Kicking off the summer season in Millennium Park, this FREE inspirational music festival brings audiences of all ages and backgrounds together to celebrate the power of Gospel music in the city of Chicago where the genre of Gospel music was born over 80 years ago!

The lineup features GRAMMY® Award winners Karen Clark Sheard and Tye Tribbett on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage.

This Chicago Gospel Music Festival is a staple event in the Chicago which has grown to become a tradition that not only celebrates Gospel music, but also celebrates a historical part of Black culture. Families and individuals of all cultures from all across the city and around the world come just to be in town for this moment! Trust us, this something you don’t want to miss!

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Tye Tribett Scheduled to be Featured at Chicago Gospel Festival

Tye Tribett is a trailblazer in his own right. He has won multiple Grammy awards & Stellar Awards. He has had 11 billboard chart toppers, 5 number one albums and is a soul train music award winning icon! His musical sound carries inspiration from Jazz, Hip Hop, Fusion, Rock and the best of Gospel. His producer credits include multiple Gospel artists and mainstream artists such as Justin Timberlake and many more. Watching him and his full band perform is always an experience! We’re excited to see his musical genius LIVE on June 3rd at Millennium Park in Chicago!

Karen Clark Sheard Scheduled to be Featured at Chicago Gospel Festival

Karen Clark Sheard along with her sisters are all living legends who has paved the way for more artists than we can count! Karen’s influence alone has spanned across genres as Gospel and Mainstream artists have studied and gleaned from her talent for years! Her voice alone is an experience that should not be missed! Over the span of a 40 years in the industry, Karen has secured 3 Dove Awards, 4 Grammys, 2 NAACP Image Awards, 13 Stellar Awards and the James Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award. We are beyond excited to watch this matchless Queen in action this weekend at the Chicago Gospel Music Festival.

ArtSoul Radio is Giving Away Priority Seating!!

ArtSoul Radio & our Founder and CEO Tamara Young McCoy have been chosen as ambassadors for this Chicago Gospel Festival for the 2nd year! We want to invite you to celebrate and sit with us for the event! We are offering priority seating to anyone who signs up! The more the merrier! So, come celebrate with us! Click here to sign up!

Come ready to experience a joyful day in Millennium Park with a concert that features a range of music from traditional choirs to contemporary urban gospel mixed with R&B and Pop with performances that highlight Chicago’s talent and contributions to Gospel Music and by some top artists in the country: 

Find the full schedule for this weekend’s Chicago Gospel Festival below: (Visit www.chicago.gov for more)

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Millennium Park – Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”)

Hosted by Inspiration 1390 and Chicago’s own Sonya Blakey, DeAndre Patterson and Candace
Showcasing Chicago’s top choirs and musicians

• 12:00-12:45pm – Sam Williams & Selah St. Sabina Youth Choir of Chicago
• 1:00-1:45pm – Carsie Barnes IV & Favored Friday ABC
• 2:00-2:45pm – Bishop Dan Willis & All Nations Choir
• 3:00-3:45pm – Nate Martin & S.I.G.N.
• 4:00-4:45pm – Dexter Walker & Zion Movement
• 5:00-5:45pm – DJ Mike P

Millennium Park – Jay Pritzker Pavilion

5:30–9pm: Mainstage performances

• 5:30pm – Dance Performance by Praize Productions

Led by Ennerèssa LaNette Millennium Park Residency Partner Praize Productions, Inc. award-winning RIZE Youth Company will perform an excerpt from their highly anticipated theatrical production, “Call Her By Name,” which will world premiere Sunday, June 4th, 2023 in Millennium Park at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage. This is made possible support of the Millennium Park Foundation and Pritzker Foundation

• 6:00-6:40pm – Choir Nation: A tribute to Church Choirs featuring Pastor DeAndre Patterson and Destiny Worship Center Chorale, Janet Sutton and The Voices of Acme, and Bishop Larry D. Trotter and Sweet Holy Combined Choirs
• 7:00-7:40pm – Karen Clark Sheard
• 8:00-9:00pm – Tye Tribbett

[Schedule provided by Chicago DCASE | www.Chcicago.gov]

In the new gospel comedy, Bailey plays Sam, a rebellious non-believing teen forced to move to Atlanta and join a praise team.

