Eclectic line-upof performers asGospelfest hits town

GospelFest is one of the UK’s largest three day music festivals promoting country gospel music, and this year it’s coming to a marquee on the main Banbridge Road - just outside Waringstown.

This year, the festival is aiming to provide a platform for the promotion of gospel music and its message in Northern Ireland - with its usual eclectic array of musicians and plenty of local talent, too! Ranging from bluegrass to country, and southern gospel to old-time gospel, there will be a genre for everybody. Headlining on Friday evening will be The Calderwood Sisters, Kingdom Bound, Margot and Sture, and Justified.

On Saturday afternoon a Youth Fest organised by local youth pastors will take place from 1.30pm till 5pm with In Flame and Revelation playing. The evening session from 7pm will feature Warren Smith, The Sunbeam Singers, Cup O’Joe, and Slemish on the stage. On Sunday afternoon there will be an Old Time Singalong with a host of different gospel singers coming together, followed by a barbecue from 5pm-7pm. At 7.30pm the evening session features Alex Robb, Margot and Sture, Pathway and Live Issue joining a dazzling line-up.

Festival founder, Roy Dreaning, said: “Beginning in 2009, GospelFest is now one of the biggest gospel music events in the United Kingdom. Even though it is a gospel music event, we are different in that we are not associated with one church or faith-based organisation.”

Doors open an hour before each performance, £5 admission per session or a weekend ticket at £20. Tickets available at the door. To learn more, visit www.gospelfestni.com or find ‘GospelFestNI’ on Facebook.