Gospel show set for Saturday night at the Church at Wills Creek in Gadsden

Harry D. Butler
·2 min read

The Inspirations, a staple in gospel music history, have been making Gadsden a winter stop for over 40 years. This Saturday night the Inspirations will once again perform in Gadsden.

According to event promoter Jonathan Wilburn, “These men bring a style from the mountains of North Carolina like no other. Their songs will go down in history as the songs that built the industry of Southern gospel music.”

The Inspirations will return to the Church at Wills Creek on Saturday night for an evening of gospel singing that will feature the famed Kingsmen Quartet of Asheville, North Carolina, the group that celebrated their 50th anniversary with a live recording during a concert at Gadsden’s Convention Hall.

Titled “Big and Live,” the recording was released on the Canaan label; it earned legendary status in the gospel music genre and received the Gospel Music Association’s 1974 Dove Award for Album of the Year.

A later recording, "Excuses,” a humorous gospel number that topped the 1-million mark in sales, stayed at No. 1 on the gospel charts for a hearty 18 months. The Kingsmen are members of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2000) and the Christian Music Hall of Fame (2008).

Tenor singer Cole Watson of Gadsden will be featured during the Saturday night gospel music concert at The Church at Wills Creek.
Tenor singer Cole Watson of Gadsden will be featured during the Saturday night gospel music concert at The Church at Wills Creek.

Their return to Gadsden this weekend will also feature tenor singer Cole Watson of Gadsden, the son of Mike Watson, the late founder of Exodus, a gospel group based in the Queen City. Wilburn said that … “Cole was practically born with a microphone in his hand singing greet gospel music.”

Watson has said that his dad loved to lead people in worship and to see people who are lost become saved. “I pray that I see the lost saved," Watson said. "I pray that I can carry on that legacy well, and that people see Christ in me. Psalm 59: 16 says, ‘But I will sing of Thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of Thy mercy in the morning: for Thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.’ That is one of my favorite passages.”

The Saturday program begins at 6 p.m. at the Church at Wills Creek, 2730 Wills Creek Road in Gadsden.

Advance tickets can be purchased by logging on to: gcmaconcerts.com or call 423-431-8422. General admission tickets can also be purchased in advance at the Church at Wills Creek office during normal business hours.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Church at Wills Creek will host gospel concert Saturday night