LEGENDARY SOUTHERN GOSPEL GROUP -THE HEMPHILLS

Dickson, TN  -  With horn in hand, Gabriel – the angelic being who is mostly associated with heavenly music – is preparing to “strike up the band” next week at a Gospel and Christian music festival named in his honor.    

Gabriel Festival 2009 – which will be held at Montgomery Bell State Park Conference Center and Inn November 19 – 22 – will feature more than 60 national and regional Christian and Gospel artists, performing in five separate shows, said Daniel L. Johnson, President of the United States Association of Gospel Entertainers and Musicians – the organization which is planning and producing the four day festival with the help of Dickson County, TN, church and civic leaders.

“We have been planning and working on Gabriel Fest for almost a year now, and we are quickly approaching the time when the very first notes of the very first song at the very first show will be played,” Johnson said.  “We are excited to see God pulling everything together through the work of so many good people.”

Johnson said that tickets for all festival concerts will be $5, plus a child’s toy.  A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to the Dickson County Ministerial Fellowship which will divide the proceeds and give them to five Dickson County charities.  The festival will feature four separate festival concerts, plus the association’s 2009 USAGEM Awards Banquet on Saturday night, November 21.

The festival will kick off at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, November 19, with Gabriel Fest Blast – a Contemporary Christian and Christian Rock concert featuring UR1; the Dan Heermance Band; the Haley Maguire Band; and Dickson County’s Clemency. 

The festival will continue the next day at 7 p.m. with Gabriel Fest Friday, featuring the legendary Southern Gospel group, The Hemphills; TCT-TV’s Melanie Walker; and more than a dozen other artists who perform Southern Gospel; Christian Country; and Bluegrass/Acoustic Gospel music.

“We are honored that Joel and Labreeska Hemphill have agreed to come and perform at Gabriel Fest,” Johnson said.  “They have achieved just about everything that can be achieved in Gospel music, including winning numerous industry awards and being inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall Of Fame.  But, they aren’t coming to show off their awards.  They are coming to bless the folks who come to the festival with their incredible, anointed music.”

Other Gabriel Fest 2009 events include a “Potpourri” concert at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, November 21; the 2009 USAGEM Awards Banquet at 7 p.m. Saturday; and Gabriel Fest Hallelujah Shout concert at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, November 22.  The “Shout” will feature about a dozen African American artists, including Dewitt Johnson, Tommie Lewis, and the Dynamic Dixie Travelers. 


(For more information, contact Johnson at (615) 480-4066.  You can
e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )