2025 at the North Carolina Folklife Institute: Stories, Partnerships, and the Work Ahead
As 2025 comes to a close, the North Carolina Folklife Institute reflects on a year shaped by collaboration, listening, and deep engagement with communities across the state. Our work this year centered the people who carry cultural knowledge forward – artists, tradition bearers, apprentices, and public servants – and the partnerships that make this work […]
Kingdom Voices United: Building Community and Healing Through Gospel Song
The story of Kingdom Voices United starts with a vision from God. “I was on my way to service one morning and God just dropped it so heavily in my spirit,” Minister La’Wanda Leggett recalls. Though reluctant at first to start a choir, she recalls, after consulting with lifelong friends Apostle Stanley Douglas and Tony […]
Less of Me, More of Him: Jalessa Cade’s Gospel Journey Across Church, Stage, and Song
From the beginning, Jalessa Cade knew she was destined to become a gospel singer. With a strong and emotional voice that reflects growing up in the church intertwined with influences of Broadway, R&B, jazz, bluegrass, and other styles, Jalessa possesses a clear confidence to sing in a multitude of musical scenarios. But this wasn’t always […]
Raleigh Wide Open Gospel Performances Schedule
PineCone and the North Carolina Folklife Institute (NCFI) have partnered to present a powerful lineup of gospel music performances and dynamic panel discussions as part of the Raleigh Wide Open Festival, taking place October 3–4, 2025 in downtown Raleigh. The gospel programming at Raleigh Wide Open has been developed under the artistic curation of Jared Payton, […]
NCFI and PineCone present Gospel Panel Discussions at Raleigh Wide Open
The Gospel program at Raleigh Wide Open brings the sounds, stories, and spirit of gospel music to life through five dynamic talks at the City of Raleigh Museum. On Friday, October 3, Appaloosa Redd joins Greensboro musician and storyteller Colin Cutler for a conversation on the Gospel of the Blues, followed by Kendall Kent’s exploration […]
NCFI and PineCone’s Raleigh Wide Open Gospel Performer Audiograms
PineCone and the North Carolina Folklife Institute (NCFI) have partnered to present a powerful lineup of gospel music performances and dynamic panel discussions as part of the Raleigh Wide Open Festival, taking place October 3–4, 2025 in downtown Raleigh. The gospel programming at Raleigh Wide Open has been developed under the artistic curation of Jared Payton, […]
NCFI and PineCone’s Raleigh Wide Open Gospel Performers share Music Recordings from the Field
NCFI is excited to share field recordings from a selection of the gospel performers to be presented at Raleigh Wide Open this year! The gospel artists and panel sessions are presented by the North Carolina Folklife Institute in partnership with PineCone with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the North Carolina Arts […]
PineCone and North Carolina Folklife Institute Partner to Present Gospel Performances and Panels at Raleigh Wide Open Festival
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:Stacy ChandlerPineCone Communications Managercommunications@pinecone.org919-664-8333 (office)919-946-6685 (cell) Amy GrossmannNorth Carolina Folklife Institutestaff@ncfolk.org336-223-5956 (office) Raleigh, NC — September 3, 2025 — PineCone and the North Carolina Folklife Institute (NCFI) are partnering to present a powerful lineup of gospel music performances and dynamic panel discussions as part of the Raleigh Wide Open Festival, taking […]