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HOPEVILLE TOUR HEADLINERS /GOSPEL MUSICAL ICONS KIRK FRANKLIN,
Gospel Music superstars Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin, headliners of the successful Hopeville Tour, will give the nation a spiritual wake-up call when they perform live on "Good Morning America" this Friday, January 24, during the 8:00 AM (EST) hour. Franklin, Adams and McClurkin will perform the song "Lovely Day." During the recent Hopeville show at L.A.’s Universal Amphitheater (1/18/03), singer Brian McKnight helped Franklin celebrate his seventh wedding anniversary. Just before Franklin concluded his set, he called his wife Tammy onto the stage. After expressing his love for her and appreciation for allowing him to work during the weekend of their anniversary, Franklin said he wished he could sing her their wedding song. Franklin’s plea cued McKnight to join the couple onstage to surprise Tammy with a live performance of his song "Still In Love." There wasn’t a dry eye in the house! The Hopeville Tour has played to packed houses since late September ’02, selling out such venues as New York’s Madison Square Garden and Washington DC’s Constitution Hall. The tour continues until late March ’03. Franklin’s vision for Hopeville is "for people to see Christian Entertainment outside of the box. That’s what I’m excited about – for them to be able to see that it’s bigger than a Sunday morning experience. It can become part of a person’s everyday lifestyle for enjoyment, but also leads to inspiration and a better way of life."
ALW ENTERTAINMENT’S HOPEVILLE TOUR Gospel crossover trio Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams & Donnie McClurkin Super-promoter Al Wash has another hit gospel tour on his hands, but this time they aren't concerts in the traditional sense.
Wash predicts, "Hopeville will take gospel music to the next level," and has secured sponsorship for the tour from Southwest Airlines, proving that it's already gaining altitude.
Confirmed 2003 Hopeville Tour Dates JANUARY: FEBRUARY:
Hopeville Tour on the Road Gospel Music superstars Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin have hit the road with their version of a gospel musical called Hopeville. The Hopeville Tour kicked off to a packed house at Toronto’s Hershey Centre on September 28 and will roll into at least 35 cities through late November 2002. During their time in Toronto, Yolanda, Kirk and Donnie got to meet their fans via an online chat on www.gospelcity.com Celebrity fans such as Louis Gossett Jr. and "Young & The Restless" actress Victoria Rowell also attended Hopeville’s debut show in Toronto. Explains Franklin, who created and directed the production, "The magic of Hopeville is that it’s a West Side Story type of production. It looks like a Broadway musical, where we are three interacting throughout the whole event. There’s singing and dancing, some theatrical moments, some choreographed moments. It’s really a whole musical experience." Pictured backstage during The Hopeville Tour in Toronto are (L-R)
Pictured below (L-R) Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin
Pictured below: Hopeville Tour stars (L-R) Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin
THE HOPEVILLE TOUR KICKS OFF IN TORONTO Gospel Music superstars Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin have hit the road with their version of a gospel musical called Hopeville. The Hopeville Tour kicked off to a packed house at Toronto’s Hershey Centre on September 28 and will roll into at least 35 cities through late November 2002. During their time in Toronto, Yolanda, Kirk and Donnie got to meet their fans via an online chat on www.gospelcity.com They also took part in a press conference with local and American Press. Celebrity fans such as Louis Gossett Jr. and "Young & The Restless" actress Victoria Rowell also attended Hopeville’s debut show in Toronto. Explains Franklin, who created and directed the production, "The magic of Hopeville is that it’s a West Side Story type of production. It looks like a Broadway musical, where we are three interacting throughout the whole event. There’s singing and dancing, some theatrical moments, some choreographed moments. It’s really a whole musical experience."
KIRK FRANKLIN, YOLANDA ADAMS & DONNIE MCCLURKIN TO MEET FANS Gospel fans will have a rare opportunity to meet Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin online via www.gospelcity.com’s Hopeville Celebrity Forum on Thursday, September 26, 9PM (EST). The Hopeville tour kicks off Saturday, September 28 in Toronto, Canada and travels across North America to a city near you. To be part of this event, log on early to www.gospelcity.com to speak with the cast of the Hopeville Tour. Fans will be able to ask Kirk questions regarding his hugely successful CD The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin, Speak to Donnie about his recent "live" recording in Los Angeles and its due date in stores, or ask Yolanda how it feels to win every award under the sun this year. The official tour site of the Hopeville tour is www.gospelcity.com
VOICES SING TO THE HEAVENS: Superpromoter Al Wash has another hit gospel tour on his hands, but this time they aren't concerts in the traditional sense. His line-up of artists is A-list, as usual, but their performances will be much more interactive as they each contribute to a storyline that centers on a message of unity. And who better to sing it to the heavens and carry it to 35 cities than the platinum-selling, multi award-winning crossover stars Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams and Donnie McClurkin? The event is called HOPEVILLE, a concept-of-living musical that Franklin created and is directing. Wash’s Dallas-based ALW Entertainment will bring Hopeville to Toronto's Hershey Centre, on Sept. 28, and will wrap the stylish production in late November, possibly in Nashville. Explains Franklin of this innovative and thoroughly uplifting experience, "The magic of Hopeville is that it’s going to be a West Side Story type of production. It’s going to look like a Broadway musical, where we are all three interacting throughout the whole event. There’s going to be singing and dancing, some theatrical moments, some choreographed moments. It’s going to be a whole musical experience." In terms of the spectacular talent providing this "musical experience," Franklin praises, "Donnie’s gift is being the most incredible male singer on this planet. Yolanda’s gift that God has given her is that she’s the most amazing female singer in our time -- not only in gospel music, but in all of pop culture. There is not another female singer in any other genre of music that can top Yolanda Adams. No other. And you can quote me on that." Franklin says that he sees his God-given gift as the ability to "put together a visual expression of music and make it come to life." Adams and McClurkin appeared on Franklin’s recent album, The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin, though the fact that they are all touring together is more of a coincidental blessing than an extension of their studio work together. "Hopeville is a make-believe city, and three friends were raised together there. We shot a video with three kids who portrayed a young Donnie, a young Kirk and a young Yolanda talking about what they wanted to do when they grew up, promising that they would stay friends forever. When the video ends, the stage set looks like a city. Hopeville is a blueprint of what every city can be, with everyone coming together as one through good times and bad times. The blessing about this tour is that all three of us will be on the same level at the same time on one stage -- which doesn’t happen in any other genre of music." Though he is as dynamic as the stars and the events he promotes, Wash doesn’t lay claim as the only gospel promoter (he also handles comedy and other entertainment forms, as well), but longtime friend Franklin insists, "He’s the best." Wash and his 15-year-old ALW Entertainment have mounted eight gospel tours over the past six years (Franklin and Adams rolled out with the maiden voyage), and has certainly contributed to gospel music’s current growth. Wash predicts, "Hopeville will take gospel music to the next level," and has secured sponsorship for the tour from Southwest Airlines, proving that it's already gaining altitude. He states, "It’s a plus to have a sponsor like Southwest, who has never dealt with the gospel industry, but they understand marketing. They are the official sponsor for the Superbowl. They get it. It’s a plus to have them on our team." Wash expects to announce hotel sponsorship soon. Franklin’s vision for Hopeville is "for people to see Christian entertainment outside of the box. That’s what I’m excited about -- for them to be able see that it’s bigger than what they may see it just as a Sunday morning experience. It can become part of a person’s everyday lifestyle for enjoyment, but also leads to inspiration and a better way of life." And that is definitely music to everybody’s ears. |
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