GospelFest at City Hall Plaza Sunday, July 17 2011. This is a Boston Music Coalition; Live Music Review

By Doug Ruffin

President,

Boston Music Coalition

The Boston Music Coalition Publicizes Live Music. We do this for all genres of music. On Friday, in my weekly Nightlife Nexus blog, (see below) I offered a choice of live music on Sunday in the Boston area. One of the choices was the GospelFest. ... I went.

First, let me say how happy I am with Boston’s Mayor Thomas M Menino for not just attending GospelFest, But Staying there for the show and speaking twice on stage. He was well engaged with the receptive audience.

GospelFest is a thirteen year tradition in Boston. Past performers included Kirk Franklin and Karen Clark Sheard. This year, headliner Marvin Sapp joined many popular gospel music artists including Ashley Nicole, Bobby Perry & RAIN, E2VG and a more.

Gospel music; particularly when it’s live, drives the spirit of the individuals in the audience. The collective spirit of the audience fast becomes addictive. Everyone has a great time. All the performers made every effort to make the entire audience welcome. Passers by were invited to stop, grab a seat, tap some toes and clap some hands. Trust me, I did!

Resources:

Boston Events:

Summer Performing Arts: www.cityofboston.gov/ARTS/

Calendar Of Events: www.cityofboston.gov/calendar/

Boston City Guide: http://bostoneventguide.com/

Gospel Music:

Gospel Music Association www.gospelmusic.org/

American Gospel Music Directory:  www.americangospel.com/

Billboard Magazine: Top Gospel Songs: www.billboard.com/#/charts/gospel-songs

                              Marvin Sapp: Number 6 on Billboard Gospel Songs This Week.