Charleston Gaillard Center and MOJA Arts Festival to Present Gospel at the Gaillard

The Charleston Gaillard Center and MOJA Arts Festival will present Gospel at the Gaillard, a concert of soul-stirring gospel music on Saturday, September 28, featuring performances by Mike Brown & F.O.C.U.S., Kelontae Gavin, and Grammy Award-winning Tasha Cobbs Leonard.

As part of MOJA Arts Festival’s 40th anniversary season (September 26 – October 6, 2024), Gospel at the Gaillard will celebrate community and the rich tradition of gospel music in the South. Deeply rooted in Charleston’s musical heritage, gospel music has long provided solace and strength for Black communities. Gospel at the Gaillard honors this legacy and highlights the enduring significance and transformative power of gospel music as it echoes throughout the Gaillard Center.

Opening the concert are two prominent “homegrown and nationally known” figures in the gospel music industry: Mike Brown & F.O.C.U.S. and contemporary gospel artist Kelontae Gavin—both from the Charleston area. Headlining the evening is Tasha Cobbs Leonard, a multi-hyphenate/multi-award-winning gospel artist with Southern roots and ties to South Carolina. Her profoundly moving voice and poignant lyrics promise an unforgettable finale to the event.

Lissa Frenkel, President and CEO of the Charleston Gaillard Center, expressed her enthusiasm for the collaboration: "We are thrilled to partner with the MOJA Arts Festival to bring such an inspiring lineup of gospel artists to our stage. Gospel at the Gaillard is a testament to the power of music to uplift and unite, and we look forward to sharing this incredible experience with the community."

Charlton Singleton, Artistic Director of MOJA Arts Festival, added: "The MOJA Arts Festival has always celebrated the richness of African American and Caribbean cultures, and gospel music is a cornerstone of that heritage. This event is a wonderful opportunity to highlight spectacular talent, and we are excited to collaborate with the Gaillard Center to make it happen."

Tickets on sale Tuesday, June 18, at 11 AM EST at gaillardcenter.org. Gaillard Center Members receive presale access! To learn more about our Membership program, please contact our Advancement Office at info@gaillardfoundation.org or (843) 718-1578.

The City of Charleston Community Services Section will celebrate the full announcement of the MOJA Arts Festival’s 40th anniversary season with a family-friendly Juneteenth on King Block Party on Wednesday, June 19, from 6 – 9pm on King and Ann streets. 

ABOUT KELONTAE GAVIN

Kelontae Gavin, 23-year-old gospel music sensation, went viral as the “Cafeteria Singer” with celebrities like Steve Harvey and Yolanda Adams sharing the video. He is a Billboard-charting artist and a Stellar and Dove Award nominee. Behind the vibrant voice and pleasant personality is the victory and triumph of channeling testimony into transcendent moments of ministry. Kelontae’s first single, 2017’s “Higher,” written by his mother Priscilla Smalls and produced by Myron Butler, reached Top 20 on Billboard Gospel Indicator.

Kelontae Gavin is hopeful and optimistic and stated that, “I love people and I love God. Because of that, I want to meet the needs of people. That’s the number one thing I want people to know about me. I believe that when you are going through something, you need to use it as fuel for your destiny and your craft.”

ABOUT TASHA COBBS LEONARD

In less than a decade, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard has become one of the most iconic artists in gospel music history. Two-time winner of the Billboard Music Award for Top Gospel Artist, her radio single, “You Know My Name (Live),” climbed to #1, while her career-launching hit, “Break Every Chain,” was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Tasha Cobbs Leonard’s 2013 debut album, Grace, continues to be one of the highest-selling albums of the past five years. With her 2015 follow-up, One Place Live, she earned another Grammy nomination and multiple accolades, including two Billboard Music Award nominations and a BET Award nomination.

In August of 2017, Tasha Cobbs Leonard released her most ambitious and intimate project to date, Heart. Passion. Pursuit. The unprecedented in-studio live recording made history in its first week, garnering more first-week streams than any gospel album in history (3 million). The project was the highest-selling new release of 2017. She recently earned her fourth Grammy nomination for Heart. Passion. Pursuit.: Live at Passion City Church, a live retrospective featuring standout live arrangements from the hit album, along with powerful stories and testimonies that have become the hallmarks of Cobbs Leonard’s live experience.

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