It is with a heavy, yet contented heart that we have decided to finish up running the annual Gospel Rising Music Festival. 

It is amazing to think that we have run 11 festivals, with one every year since 2010, bar those paused years we all had to take during Covid-19 lockdowns. 

A big thanks to the festival attendees who drove us to create a different unique event each year. We brought new workshop facilitators to Ireland every year and introduced them to the Irish Gospel Choir scene. We also brought singers and choir groups from all around Ireland together, which has helped them grow by learning from each other, taking part in workshops and enjoying each others’ support when needed. 

None of the events would have been possible without the great local support from government agencies and local choirs that welcomed us to their towns and cities throughout the years. We’ve been to Ennis, Portlaoise, Bray, Limerick, Galway & Dublin, and without the strong drive of key people in each of those places, Gospel Rising would never have happened. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm for the festival and all the work you put into it across the years.

A big ‘Thank You’ to our volunteers, both our helpful ‘minions’ who worked tirelessly with smiles and executed the festival each year and to our core founding and planning team. They’ve been a great bunch of friends and allies through the years, despite full-time ‘real jobs’, funding and ticket sales worries and some interesting meetings because of all of the very creative personalities.

We do hope to create more new and exciting events in the future, but for now the Gospel Rising banner will be lowered to make way for new life adventures. 

While it’s always sad to see an event come to an end, it’s important to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments and positive impacts that it had during its run. And who knows, perhaps the Gospel Rising Music Festival will inspire new events and initiatives in the future.