The Liverpool Gospel Music Festival is back for 2025

The UKs only mainstream Gospel Music Festival will take place on 4^th May 2025 at Liverpool Olympia.

The event will feature internationally known artists, including headliners London Community Gospel Choir, Michelle John, Volney Morgan & New-Ye, Love and Joy Gospel Choir, Triple O, Reblah, Lighthouse Choir, Wayne Ellington and Manchester Inspirational Voices, Tofunmi Adorna, Sharyn, Natalie Okri, BIMM Birmingham Gospel Choir, Liverpool Youth Gospel Choir.

The first Liverpool Gospel Music Festival took place on the 9th of September 2023. The event featured internationally known artists, including headliners The Kingdom Choir and Called Out Music. The festival had to be postponed in 2024 following the summer riots and this year will be held indoors.

The festival organised by Liverpool Lighthouse; a charity based in Anfield working to create thriving communities of people living more fulfilled lives, is the only National Portfolio Organisation covering gospel music funded by the Arts Council. The festival is sponsored by Arts Council England, PPL, World Vision, Souter Trust, VistaPrint, Love & Joy Ministries, Liverpool Lighthouse. Supporters are Gospel Music Industry Alliance and Nothin But The Music.

Gospel Music is an inclusive, joyful, uplifting, moving music genre that celebrates the stories, histories, cultures and achievements of black communities. Much modern mainstream music, as well as many genres of music of black origin, owe their origins and inspirations to gospel music. However, these roots often go unacknowledged and unrecognised. The Gospel Music Industry Alliance identifies UK Gospel Music as derived from the African, American and Caribbean musical experience relating to the Christian faith. It had a profound impact on the development of popular music throughout the 20th century. As the festival develops over the next few years, it will also include panel discussions with artists, meet the artist events, participatory activities for families and the community and wider celebrations of black culture. This year the festival has expanded to include an artist development programme, sponsored by PPL, aiming to help gospel music artists make progress in their careers and make the jump to mainstream music stages, including the festival itself.

Whilst acknowledging and valuing the roots of the genre in Christianity, black culture and spirituality, the festival welcomes people of all faiths, ethnicities and identities. An important part of the festival is its aim to foster appreciation, connection and understanding between communities, especially following the riots last year.

Anu Omideyi, Liverpool Gospel Music Festival Director and Music Director at Liverpool Lighthouse said:

“We’re absolutely delighted to return with LGMF 2025. We have some of the best gospel artists in the country such as headliners London Community Gospel Choir and Michelle John who have both sung with the world’s greatest artists – including Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Justin Timberlake, Annie Lennox – on the world’s biggest stages. Other incredible artists in our line up are MOBO nominees: rap sensation Reblah and stunning vocalist Tofunmi Adorna. Liverpool’s well-established Love & Joy Gospel Choir alongside the newer Lighthouse Choir, featured in Comic Relief 2024 and ITV’s Big New Year’s Bash, will sing alongside outstanding choirs and artists from across the country including Manchester, Birmingham and London. We’re so glad to be able to bring many communities from different ethnicities, backgrounds, faiths and no faiths together to celebrate the undeniable power, joy and love in Gospel music.”

Another programme of the Festival, the Gospel Music into Schools Programme, was piloted in 2023 where 200 students were introduced to the history of gospel music. The programme has been delivered or scheduled for imminent delivery in over 14 schools and has brought about a curriculum change that is seeing more young people nationwide learning about the music genre. Developed in partnership with leading Gospel practitioner Anu Omideyi, Liverpool Lighthouse, Resonate Music Hub and Rockschool, ‘Gospel Music into Schools’ brings decades of expertise and a passion for sharing Gospel music with new generations and is part of the wider outreach of the festival programme. Celebrating the immense contribution made by black artists in UK and international music culture, it will also develop musicality, widen perspectives and provide the opportunity for young people to perform uplifting and inspirational music. The six-session scheme makes it easy for any teacher to introduce Gospel music into their curriculum—no matter how musically experienced they may be.

Musician Ed Sheeran has called for the UK Government to commit £250m of funding into music education. Elton John, Coldplay, Harry Styles, Stormzy and Central Cee are among the artists backing this campaign.

Anu Omideyi, Liverpool Gospel Music Festival Director and Music Director at Liverpool Lighthouse commented:

“We wholly endorse the requests by the Ed Sheeran Foundation to Keir Starmer and the government to commit additional funding to music education. They correctly identify the importance of music education in schools, youth clubs and stages. We’ve also found that gospel musicians – who, according to Wizdom Layne, Head of MOBO Unsung and Co-Director of Sound Connections, form up to 60-70% of the live mainstream music workforce – have also developed their skill in churches. We’re excited about our upcoming national launch of Gospel Music into Schools programmes in partnership with Rockschool which is open to all students regardless of faith, ethnicity or background. It provides the opportunity for young people to explore the rich heritage of gospel music and develop musical, performance and life skills. Understanding the importance of music education to young people’s social, emotional and skills development, we emphatically echo the calls to the government to assist schools, youth clubs, stages, churches, with training young people in allforms of musical excellence.”

Rebecca Ross-Williams, Creative Director of Liverpool Lighthouse added:

“Anticipation and excitement are intensifying as we count down to the second Liverpool Gospel Music Festival on Sunday 4 May! With an incredible line up of Gospel artists and choirs, we know the festival will have the broadest appeal, bringing together audiences and artists from across the city and country. Having postponed the festival due to the disturbances last summer we invite the city and nation to join us in what will be the most uplifting and healing experience as an act of joy and unity.”

Liverpool is a city with a fantastic music and cultural heritage, known as being the home of The Beatles, the European Capital of Culture, 2008 and recent host to The Eurovision Song Contest. It also has deep links to black history through its role as a slave trading port in the 19^th century and the location of the International Museum of Slavery. Liverpool is also home to Liverpool Lighthouse, which is currently working to develop the National Gospel Music Centre, a hub for supporting and developing gospel music and gospel music artists in the North West.