BAGLEY STAGE
PERFORMANCES
The Performance Lineup Includes a list of Who's Who in Gospel Music!
VASHAWN MITCHELL
VaShawn Mitchell is an American gospel singer and songwriter. He has produced several Stellar Award-winning projects and songs for Grammy Award winners Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Smokie Norful.
TROY SNEED
Troy Sneed is an American gospel musician. He started his music career in 1999, with the release of Call Jesus by Malaco Records. His second album, Bless That Wonderful Name, was released by Savoy Records in 2011. The third album, A State of Worship, was released by his own label imprint Emtro Gospel Records in 2005, which the rest would be released by that label. This was his breakthrough album on the Billboard magazine Gospel Albums chart. His fourth release, In His Presence, was released in 2006, and it charted on the aforementioned chart. His seventh album, All is Well, released in 2012, and it too chart on the aforementioned chart.
DOTTIE PEOPLES
Few people possess a voice that can usher an audience into the presence of God with more joy and immediacy than Dottie Peoples. Dottie is blessed with a soulful passionate voice and an unbridled love for the Lord and her fellow man. Dottie Peoples is an electrifying presence on stage that turns any concert into an al out revival. Her gifts for teaching, singing and summoning the Holy Spirit flow powerfully on her nationally syndicated radio show "Dottie's Praise House".
CHRYSTAL RUCKER
Chrystal Rucker is a gospel soprano known to fans for her dynamic covers of "Over the Rainbow" and Walter Hawkins' "Changed". The daughter of a bishop in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), the Kansas City, Missouri native started singing in church as a toddler. She went on to study music and English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Motherhood compelled the vocalist to pursue a reliable income, so she found office work while still singing on weekends. Eventually Rucker found demand as a guest performer on gospel albums by artists including Edwin Hawkins, Myron Williams and Jerome Greene. In 2007, a series of strokes nearly ended Rucker's life, much less her career aspirations, but she returned to the stage as soon as her recovery would allow, and self-released an eponymous album in 2009. She continued to appear. EPM Music Group released her label debut, You Deserve. The title track landed on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart, and the album reached gospel Top Ten.
DORINDA CLARK COLE
Dorinda Clark Cole is a member of the GRAMMY Award winning renowned gospel music family, The Clark Sisters. She is known as “The Rose of Gospel”, “The Church Girl” and “Evangelist”. Above all, the 3x Grammy Award winner is a fired-up sister for Christ and is one of the most gifted vocalists in the music world . She is a cast member of the hit reality series on Oxygen TV Network, The Preacher’s Of Detroit and the WORD Network's "Dorinda Clark-Cole Show".
Dorinda hosts the syndicated, Dorinda Clark Cole Radio Show produced and distributed by the Rejoice! MSF Network. The show includes exciting guest interviews, fashion tips, ministry and some of the hottest Gospel music in the industry.
JEKALYN CARR
Jekalyn Carr is an American urban contemporary gospel artist and musician, evangelist, and entrepreneur from West Memphis, Arkansas. She started her music career, in 2011, with the independently released album, Promise. Her first single was released in 2012, "Greater Is Coming", that was on her debut studio album, Greater Is Coming, released in 2013 by Lunjeal Music Group alongside Malaco Records. This was her Billboard magazine breakthrough release upon the Billboard 200, Gospel Albums, and Independent Albums charts. Her subsequent studio album, It's Gonna Happen, was released in 2014 by Lunjeal Music Group, and this charted on the Gospel Albums chart.
DR. BOBBY JONES
Dr. Bobby Jones is a Grammy Award-winning Gospel music singer and television host from Nashville, Tennessee and the host and executive producer of several cable television's gospel music program including Bobby Jones Gospel. Bobby Jones Gospel lays claim to offering the first prime exposure to several Gospel music solo artists and groups including Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Yolanda Adams, and Smokie Norful. Other artists featured have included Albertina Walker, Patti Labelle, Dorothy Norwood and Helen Baylor.
ZION'S JOY
Zion's Joy! is comprised of nine melodious voices whose mission is to sing and testify of God's goodness, mercy and salvation to all. Their purpose and ministry is to lift the name of Jesus higher, letting all who hear, know of his soon return. The theme of Zion's Joy! is taken from Isaiah 51:3 where it concludes that in Zion "joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody". The members of Zion's Joy! are active in their churches and have answered the call to go spread the Word of God to the masses. They long to encourage and see everyone give his/her heart to Christ. With the release of their debut CD, "Knocking On Your Heart," every listener will hear the heart beat of praise, worship, salvation and celebration.