The film is in the vein of the “Pitch Perfect” movies and for 24-year-old Bailey, the fact it was set and shot in Atlanta was a big deal. She grew up in Mableton until her early teen years.

“We shot this in Atlanta and I got to move back to my hometown for three months,” she said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was so nostalgic and exciting at the same time. I got to see some of my favorite spots growing up. I got to pass churches I knew and we even shot in some churches I had visited before.”

She said she relates to her character Sam’s journey. “It’s definitely the music for both of us and how we strive to be at the top of our careers,” she said. “She’s an aspiring musician and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make her dreams possible.”

In the movie, Chole’s character Sam reluctantly joins the praise team with her much more chipper cousin Jess, played by Anjelika Washington. Despite being polar opposites, Sam’s character accepts her cousin because they have known each other since they were tiny, Bailey said.

“She loves Jess,” Bailey said. “That’s family. It’s love and the power of God. Jess opened Sam’s mind up to God.”

Bailey also got to work with Migos star Quavo, who plays Ty, a popular rap star who takes a professional interest in Sam.

“There was a scene that brought back so many memories of me meeting producers hoping they’d work with me,” Bailey said. “And it was great to pull from his own experiences.”

The movie was produced by Atlanta’s Will Packer, who is known for films such as “Ride Along” and “Girls Trip.” He was excited to have Bailey as the lead and spoke highly of her performance.

“She reminds me of Beyoncé with her work ethic,” he said. “She is relentless. Mark my words. She’s destined for greatness.”

Chloe’s role in Praise this is a unique full circle for her! In 2003, she appeared in “Fighting Temptations” a movie with a similar theme featuring Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr. as the two main leads. Chloe was only 3 years old at the time and played the role of Beyonce’s character “Lilly” as a child alongside the younger version of Cuba Gooding Jr. character.

Praise This largely seems to be a film about faith, community, remembering the good things in life and finding your tribe and a space where you can be yourself. It also features a lot of music! Featuring additional singing co-stars like Jekalyn Carr, Koryn Hawthorne, Quavo, Crystal Renee Hayslett (of BET’s Fatima), Tristan Mack Wilds (from HBO’s “The Wire” and the CW teen drama 90210), Birgundi Baker (of HBO’s “The Chi”), Drew ‘Druski’ Desbordes, Anjelika Washington and many more.

The film brings out of a new side of many of these actors as we get to see and hear them sing in addition to acting which is also new for a few of the listed stars. Take it from us, their skills are top notch! You’ll hear a few Gospel favorites in this film along with a host of new songs as Chloe and others put a new spin on Gospel favorites while also flipping a few mainstream favorites.

“Praise This” is available now on Peacock. Sign up to watch today!

Maverick City had a full sweep at The Grammys this year! Watch their acceptance speech below:

In addition to all of their wins, Maverick City performed alongside Quavo and members of the Sunday Service Choir during a tribute to Quavo’s nephew and Migos member Takeoff. The song was written by Quavo and was heavily inspired by a post he shared on instagram shortly after the passing of his nephew.

After adding background and lead voices from Maverick City and the Sunday Service Choir, the tribute song became the backdrop for a tribute not only celebrating Takeoff, but also celebrating a long list of artists who passed away this year including Coolio, Stephen TWitch Boss, Anita Pointer, Bruce Gowers, DJ Kay Slay, Irene Cara Tyrone Downie, Hector Ramierez and many others.

Maverick City Music said they agreed to performance as a way to mourn with those who mourn as scripture encourages believers to do:

Paul tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Rejoicing is easier than mourning, but both are part of the human experience in this fallen world. And both are part of ministry.

Maverick City also shared that they wanted their performance “to raise awareness around gun violence and keeping the faith during troubled times.” The worship collective delivered a soulful performance of Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again.” Watch the full performance below.

WATCH THE FULL TRIBUTE HERE: