Published: April 11, 2008 12:06 am      

Youth respond to free concert tickets

More than 400 Walker County youth will attend the Gigantic Gospel Concert Saturday for free thanks to a donation from J. Spivey Productions.

The concert, which will be held at 4 p.m. in the Johnson Coliseum at Sam Houston State University, will feature performances by Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribbette.

According to Michelle McKenzie, Boys and Girls Club of Walker County executive director, Spivey asked for a number of children who could not afford to purchase tickets to be brought to the concert anyway.

And finding that number turned out to be a lot easier than McKenzie thought.

“Spivey contacted us and said, ‘I want youth who wouldn’t normally be able to purchase tickets to come to this concert,’” McKenzie said. “When he gave me the number he wanted there, I thought it was going to be a difficult thing to get that many, but it’s amazing to see the reaction of these kids.

“I heard more kids say, ‘Wow, I’ve never been to a concert before’ than I would have thought. It’s really exciting — we currently have over 400 youth attending this concert.”

McKenzie said Spivey wanted the kids to attend the concert to experience both live music and spiritual uplifting.

“The concert will also include the Inspirations of Shiro and James Fortune and FIYA of Houston,” McKenzie said. “With gospel artists like these, the kids will be able to connect with people who can offer great things to them.”

Not only is the concert a benefit to Boys and Girls Club kids, McKenzie said, but the event will also give the mission’s purpose needed attention.

“This is an awareness thing for the Boys and Girls Club,” she said. “We’re new to Huntsville and this is just an opportunity for us to show how we are impacting the youth of the community. We want people to see that, through partnerships such as this one, we’re trying to make a change in the lives of children.”