By Keril Wright,
Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
IT WAS an evening of rejoicing in Savanna-la-mar on Labour Day as Carlene Davis and friends brought gospel music to the western town.
With old time favourites like Amazing Grace, One Day At A Time to current songs Forever Friend and This Island Needs Jesus, the once 'woman of Reggae', now an ordained Minister, was determined to steal souls for Jesus Christ.
The singer was preceded by the soulful singing of Trench Town artiste Devon Beckford, 'Ziggy Soul' and her own backup singers, Forgiven, who thrilled the audience with a number of gospel hits.
The group, the first on stage at the Sean Lavery Faith Hall, was introduced onstage by Tommy Cowan, as an upcoming group with great potential who will soon release their first single Forgiven.
The ladies, Tamara Brooks-James, Nicole Salmon and Jacqueline Brooks, did not disappoint, as they delivered each piece with melodic harmony ending with the popular The Potters House.
By the end of their performance the audience was ready for the soulful sound of 'Ziggy Soul'- another secular artist turned gospel singer - who Cowan noted would soon release his CD Born Again.
He belted out a number of originals while ministering his personal testimony of being called by God from secular music to his present vocation.
"What I used to feel when I sang secular music is not what I feel now," Ziggy told the audience. "Now I feel fulfilled."
The singer informed the audience that God was now reclaiming that music form and was using it to save souls.
"Christians say Reggae music is devil music and when Satan hear that him smile," he pointed out. "We have to rise up and take back Reggae music."
By the end of his performance the audience had got considerably bigger and welcomed the entry of Carlene Davis with cheers.
Her husband, Cowan, introduced her as a lady who once sang about Stealing Love On The Side but was now stealing souls for Jesus Christ.
The audience rose to their feet to the sounds of Stand Up and Tell Me If You Love My Lord as she entered the stage dressed in a black pinstriped outfit and her trademark braided hairstyle.
She delivered other favourites to the delight of the audience then launched into a number of old spirituals.
Proceeds of the concert, which was put on by Owen Sinclair of Sinclair's Bargain Centre, will go to St. Johns Ambulance and the Jamaica Red Cross.
