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The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino Resort

1200 Athens Avenue, 95648, Lincoln, CA, US

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Doors open: 19:30

Concert in your area for Funk & Soul.

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Kirk Franklin biography

Kirk Franklin (born January 26th, 1970) is a seven-time Grammy Award winning gospel musician from Fort Worth, Texas, US, known for his soulful gospel with a hip hop twist.

The gospel star found success right from his 1993 debut, "Kirk Franklin & the Family," becoming the first gospel debut album to be certified Platinum. His album spent 100 weeks in the gospel and R&B charts, finding crossover success with his contemporary sound that incorporates R&B and hip hop elements. This was followed by another first, with "Kirk Franklin & the Family Christmas" becoming the genre's first number one Christmas album. Since these early breakthroughs, Franklin has continued to grow and grow as an artist, becoming one of the biggest stars in gospel music.

Raised by his aunt, Franklin began to develop his musical talents at a young age, taking piano lessons that his aunt afforded through collecting aluminium cans. He was a natural and soon began performing with the Mt. Rose Baptist Church choir. After a brief period of rebellion in his teens, Franklin dedicated himself to music and to his faith.

Backed by his 17-member choir, the Family, comprised of friends from his days spent in the church choir, Franklin has been composing and recording songs since 1991. His huge popularity was displayed following the release of his 1996 album, "Watcha Lookin' 4" which went Gold straight after it was distributed. His 1998 album, "Nu Nation Project," was greeted with wide critical acclaim, topping the Billboard 200 Chart, remaining on the Gospel Chart for 49 weeks.

Coming back in 2002 with "The Rebirth of Kirk Franklin" again topped the Gospel Albums chart and was certified Platinum. Franklin appears to be unable to do any wrong, releasing another four albums to huge success, topping the Gospel Albums Chart and Christian Albums Chart with every release. With seven Grammy Awards under his belt, he is undoubtedly a hugely respected artist. Yet Franklin remains humble and devoted to his faith, still labelling himself as 'just a church boy' as opposed to a superstar musician.

Live reviews

The phrase, ‘taking you to church’ couldn’t be more appropriate for Kirk Franklin. As a big gun in contemporary Gospel music, Franklin’s journey into the musical realm began at an early age. At the age of seven his innate musical talent was recognised and was offered a recording contract, but his aunt refused to accept the proposal. Franklin then joined the choir at Mt Rose Baptist Church where he remained and at the age of twelve became its musical director using his incredible talent in reading and writing music by ear. With his meandering journey through faith, several incidents led up to his dedication to pursue his passion for God through his musical expression full time.
There aren’t many musical directors like Kirk Franklin, his explosive energy not only feeds into his choir but enthuses the crowd so much so that there is barely a body sat down. Through the powerful exertion of faith and soul, the audience respond in whichever way they see fit as a wave of emotion washes over them. Whether its waving their handkerchiefs in air, jumping for joy, arms wide open, or swaying from side to side clutching onto their hearts, there is no doubt that the levels of personal interaction and genuine emotions fill the room providing an electric atmosphere guided through the angelic chorus of voices. The power of the word is the driving force of any performance as the choir are joined with a host of guest performers including renowned pastors and gospel artists. Franklin is a natural born leader, as he leaps for joy across the stage allowing the music to take control as he and the choir get carried away. One thing is for sure, everything is real- the emotion, the drive, the power, the energy and the love which radiates through the room touching the hearts and souls of all present.

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EvieCriedWolf

We drove from Racine ,Wi to see Jonathan McReynolds there were some other people that where going to be there but we wanted to see Jonathan more than anyone else. There was a group of four of us two of us wanted to see Jonathan and the other two had other favorites Jonathan was the 1st one to minister and he was AWESOME AMAZING POWERFUL and he sang all of my most favorite songs he ROCKED THE HOUSE FOR SURE my only complaint is he should've had more time. I'd also like to add the other two ladies that were with us are now HUGE Jonathan McReynolds fans we all agreed he was the BEST and wished he had more time... We really hope has more concerts in our area soon...

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