Music Fans 'Blown Away' by GMA Music Week

|PIC1|NASHVILLE, USA - Showcases featuring some of gospel music's hottest artists are wowing thousands of Christian music lovers at the Gospel Music Association Music Week.

Monday kicked off with a luncheon sponsored by Word Distribution, which was hosted by artists Shelley Breen from Point of Grace and Mark Schultz. The audience munched away on pizza and candy bars while enjoying good music from performances led by top Word recording artists like Building 429, Group1 Crew, Jeff Deyo, DecembeRadio, and emerging teen pop group PureNRG.

Over nine different showcases took place in the evening, with some 60 artists performing. A concert sponsored by World Vision took place in the RNH Ballroom with legendary artists Israel Houghton, Nichole Nordeman, and Avalon gracing the stage.

Other shows included The Dog & Pony show, which featured former dctalk member Kevin Max and Joanne Cash, sister of legendary musician Johnny Cash, and a special gig led by Sanctus Real and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot.

Fiona Willis, 24, first-time GMA attendee from Atlanta, Georgia, commented: "The showcases are simply amazing - I am blown away with the fact that gospel music can be so good!"

She continued: "Some of my friends are like, 'why listen to gospel music? It's boring.' I'm gonna go back and tell them that they've got it wrong."

Following an act by power-vocal group Avalon, 37-year-old concert-goer Marcus Trevor commented: "What a performance!"

"The GMA experience so far has been life-changing, fun, inspiring - I'm having the time of my life. I'm definitely coming for more showcases tomorrow," he continued.

The GMA Music Week kicked off Saturday 21 April and will wrap up 25 April. The annual event, held in Nashville, Tennessee, is expected to entertain some 3,000 people with genre-specific programming such as seminars, workshops and showcases.

Throughout the week, the GMA will offer programming specifically targeted to artists and industry professionals with black gospel and urban music affiliations.

"I would like to see GMA Music Week attendance mirror the diversity reflected in the Billboard Top Christian and Gospel Albums charts and that means artists and professionals in the black gospel and urban music community are an important audience for GMA," said John W Styll, president and CEO of the GMA.

GMA Music Week will conclude with the Dove Awards - also dubbed as the GMA Music Awards - which is known as Christian music's 'biggest night of the year'. The historic awards show will be hosted by gospel legends Brian Littrell, Natalie Grant, and Donnie McClurkin this year at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

TobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Mandisa, Take 6, The Crabb Family, MercyMe and Chris Tomlin are among the first performers announced for the Dove Awards, while Michael W Smith, Brenda Lee and Bob & Larry from VeggieTales are among those slated as presenters.