CeCe Winans to perform at Queen's Park Oval on July 31

BAVINA SOOKDEO

GOSPEL music lovers are in for a night of upliftment on July 31 at the Queen’s Park Oval as Grammy Award-winning singer CeCe Winans brings her More Than This World Tour to Trinidad.

The event, hosted by Gates Praise Music which is led by Pastor David Charles, will also feature local gospel singer Jaron Nurse, Guyana’s Samuel Medas and Gates Praise itself.

Gates Praise Music is a contemporary worship group from the First Church of the Open Bible in Trinidad and Tobago. Known for blending various musical genres with timeless hymns, they create worship experiences that unite generations and draw hearts closer to God.

According to Charles, the vision to bring Winans to TT was planted two years ago by his senior pastor, Cecil Quamina. “He had this deep urge to get CeCe Winans to Trinidad.

“Our vision as Gates Praise is to create spaces where people can encounter the presence of God. This concert is just another space where people can have an encounter with their maker and leave renewed.”

Charles pointed out that The More Than This tour, now in its 48th stop since January, holds deep spiritual significance. “CeCe has been singing for over four decades, she’s won about 15 Grammys, and she’s worked with the likes of Whitney Houston. Yet she says there’s still more,” Charles said. “She has experienced a lot however when she looks at the world and where we are at and then the God that we serve, she (in one sense) said there must be more than this and therefore, the title track of her new album is More Than This.”

Charles described the public’s response as being overwhelming. “This is the longest campaign we’ve ever done,” he said. “We started in December 2024 and since the first ad dropped, excitement has been building not just here, but from visitors coming from the islands, Houston and even England.”

He added confidently, “It’s going to be a sold-out event. We’re expecting around 16,000 people at the Oval.”

The concert’s reach, however, is not just limited to the church-going crowd. “CeCe’s music transcends generations and faiths. I’ve had people from all walks of life tell me how much her songs, especially Goodness of God, mean to them,” Charles said. “In fact, I was told by the promoter in Jamaica (where Winans will venture next), in the big, bad fetes, it’s the last song they play – as a kind of covering prayer.”

Charles believes the concert has the power to spiritually impact the nation. “Pastor Quamina says we expect a blanket of worship that will spread across the nation and bring transformation and change. That is what we believe.”

To create that atmosphere, the leader of Gates Praise says no effort is being spared: “We’ve got over 120 feet of stage space, large screens, and a 160-voice choir doing a tribute to Gates Praise. We’re going all out because we believe that’s what he’s (God) worth and when we do that, we expect that he will respond. That response is what we call the presence of God. When he comes, he will not leave you the same.”

As for logistics, the event is family-friendly and fully accessible. “Children love CeCe’s music too…it is trans-generational,” Charles noted. "Parking will be available at Mandela Park and the Queen’s Park Savannah, with shuttles running between 4 pm-4.30 pm. “The Oval is accessible for the differently abled and we’re ensuring secured parking at both sites.”

As we approach Emancipation Day, Charles explained that this concert offers more than music – it’s a call to true freedom: not just physical or mental, but spiritual. “We want to invite individuals to celebrate and to also be invited into a space where they can be freed spiritually to worship the God who says we must worship him in the spirit. That’s the only way we can really access – spirit to spirit.”

He emphasised that the concert is for everyone – not just Christians. He believes Winans’ visit is an opportunity for the nation to unite in worship and healing.

“The crimes have risen and different things are happening. Such things affect not just Christians but everyone…and to have more in terms of the goodness that we would like, we have to become more.

“So this is an opportunity to release yourself to becoming more, even in your neighbourhood and as a people know that it starts with me…with you…with that free spiritedness where we worship in our own neighbourhoods and eventually we will become more as a nation.”

As Gates Praise prepares to host one of the biggest gospel events the country has seen, Charles hinted that this is only the beginning: “Our next big concert is already in the works for early next year – and we’re working on securing another gospel legend.” he hinted.