ATLANTA, Sept. 2 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Gospel Music Channel (
www.gospelmusicchannel.com), the country's first and only television network showcasing all forms of gospel/Christian music, announced today it is teaming up with House of Blues, the popular restaurant/concert venue, to celebrate National Gospel Music Heritage Month in September.
Melinda Watts, winner of season three of GMC's American Idol®-styled Gospel Dream reality series, will perform at several of the House of Blues' signature Gospel Brunch events. She will appear at House of Blues locations in Chicago (Sept. 6), Dallas (Sept. 13), San Diego (Sept. 20) and Los Angeles (Sept. 27). With seatings every Sunday, Gospel Brunch is a House of Blues signature event where guests enjoy live performances and an all-you-can-eat Southern-style buffet.
Watts will perform selections from her recently released CD, People Get Ready (Razor & Tie Records), as well as other inspirational gospel songs. In addition to hosting these performances, House of Blues recently made its Atlantic City location available for the taping of a GMC Gospel Insider segment with Watts, to air this month.
"House of Blues' Gospel Brunch is one of the country's great, intimate forums for enjoying gospel music, and it's a perfect place to celebrate Gospel Music Heritage Month and all for which it stands," said Wendy McCoy, GMC VP Marketing.
David Fortin, House of Blues VP Marketing said, "We are delighted that Gospel Music Channel came to us with the idea of having Melinda Watts sing at our Gospel Brunch events. She is a rising star."
Gospel Music Heritage Month (
www.gospelmusicheritage.com), a celebration of gospel music's valuable and long-standing contributions to American culture, was officially designated by Congress following an effort spearheaded by Gospel Music Channel.
The House of Blues partnership is one of many initiatives that GMC is undertaking in support of this year's Gospel Music Heritage Month. Other components of the marketing campaign include: a cross-promotional partnership with EBONY/JET; in-store displays at Parable Christian Stores locations across the country; a customizable PSA produced for use by GMC affiliates; Gospel singers performing at professional sporting events including NFL, MLB and WNBA games; the dedicated website that features special web-exclusive performances, programming and videos, interviews with artists, gospel facts, figures and historical nuggets, and more. In addition to the wide-ranging marketing outreach, GMC will celebrate Gospel Music Heritage Month on-air with world and network premieres, documentaries, original specials and series, short-form and interstitial pieces, music videos and more. GMC also will run Gospel Music Heritage Month interstitials in all dayparts throughout September.
About House of Blues
Founded in 1992, this dynamic company with soul, spirit and vision was acquired by Live Nation in November of 2006. With 13 branded clubs, including Atlantic City, Anaheim, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Myrtle Beach, New Orleans, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Diego, each House of Blues club features live music, Southern-inspired cuisine in an eclectic environment celebrating the African American cultural contributions of blues music and folk art. www.houseofblues.com.
About Gospel Music Channel
Gospel Music Channel, the fastest-growing network in television, can be seen in 45 million homes on various cable systems around the country, on DIRECTV on channel 338 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 224.
