Ricky McKinnie

The Blind Boys on the 700 Club. Check out their interview on cbn.com
Also click on the link music and hear the interview live with Dr. Ricky McKinnie on Insight Broadcast..

BLIND BOYS TO PERFORM AT WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESIDENT AND MRS. OBAMA
Fri, Jan. 29 2010
Concert Airs on PBS February 11th

Also Features Bob Dylan, John Legend, Seal,
Jennifer Hudson, John Mellencamp, Natalie Cole
and Smokey Robinson
Hosted By Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah

The Blind Boys of Alabama have been invited to
perform at a special concert at the White House on
February 10th. “In Performance at the White House:
A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights
Movement,” will be held in the State Dining Room,
and is timed to celebrate Black History Month. The
Blind Boys will join hosts President and Mrs. Obama
as well as music superstars Bob Dylan, John Legend,
Seal, Jennifer Hudson, John Mellencamp, Natalie Cole
and Smokey Robinson on the bill. Morgan Freeman
and Queen Latifah will emcee the entire event. The
concert will be the White House’s first music event of
2010, and is the latest concert in a music series started
last year by Michelle Obama. It will be streamed live
online at whitehouse.gov and broadcast on PBS on
February 11th.


The White House concert adds to an already
remarkable year for the legendary gospel group. The
band opened 2010 with a series of concerts in China,
then flew to New York last week where they were
joined by Lou Reed for a blistering performance on
the Late Show with David Letterman
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8Vsebhu10 ).
Their rendition of “Jesus,” from the Blind Boys’
current album Duets, marked the first time the unusual
collaborators had performed in public together.


The Blind Boys are also featured in the new
documentary film which relates to the subject matter
of the White House show. Soundtrack for a Revolution
tells the story of the civil rights movement through
the music which accompanied the struggle. The
movie is on the short list in the Best Documentary
Film category for the Academy Awards. Soundtrack
features the Blind Boys as well as the Roots, John
Legend, Wyclef Jean and many other performers
interpreting the music of the Civil Rights Movement.
In its review of the film, the New York Times noted
that one of “the best musical performances belong[s]
to…the Blind Boys of Alabama.”


The group will be touring the rest of the Spring,
including upcoming concerts in Morristown, N.J.
(with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band), at UCLA’s
Royce Hall (with Allen Toussaint) and at the New
Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, punctuated by their
induction into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in
Montgomery, AL on March 25

I am wishing all of my fans and friends a happy holiday! May this holiday season bring you happiness, peace and much joy…