By Gabrielle Heyward
Music of praise will fill the Greensboro Coliseum during homecoming weekend as gospel artists Erica Campbell, Travis Greene and Pastor Mike Jr. headline “A Come to Jesus Meeting” concert.
The concert is Sunday, Nov. 5 at 6 pm. General admission tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster’s website or at the Greensboro Coliseum. After a weekend of fun, fellowship, and festivities, the greatest homecoming on Earth (GHOE) concludes with the gospel concert.
The gospel concert has become a highlight of homecoming week for some students. As interest grew, performances went from Harrison auditorium to now, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.
The event started with performances by local churches’ gospel choirs; now it brings in some of today’s top gospel artists.
A staple of the gospel concert, the N.C. A&T Fellowship Gospel Choir that was founded in 1969, will not only be performing, but will also be sharing a new single during the concert. Marcus Williams, director of Fellowship Gospel Choir, says the concert is special because the choir gets to minister to a large audience.
“We look at it as a great opportunity to touch more lives and share the gospel that we all love and try our best to live,” Williams said. “Also, this year we are afforded the opportunity to release music for streaming, and we’ll be debuting one of our singles.”
The gospel choir has been working intensely, practicing twice a week in four-hour increments to prepare for one of its biggest performances of the year.
“Our rehearsals are intense and allow students to exercise their stamina, resilience, amplitude as well as poise,” Williams said. “All sections also work further outside of rehearsals as individual sections.
“As for the religious aspect of homecoming, we pray just as hard as we practice,” he added. “Not only for our performance to be received well but for our campus as a whole, especially during GHOE, as we all know it can be a bit chaotic at times”
A&T junior biology student Tyrese Byrd is looking forward to his third homecoming gospel concert. As an avid fan of the genre, he can’t wait for each of the performances.
“One thing I look forward to seeing in the gospel concert is each singer coming out having fun in their own way,” Byrd said.
Erica Campbell, in her first appearance at the homecoming concert, will be this year’s headliner. Campbell is most known for singing with her sister Tina as the duo Mary Mary. Campbell is an award-winning artist with hits such as “A little more Jesus” and “Help.”
Mireille Madison, a junior electrical engineering student, is looking forward to being in the front row. She hopes the artists notice how hyped she is for all of them.
“I’m excited to see Erica Campbell, hands down,” Madison said. “That’s one of my favorite gospel artists. Since I can remember I’ve been a fan of Mary Mary, and when she went solo, I became a fan of her music as well, so I’m excited to see her perform live.”
Pastor, musician and seven-time Stellar Award winner Travis Greene is also slated to perform. Greene emerged into the spotlight in 2007 and made his way to Billboard’s charts in 2015 with his album, “The Hill.” His song “Made a Way” was No. 1 on the Billboard chart for 13 consecutive weeks.
Pastor Mike Jr. is an 11-time Stellar Award winner. His breakout album, “Live Free,” featured hit songs “BIG” and “I Got It.”
According to his website, Pastor Mike Jr. prides himself on being able to reach younger and older audiences through his music. With a soulful spirit, he is leading younger audiences back to the church with his music.
“If you attend this concert you can look forward to an amazing opening set from the illustrious NC A&T Fellowship Gospel Choir,” Williams said, “and following that, you will encounter another level with the Grammy/Stellar Award winner headliners.”
Gabrielle Heyward is an N.C. A&T junior multimedia journalism student from Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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