THE FESTIVAL OF PRAISE 2015 Tour Stops Tonight at Joe Louis Arena

The biggest Gospel tour of the year is coming to Joe Louis Arena tonight, November 14 at 8 p.m. Festival of Praise, a 50-city concert tour, features some of the best names in Gospel music including multiple GRAMMY, Dove and Stellar Award-winning recording artists Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell and Israel Houghton. The tour also features Isaac Carree, Jessica Reedy and Zacardi Cortez. Marcus Wiley of the "Yolanda Adams Morning Show" will be this year's festival host.

Tickets ($25, $35, $50 and $60) go on sale Monday, June 15 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, the Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) and at all Ticketmaster locations or Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. For additional information, call (313) 471-6611. Festival of Praise partnered with VIP Nation for premium concert ticket packages, which includes a VIP meet and greet in each market. VIP packages will be available by Monday, June 8, for more information, visit www.vipnation.com. Lineup is subject to change.

Festival of Praise Tour 2015 is a family style tour, a phrase coined by Hammond and McClurkin, as a platform to uplift, motivate, encourage, inspire and entertain. The tour will feature some of Gospel's biggest and brightest on the same stage with ensemble performances and music by each artist highlighting their classic hits and most memorable anthems.

In conjunction with this year's theme, Hammond produced "Trying to Make It Home," a song which features vocal performances by Hammond, McClurkin, Burrell, Walker, Carree, Reedy and Cortez. The single is co-written by Hammond, Burrell, Carree, Reedy, Calvin Rodgers and Phillip Feaster. "The concept of 'Trying to Make it Home' is a collaborative effort by the artists on this tour and ties in perfectly with our purpose," says Hammond, the co-creator of Festival of Praise. "With all the discourse, upheaval and negativity happening around the world, we all agreed that there's one common thread that people are searching to find. People are trying to reach a safe place and home represents that for many people. Many of us are trying to make it home to family, trying to make it home from college, trying to make it home to a better marriage, trying to make it home from sickness and disease, and ultimately, all of us are trying to make it home to heaven."

The Festival of Praise Tour 2014 was overwhelmingly successful, "We were blessed," continues Hammond. "But we are back bigger and better. It will be an awesome evening of inspiration filled with a message of hope and restoration."

The Festival of Praise Tour is created by Fred and Ray Hammond and produced by Face To Face, Inc. Adam Zagor of Universal Attractions Agency is the booking agent and Al Wash of ALW Entertainment is the entertainment consultant.

For a listing of tour dates, visit www.festivalofpraisetour.com.

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