office or at any Ticketmaster location. Tickets are $8 per person or special group rate tickets can be purchased from any Corbin Gospel Music Concert Board of Directors for a $5 group rate.

Anyone interested in more information about the concert can call (606) 344-5018, (606) 524-3667 or (606) 521-0345.