August Finishes with Fabulous Fun along the Delaware, Faith-Filled Gospel Concert is Focus for Saturday

By Catherine J. Barrier

The end of August is fast approaching, but the weekend promises to be full of fun, fireworks, and faith in Philadelphia. A Thursday night film screening, some Friday night jazz, food at a local restaurant (an individual option), a friendly Bike Sharing Program Demonstration, and a Sunday morning event complete the weekend’s scheduled Penn’s Landing activities, but Saturday’s focus will be the Sounds of Gospel concert.

“The concert will feature songs of praise and various chorale styles, from traditional to contemporary Gospel,” said Laurie Heinerichs of the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), the organization that funds and produces the 2010 Summer Program of Free Events at Penn’s Landing. The concert’s line-up will include Spirit-filled performances by such groups as Calvary Baptist Church of Philadelphia, Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, Stellar Award-nominated artist (Reverend) Lonnie Hunter—with his choir, Structure, and the multi-platinum Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Award-winning songwriter/recording artist/producer Fred Hammond.

Fred Hammond, the featured headliner for the Sounds of Gospel concert has been involved with singing and creating Gospel music for the past 25 years. He first gained recognition as a bass guitarist for the Winans and helped form two major Gospel music groups: the trendsetting Commissioned, a six-member musical group, in 1984 and later Radical for Christ. Some of his most recognizable songs and albums include “Let the Praise Begin” from Pages of Life-Chapters 1 & 2 (1998 Dove Award winner, with Radical for Christ, for Best Contemporary Gospel Song), Purpose By Design (2001 Stellar Award winner for Male Vocalist of the Year), Just Remember Christmas (2001 Dove Award winner for Urban Album), Free to Worship (2008 Grammy Award winner for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album), and Love Unstoppable (2009), a #1 Billboard Top Gospel Album.

“God’s love for us all is unstoppable,” says Hammond. “I want to show [in my music] that God continues to love me where I am, even when I make mistakes—and He will love [others] right where they are, too.”

Reverend Lonnie Hunter III is an accomplished vocalist, organist, director, and actor. He currently serves as Pastor of Worship at Bethany Baptist Church in Lindenwold, New Jersey and is a daily radio show host on Praise 103.9 FM in Philadelphia. He will be joined in concert on Saturday with his choir, Structure.

“Lonnie is making an everlasting impact within Gospel music today,” said Heinerichs. In his many roles, Hunter claims to live by the truth of the Bible verse found in Philippians 4:13, which states, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.”

The Sounds of Gospel concert will be showcased on the new RiverStage at Penn’s Landing, located on the Great Plaza, Columbus Boulevard at Chestnut Street, on Saturday, August 28th from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The concert is co-sponsored by WDAS-FM (part of Clear Channel Worldwide, the largest independent radio group, with six stations in Philadelphia), CBS 3, and CW PHILLY 57, along with the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. The concert is Free. There are several parking lots in the area: $10-$17/day (oversized vehicles pay double rate). For more information or directions, see http://www.delawareriverevents.com/.

Fred Hammond’s influence has not been limited to Gospel music. He also produced The Gospel, a movie inspired by his life. Moreover, with popular TV judge Greg Mathis, he wrote and directed Been There, Done That, a successful musical drama. He has also appeared in various commercials and done other television appearances.

“I’ve faced a lot of giants myself,” Hammond has said. “I was fatherless, growing up in Detroit public schools—and God delivered me in so many different ways, just the way He delivered David.” Hammond also emphatically states, “God has never reneged on a promise to me.”

But the Sounds of Gospel concert is not the only event scheduled at the Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing for this coming weekend. The DRWC has several other events on the calendar. Thursday evening, the Screening Under the Stars Series will show the film Monsters vs. Aliens; there will also be a Bike Sharing System Demonstration on Saturday; and Sunday morning, another event—My Morning Jacket—will be held (check the DRWC Web site for more information on these). However, Friday night is when the other fun-filled lengthy weekend program will take place, as the DRWC presents the final concert in its Smooth Jazz Summer Nights Series concert, followed by its Friday Night Lights fireworks.

Throughout the summer, smooth jazz artists have graced the new RiverStage at Penn’s Landing on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. To date, guitarist Nick Colionne, saxophonists Jackiem Joyner and Eric Darius (in two separate concerts), the band Urban Jazz Coalition, and trumpeter and bandleader Sean Jones have all entertained evening audiences along the riverfront.

This Friday night (August 27th), saxophonist Boney James will take the stage to deliver his jazz and R&B sounds. Raised on the East Coast but now based in Los Angeles, this songwriter/saxophonist has sold several million records and has worked with Morris Day, the Isley Brothers, and Bobby Caldwell. He’s received the Billboard rankings of #1 Hot Smooth Jazz Artist (2009) and #2 Top Contemporary Jazz Artist. Send One Your Love, his latest CD, has been on charts and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance.

“James’s musical style has been influenced by Motown and (Philadelphia’s own) jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr.,” said Heinerichs.

“The DRWC is a non-profit corporation created in January 2009 exclusively for the benefit of the City of Philadelphia and its citizens,” said Heinerichs. The former Penn’s Landing Corporation had offered free concerts and events for more than 25 years, but there was a reformatting in January 2009, and the corporation’s name was changed to its present one.

“The fundamental purpose of DRWC is to design, develop, and manage the central Delaware River Waterfront in Philadelphia,” said Heinerichs. “DRWC intends to transform the waterfront into a vibrant destination location for recreational, cultural, and commercial activities for the residents and visitors of Philadelphia.”

One of the ways the corporation is making the area more vibrant this month is by offering its free, new Friday Night Lights fireworks series. On Friday night, August 27th (and again on September 3rd), the fireworks will begin at 9:15 p.m.

“The Friday Nights Lights displays [are] a chance to experience fireworks in a more intimate way,” said Heinerichs. “Watching fireworks dance over the river is a great way to cap off or kick off an evening at Penn’s Landing.”

So, whether you define fun as watching monsters and aliens, listening to jazz music, oohing and ahhing while fireworks explode in the sky, enjoying food or exercise along a waterfront, or as rejoicing to the sounds of a Gospel concert, Penn’s Landing along the Delaware is a great place to find it—especially this final weekend of August. Come on down and enjoy the fun!

© 2010 by Catherine J. Barrier.  All rights reserved.