‘For sure we are coming March 18,’ Chandler Moore, Naomi Raine promise

Kingdom Culture, the organisers of The Well Encounter, have announced March 18 as the new date for the gospel showcase headlined by Grammy Award-winning gospel music ministers Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine from Atlanta-based worship music collective Maverick City, as well as Jamaican music ministers Carlene Davis, Kevin Downswell, Rondell Positive and Rhoda Isabella

At a high-energy press conference last Tuesday evening, which was like a mini praise and worship session, conceptualiser Ingrid Larmond, also shared that the event would be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, not the National Arena — and prior to that, the National Stadium — as was advertised last December. This move, Larmond explained, was necessary in order to accommodate the throngs of worshippers anticipated to be in attendance based on the extremely encouraging pre-sale tickets.

“When we got into the Arena and did the seat count, we had sold out the Bleachers [at Stadium], and we were about 95 per cent sold out of the Grandstand in that space when we moved there. So we do expect that we would need more space than the Arena could hold,” Larmond said.

Wendell Lawrence, a member of the organising team and the managing director of ticketing company SpurrOpen, in responding to the question about when tickets would go on sale, seemed to press a button to start the process. Minutes later, Larmond announced that the ticket portal was active. The organisers restated that all tickets purchased for the December 10 staging of The Well Encounter would be honoured.

There was intense disappointment for fans of Moore and Raine when it was announced two days before the event that the artistes would not be coming to Jamaica owing to hours-late payment of their final fees. A video of the two shown at the briefing saw them in high spirits as they reassured those gathered at the launch that come March 18, they would definitely be in Jamaica for The Well Encounter.

“We are great ... amazing ... excited, exhilarated. It’s going to be amazing. This won’t fall through. For sure ... we are coming ... ,” Raine and Moore emphasised.

Larmond and her team also expressed their delight in signing an agreement with Food For the Poor, which will be a beneficiary of the proceeds of The Well Encounter. The official signing took place at last Tuesday’s gathering, at which Marsha Burrell Rose, marketing manager for Food For the Poor, shared her story.

“I was one of those persons who purchased my tickets first. I got five VIP tickets, What an amazing time to have this concert when there is nothing good coming out of Jamaica. Food For the Poor is celebrating 40 years, and our tagline this year is Building Back the Love for Jamaica. We are no longer just giving the [fish]. We are teaching how to fish. This will be the start of our anniversary celebrations,” Burrell Rose said.

The hugely popular Maverick City Music is considered among “the gospel elite”, and among their hits is Jireh, a song by Elevation and Maverick City Music, which captured the number-one spot on Billboard’s Gospel Streaming Songs Chart for more than 35 weeks, amassing 100 million views on YouTube and 10 million-plus streams on Spotify and Apple Music.

Kingdom Culture is a conglomerate of revolutionary Christian creatives, entrepreneurs, and visionaries.

Inspired by the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, the event aims to unite unbelievers and believers from all walks of life and denominations for one epic night of true repentance and worship.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com