Rock My Soul Gospel Choir CD Coming!

A lot of our fans are saying we need a blog to let people know what's happening on the gospel music front in New England (here it is, fans!). And the biggest, best, most exciting news we have today is that we shipped off the CD master and graphics files for Rock My Soul's eponymous first album. Yes! It should arrive by June 7, in time to make its debut on June 10 at our CD Release Concert. The CD contains 11 songs, all done in Rock My Soul's unique, raise-the-rafters old-time style. The album has a rootsy feel. What we're after is old school--bringing back the songs many have forgotten or don't know about, and recording them with as authentic a sound as possible (and telling the stories behind some of them so people can appreciate them more). We want our listeners to feel how gospel used to feel in what scholar Horace Clarence Boyer calls its "golden age," because there's nothing in the world like it.

For those who don't know Rock My Soul, definitely check us out if you're in the Seacoast NH / southern Maine / Boston and North Shore MA areas. We're a 25-member, nondenominational choir with members of all different faiths and belief systems, but with a common belief in and respect for gospel music and its heritage. We're also part of a nonprofit organization called the Gospel Music Project.

The CD release concert takes place on June 10 at 7 pm in Dover NH at the First Parish Church on 218 Central Avenue (it's the big brick church with the black clock in the steeple, right on the corner of Central Avenue and Silver Street). For ticket prices and details, visit www.gospelmusicproject.org.

On this blog, we'll be posting musings and info on what we've learned about gospel music's rich history and importance to our culture, as well as recommended CDs, DVDs, and books on gospel music. Readers will of course also learn a lot about what's going on behind the scenes of the GMP and Rock My Soul. We hope you'll post comments and give us feedback.