Barbados Gospelfest at Farley Hill National Park. Photo Credit: Arnold Kelly
Barbadians are very religious people with over 100 religious sects operating in Barbados. Against this backdrop it is inevitable that there would be a large religious festival on the island. Gospel music plays an important role in the spiritual lives of Barbadians and the growth of Barbados Gospelfest is indicative of this fact.
Featuring a very diverse musical line up, including traditional, reggae, calypso, jazz, and soul, this annual celebration draws top gospel talent from Africa, the United Kingdom, Canada, Jamaica, US Virgin Islands, the French island of Martinique, and the USA. Past performers have included Dorothy Norwood, James Moore, Ben Tankard, Douglas Miller, Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin, Alvin Slaughter, Tramline Hawkins, Candi Staton, Harrella Goodwin, and Kirk Franklin. This year’s event runs from May 21st to the 27th.
For more information regarding venues and performances, visit the Barbados Gospelfest website. Also check out the island’s official tourism site as well, if you’re contemplating visiting Barbados now or in the near future.
History
The Barbados Gospelfest was established in 1993 by what was then known as the Barbados Tourist Board. The festival was the brainchild of the then Minister of Tourism Wes Hall, now Rev. Wes Hall, and the first event was a joint production between the Barbados Tourist Board and Mr. Alvin Jones of the USA. The parties brought Dr. Bobby Jones of Bobby Jones Gospel on board and this arrangement gave the festival and Barbados exposure to the international gospel community through its airing on Dr. Jones’ television program on Black Entertainment Television (BET).
From its inception top international Gospel artistes participated in the festival. These included, Dorothy Norwood, James Moore, Ben Tankard, Douglas Miller and then emerging artistes, Yolanda Adams and Kirk Franklin.
In 1995 the responsibility for the production of the festival was passed on to the Gospelfest Organising Committee made up of persons from the Christian community who had been involved in the planning for the first two years. The committee was chaired by Barbadian event manager, Adrian Agard. In 2003 Gospelfest (Barbados) Inc. was incorporated to carry on the management of the festival.
While maintaining the mandate of attracting visitors to the island, consistent efforts were made to ground Barbados Gospelfest as a Barbadian/Caribbean festival with an international appeal, incorporating and reflecting strong elements of the cultural reality of the Caribbean. This was done by ensuring that local and regional artistes participated and shared the stage with the international acts.
