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The fifth annual Pietown Gospel Music Festival will once again showcase some of the very best gospel and sacred music in the region, but event organizers are especially pleased to announce that Point5, a national Christian hip-hop artist, will be headlining at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, July 27.
“Point5, who was originally from the Granite City area and one of the worship leaders at Enjoy Church several years ago, reached out to me last year and said he would like to participate in our festival,” event organizer Greg Gelzinnis said. “With credentials like appearances on the Steve Harvey show, AGN, the Ellen show, and being featured on a number of motion picture soundtracks, I of course said, ‘Yes!”
Point5 is an educated man with four degrees, a military veteran, first responder, parent, and presents a purely Christian message that anybody, religious or not, can relate to and respect.
The newly formed Lewis & Clark Community College Gospel Choir, under the direction of Brenda Lancaster, will be headlining Friday evening, July 26.
In addition to the two headliners, there will be crowd favorites like the Rivers of Life Clergy Band, New Jerusalem Singers, First Calling, Rickey Meeks & 150, Jesse Prather & Committed II Christ, the Community Gospel Choir of St. Louis and the area’s own Riverbend Community Gospel Choir. Several new groups will also be a part of this year’s lineup, including Unbroken, Friends of Jesus, Servants’ Hearts, Psalm 150 Theatrics, and Prayz 24:7.
“With over 13 hours of jaw-dropping praise music on the lineup, there is literally something for everyone,” Ms. Lancaster, Pietown entertainment committee member, remarked. “Spirits are going to be uplifted, and it is going to be such a powerful moment for our community to come together in a unifying weekend through music and praise … I know God will be smiling.”
“To be a part of this festival and to be in Rock Springs Park holds great significance for our choir,” Sheila Goins, director and founding member of the Riverbend Community Gospel Choir, said. “We were organized almost 17 years to the day for a festival to be held in Rock Spring that had to be postponed, so performing once again at Pietown is a great way to celebrate our birthday.”
While there is certainly going to be plenty of free “food for the soul” at the festival, there is also going to be an assortment of economically priced food to nourish hungry festival-goers. Barbecue porksteak platters, Hansen’s famous bratwurst and quarter-pound hot dogs, grilled corn on the cob, ice-cold watermelon, walking tacos, Heavenly Scent popcorn and Lulu’s Shaved Ice are crowd favorites back again.
“We are also excited to include Lovett’s Soul Food providing snoots, jambalaya and fried chicken, Greater New Covenant Church fixing up rib tips, shish kebabs, and Polish sausages, and the Homestyle Grill will be adding their famous grilled chicken sandwiches, Philly steaks and burgers with cheese fries to the mix,” Terry Steward, festival vendor chairman, said. “It is our hope to provide our festival attendees with great food value, as well as a chance for our community groups and organizations to be able to raise funds to support their ministries and projects.”
The Pietown Gospel Music Festival will be on the Upper Athletic Field at Rock Spring Park. Festival hours are Friday from 6-9:30 p.m. and 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs for seating. Primary parking will be in the central parking lot (Candy Cane Village and Santa’s house during Christmas Wonderland). A full artist lineup and performance times can be found on the website on the musical acts tab. Volunteers are also still needed for the festival, and those interested can sign up on the website under the volunteer tab.
A special thank you is also in order for this year’s Pietown Gospel Music Festival Producing Sponsors: AdVantage, Keurig Dr. Pepper, St. Peters Hardware and Rental, Halpin Music Company, Output Unlimited, Riverbender.com, Main Street United Methodist Church, and the Greater Alton Faith Community. Special “technical assistance” for this year’s music festival was provided by The Grandpa Gang. The Pietown Gospel Music Festival is being produced by The Drug Free Alton Coalition and Greater Alton Faith Community. For questions or additional information, contact Greg Gelzinnis at (618) 550-9291.
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