Although it’s taken a while, the Charlotte music scene is finally starting to step up its game, especially in the gospel genre.
Last night, the Oprah network aired a primetime hourlong gospel music special called ‘Our OWN Easter’, featuring an array of Charlotte-based artists, including; Anthony Hamilton, Fantasia, and Dennis Reed.
I spoke with Dennis Reed about the experience and how it all came together. He said the song he helped arrange and perform with Fantasia was her Grandma’s favorite hymn (‘The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power’, now available on Apple Music) – a song that brought her back to her gospel roots. After arranging the melody, instruments, and vocals, they recorded and filmed it together in Fantasia’s home in Ballantyne.
“As soon as she told me what she had in mind, I went to the piano and started arranging what I thought we could do and she liked it, we rehearsed it a couple of times and it all just came together,” Reed said.
You can watch Fantasia and Dennis Reed’s full performance from last night’s special here:
Over the past few months, Reed has also been asked to work on 2 of America’s biggest musical projects; a Justin Timberlake performance for President Biden’s inauguration and a Grammy performance with Billy Porter.
Reed also told me that he knows of at least 3 local female artists from Charlotte that are now being featured in several episodes of the new hit show Delilah (currently being filmed in Charlotte).
While Charlotte still may not have the musical clout as Atlanta or Nashville, Reed believes that day is quickly approaching.
“As a native charlotte, I’ve heard my whole life, yeah man, within a few years, Charlotte will be like Atlanta. What’s discouraging is like ok…going on year 35…when is it going to happen? But what I have to remind myself is that it actually is happening right now – if you keep that mindset, that is what manifests the opportunity”
What do you think about Charlotte’s music scene?