DR. ALAN Kerry is a local GP and leader of worship at West Leigh Baptist Church. Alan organised the inaugral Festival; how did it go?
“West Leigh Baptist Church’s first ever Contemporary Music Festival was a blast! 3 rooms, 3 nights, 30 performers!
“Friday night kicked off with ‘The Supporters’ playing hits of the 60s and 70s followed by ‘Scene 24’ – a local Rock and Blues band of the highest calibre, Vicky’s vocals working with a powerful backing sound to create the kind of musical energy that can only come LIVE!
“On Saturday our very own ‘Joe Moore’ opened the evening amply demonstrating that, when coupled with a wonderful singing voice the Ukelele is an instrument capable of much more than ‘Cleaning windows’ (note to John Cheek – Bruce Cockburn’s ‘Bone in My Ear’ is another such example!) Then we were treated to the Gospel sounds of ‘Tribe of Judah’ a 16 piece band from The International Christian Centre in Ilford. Throwing off our Anglo-Saxon (and indeed Baptist) reserve the audience whooped and clapped and even (whisper it!) DANCED! Then ‘Sam Opeche’ performed 2 gorgeous songs from his new album ‘The Journey’ – what a voice! Finally Tribe of Judah returned to take us to the Throne of Worship – God was in the house!
“On Sunday night the emphasis shifted to songs for Justice. Emma Dipper opened up with reinterpretations of a couple of modern worship classics, and then a group of 4 teenagers performed songs from the Compassionart CD. Drumming as tight as a tourniquet, bass lines that hit you in the chest and vocals which ranged from sultry and smooth to powerful rap – all with a devastating message of Concern for Justice and Compassion for the Poor. This led into a further time of worship, picking up on themes from Amos 5 and Micah 6 and the weekend ended with us committing to live the life we sing about in our songs!
“Do NOT miss the next WLBC festival – it’ll be your loss if you do!”
– DR. ALAN KERRY, West Leigh Baptist Church and organiser of THE WORSHIP EXCHANGE
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