KURT CARR
Singer, songwriter, producer and musician Kurt Carr is one of the most celebrated talents of our time. Carr is a Stellar, and Dove Award winner that has been responsible for some of the most well-known Gospel songs, including 'The Presence of The Lord', 'In the Sanctuary', 'For Every Mountain', and 'God Blocked It', to name just a few.
EARL BYNUM
Earl Bynum is a STELLAR Award winning artist, songwriter and producer. He is known as “Mr. International” as he travels the world bringing Gospel music to the multitudes. Earl Bynum is the Executive Minster of Music at Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in Chesapeake, VA and Elizabeth City, NC. His songwriting skills, vocal arranging creativity and gospel music artistry has elevated him as one of the most recognized leaders in music and ministry.
VIRGINIA AIRES
A gospel harmony group from Chesapeake, VA whose music puts a contemporary energy behind the heartfelt message of classic gospel, the Virginia Aires were formed in 1981 by Pastor Rodney "The Mailman" Mills, who is also the founder of Solid Rock Worldwide Outreach Ministries. The group's breakthrough came with the 2004 release "Live in the Country", which earned strong reviews and respectable sales in the gospel market. In 2015, the Virginia Aires made a positive impression on gospel radio with the single "You Should Have Been There".
Melvin Williams
Melvin Williams is a world-renowned gospel producer, singer, songwriter and lead vocalist for the legendary Williams Brothers. Melvin’s music legacy includes five solo albums, a massive collection of Williams Brothers albums, 7-Grammy Award nominations, 17-STELLAR Awards, Dove Awards and international recognition from Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Most recently, Melvin performed along with Aretha Franklin and his brother at the White House’s annual “In Performance” series.
EARNEST PUGH
Earnest Pugh is a dynamic musical force of unparalleled proportion. As a powerhouse vocalist, songwriter, producer, leading industry executive, successful record label owner and philanthropist, Pugh has demonstrated remarkable gifts and unequivocally earned the title of Gospel’s Leading Man. His approach to music is legendary, and his ability to seemingly effortlessly navigate a five-octave range and convey lyrical content continues to capture audiences worldwide. Earnest Pugh has released eight albums throughout his recording career, three that he executive produced. He has had three Billboard Top-5 album debuts and more than 10 Top-30 radio singles, including “I Need Your Glory,” the #1 radio hit that dominated Billboard’s Hot Gospel Songs chart for nine consecutive weeks in the summer of 2011.
Damon Little
Gospel singer and songwriter Damon Little began his singing ministry at the age of five, when he and his brothers and cousins formed a family group. His first studio recording was with his uncle, who just happened to be the great Clarence Fountain of the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Little spent a portion of his childhood years in Pensacola, Florida, where he developed a resonant singing style reminiscent at times of Al Green or Philippe Wynne, former lead singer of the Spinners. Little's musical ministry has taken him to Mexico, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and elsewhere, often as part of Radio-One's Gospel Cruise, and has been featured on TV One, BET, TBN, and the Word Network. Little signed with Houston, Texas' Worldwide Gospel in 2000, and began producing a string of gospel chart hits with a strong urban R&B feel, including the title track of his debut album, "You Can't Straddle the Fence" (the album appeared in 2002 from Worldwide), "Long as I Got Shoes," and "Do Right (How You Gonna Do Right with a Do Wrong Mind)," the title tune of his second album, Do Right, which Worldwide released in 2004. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
JERMAINE DOLLY
Contemporary gospel/CCM artist Jermaine Dolly is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, grew up in the church, and was playing piano and drums and singing at a young age. In addition to becoming a rounded musician, he also took part in stage productions through high school. For college, he attended West Chester University and sang with the school's choir. While there, he also performed with Prayz1. When that group opened for Tye Tribbett, Dolly impressed Tribbett so much that he was asked to tour as a background vocalist for the major gospel star. Dolly eventually recorded with Tribbett as well, as heard on the Grammy-winning album Greater Than. As a solo artist, Dolly debuted in 2015 with "You." A promising start that showcased his beliefs, falsetto, and love for Marvin Gaye-styled rolling grooves, it peaked at number 20 on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart that April. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi