Hosted by Remel London, day two of Tye Tribbett’s show was a worship experience; I left The LightHouse Theatre especially pleased with how smooth the evening went. If I’m sure about one thing, every single artist proved that there is fun to be had in Jesus Christ! For sure He was two-stepping and praise-breaking with us all.
Having seen clips from the Friday show I was less apprehensive of being at the concert as I don’t know every Tye Tribbett song ever released and any concerns I had about the number of opening acts quickly left me as I walked into the dimly light auditorium and heard the harmonic sound of The Reapers Choir! These girls can SAAANNNG!!
Following their Praise and Worship ministration, Kieron Bygrave, hailing from Manchester sang the familiar Israel Houghton song Resurrection Power (Rez Power). Before you knew it, Keiron and his band had us wanting to clap louder and jump higher than before with the Eddie James song Freedom.
Up and coming twin-sister group Zoe Grace absolutely KILLED IT with their acappella medley which included a wide range of songs from the classic hymn Amazing Grace and the new school sound of the Walls Group. Despite a little hiccup, these girls did amazingly well. I look forward to hearing and seeing how their sound and performance develops, because they are definitely a duo to watch.
Now Naomi Parchment was next with her band and singers. Naomi’s sound is definitely something I can rock to as it had this soulful yet traditional sound that I liked. The only thing that I’d comment on was the sound – unfortunately I couldn’t hear her very well. Nevertheless she still praised and appeared to be having all the fun in the world while doing so. After writing this I will be searching for her music.
Then came Volney Morgan & New-ye! No words! These guys have stamina and are worthy of being sponsored by an energy drink company, because even as an audience member I couldn’t keep up. Their energy, vocal control, harmony, melodies and overall performance will have you grinning from ear-to-ear while asking “how do they do that?” Let’s just say King David would have been an excellent addition to this collective, harp and all.
And what would a UK Gospel event be without some UK Gospel rap! Guvna B graced the stage in true East-London boy fashion greeting us with his ever-recognisable “Allo Mate”. From his new album Secret World, Guvna performed Feel That Vibe – a sure party-starter, Nothing But The Blood of Jesus featuring Deitrick Haddon and my personal favourite Buss It. Since the last time I saw him perform (which was a long time ago), his showmanship has come full circle! It’s great to see such progress.
During the interval old school gospel jams played and we sang and danced along. Then the man of the hour came out with his band. He came out at 100% and stayed at 100% for almost two hours! If there is any indication from listening to Tye Tribbett’s live performances on his albums then you know Saturday’s show was TOO LIVE!
Jumping and gliding his way across the stage, in true Tye fashion he howled his Praises and offered his Worship with us in tow. Singing classic songs like No Way, I Want It All Back and Bless The Lord (Son of Man). His performance also included songs from his most recent album Greater Than. Songs performed included What Can I Do, Nobody and You Are Everything.
After asking us “Are you having a good time or nah?” we erupted with cheers, to indicate that we were and Tye began speaking life. His words of encouragement centred on making the most of our “time slots” on this Earth and ensuring that we remember that Christ is our focus. Along with his band, Tye led the audience in the exaltation of who God is with the African-inspired song Jehovah, and the brother on the keys kept taking us back to this song. Worship led by God. Now, Tye couldn’t have come all this way and not sing Chasing After You accompanied by I Love You Forever/Glory to God worship medley and ended with the appropriate workout song He Turned It (I did get nudged a few times during this part).
But it couldn’t have ended like that, after a demanding encore Tye and his band came out and did their thing as if they had just started the show with If He Did It Before…Same God and Victory. I’m sure I counted two encores (some say three) but I was too caught up in the synchronised two step led by Tye and his band.
I haven’t been to a gospel event like this in a long time. Every act had sufficient time to engage the crowd and Tye Tribbett and his band gave it their all. I applaud Paragon Collective for a job well done. The only thing I would suggest for future events would be to have the names of the artists projected on the screen when they get on stage and after they finish.
Tye Tribbett and the supporting artists have definitely gotten me excited about Gospel Music in 2016 and I excitedly anticipate the growth of Gospel Music in the UK!
OlayideM
Journalist
