Some amazing Gospel artists will be performing at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Madison’s South Side on Friday, Dec. 8, as PeBoGa Productions hosts the 19th Annual Fall Gospel Fest.
“Year 19. That’s amazing, isn’t it?” says Clyde Gaines, the organizer of the 19th annual Fall Gospel Fest. “It’s amazing to be around that long because when we first started, we were just doing this event to bring Gospel music at that level to Madison and not really thinking we would be doing it for 19 years. It’s been an incredible run.”
The event will once again be hosted by PeBoGa (People Building Opportunity through Grace and Action). Gaines founded PeBoGa in the fall of 2004, and the organization began its quest to develop and implement positive activities for local youth by providing services to the Madison community in the form of mentoring, athletics and music concerts. PeBoGa hosts many positive community events in the Madison area including the Park Street Music Festival and Fall Gospel Fest.
“We’ve had amazing artists for those years and it’s a lot of fun and we continue to fill that gap of providing national award-winning artists who, prior to Fall Gospel Fest, you would have to go to places like Milwaukee or Chicago or other cities to see such artists,” Gaines tells Madison365. “Fall Gospel Fest has been bringing those artists up to Madison for 19 years so people don’t have to travel to see them.”
Fall Gospel Fest annually features some of Gospel music’s biggest and brightest stars. This year, the Gospel artists that will perform will be LaTanya Maymon, Mervin Mayo, and Ricky Dillard & New G.
“We have a rising local artist by the name of LaTanya Maymon who has been very well known in the Madison area. She’s doing a lot of singing around different churches,” Gaines says. “And we also have a national recording artist … a breakout artist — Mervin Mayo. We have Ricky Dillard and New G., an award-winning multi, Grammy-nominated, multi-Dove Award winner and Stellar Award winner. The choirmaster.”
The Fall Gospel Fest was originally titled “Fall Inspirational Music Fest” when it was founded in December of 2004. Gaines wanted to create an event to bring people and community together through inspirational music regardless of background, age, culture or economic status.
“Fall Gospel Fest is open to everyone,” Gaines says. “Even though it’s Gospel music, you still have great music, you still have great singing. You still have great musicians. So the basic foundation of overall music is there; it’s just the message is a little different and through a different lens.
“You still talk about love and talk about relationships with people and with God,” Gaines continues. “You talk about healing and things that people need to hear to inspire them to continue to move forward and continue to move to the next level and not to give up on themselves. Fall Gospel Fest has been a staple for providing those messages of hope for the community for 19 years.”
There’s also a health and community component to many of PeGoBa’s events including the Fall Gospel Fest over the years.
“We enjoy having these opportunities to deliver community messages at the event, as well. So it’s been a way for people to receive information, not only community-wise but individual-wise, that will help propel them forward,” Gaines says.
Tickets are still available for the event that will be held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 2019 Fisher Street on Madison’s South Side.
“Mt. Zion provides an intimate setting where people can come and be together in a great space and just enjoy the fellowship, the great music, the great messages, and continue to show their appreciation and thanks for what God has given,” Gaines says.
To purchase tickets to the 19th annual Fall Gospel Fest, click here.
