LINEUP INCLUDES HEADLINING ACT AND HOST KIRK FRANKLIN, MARVIN SAPP, TAMELA MANN, TYE TRIBETT AND MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
Iconic gospel artist Kirk Franklin, in a unique partnership with Live Nation Urban, is set to host and headline the inaugural Exodus Music & Arts Festival. This festival champions the genre of gospel music and is the first of its kind. It was announced on the BET Soul Train Awards by Kirk alongside Erykah Badu last night (Sun, Nov 26th). The weekend-long event will take over the Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Dallas, TX Memorial Day Weekend, kicking off on May 26, 2018. Pre-sale tickets are available for purchase with the general on-sale tickets set for Friday, December 1st.
The upcoming festival will feature a spiritual lineup with performances by headlining act and host Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Tamela Mann, Tye Tribbett and more to be announced.
“I don’t believe anyone loves gospel music more than I do on this planet! The level of talent, skill set and spirit makes it a genre that others have taken their cues from since a young Mahaila Jackson entered the scene decades ago,” Franklin says of the festival. “But the genre has never owned a spot in the pantheon of music festivals that have global behemoths like Coachella or Essence until now! In 2018 I will unveil my new partnership with Live Nation to present the first ever festival celebrating the best and the brightest from the community that represents the message of hope and love like none other: Kirk Franklin’s Exodus Music & Arts Festival. It will deliver a weekend of performances, collaborations, humor, and hope that will only be curated at Exodus. Memorial Day weekend you will discover. The wait was well worth it!”
The Exodus Music & Arts festival will feature two stages that will host national acts and artists as well as gospel choirs from the Greater Dallas metropolitan area.
“One of the reasons Live Nation Urban exists is to uncover opportunities and build live platforms across areas of urban culture that would otherwise be ignored,” says Shawn Gee, President of Live Nation Urban. “Gospel music is a thriving genre of music with super talented artists and musicians, and we are excited to be able to partner with Kirk Franklin and his team to bring the festival to life. Our vision is to build and scale this event, not only across multiple days in Dallas, but also to launch in other markets in the future. The demand for a high quality well produced gospel music festival exists, and Kirk Franklin’s Exodus Music & Arts Festival will fulfill that longstanding demand.”
Since making his debut in the early 90s, Kirk Franklin has established himself as a trailblazer and icon in contemporary music. He first burst onto the world stage with Kirk Franklin & The Family, forever changing the look and sound of gospel music. Since then, Franklin has written and produced timeless, genre-bending music for himself and other artists earning numerous awards and accolades, including twelve GRAMMYs and forty-three Stellar Awards, and has sold over 10 million albums worldwide. With a career spanning over 25 years, he continues to break new ground and make indelible contributions to popular music.
