Kingdom Choir brings the gospel to Polk Theater Oct. 15
London’s The Kingdom Choir is best known for their show stopping performance at the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle this past May. The group’s performance of Stand By Me, seen by a global audience of over two billion, instantly catapulted the Choir to worldwide fame.
If they’re good enough for a prince of England and the Duchess of Sussex, they’re good enough for us Tennesseans, right?
After Kingdom Choir captivated millions worldwide at Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding last May, their rousing performance propelled them to global stardom.
Now, the 16-member choir is coming across the pond to perform in 29 venues across the U.S. and Canada on their first-ever North American tour – TPAC is getting in on the gospel glory Oct. 15.
Prior to performing in front of almost two billion people at the Royal Wedding, the largest audience The Kingdom Choir had performed to was just 200 people. The vocal group now has over 10 million views on YouTube.
The group will be performing gospel anthems from their debut album, named Stand By Me after the Ben E. King song that transfixed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding guests at Windsor Castle. Other songs include the lullaby they wrote for the couple’s son Archie, and they also plan to debut some new material.
Karen Gibson, the conductor of the Kingdom Choir, performs outside Kensington Palace. Photo Credit: Mike Marsland
Stand By Me is a soulful collection featuring renditions of classics such as “Amazing Grace” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” to more contemporary cuts from today’s hitmakers like Beyoncé’s “Halo”, Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love,” and Coldplay’s “Fix You.”
Founded in 1994 by award-winning conductor Karen Gibson, the choir draws from various Christian traditions and is dedicated to creating a sound that reflects the community they share through their warm energy and enthusiastic performances.
TPAC’s James K. Polk Theater will join the ranks of other concert halls, churches, opera houses and chapels across the country – including Las Vegas’ Sammy Davis Jr. Festival Plaza, the Bronx’s Sheldon Concert Hall and Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl.
The tour follows a whirlwind 18 months for the group since Gibson got a call from a member of Prince Charles’s staff asking if they would like to perform at the wedding. A major record deal followed, and their album went straight to Number 1 on the Billboard Gospel Songs Chart when it was released in October 2018.
Gibson has been involved with vocal groups and choirs for over 25 years, conducting gospel workshops across the UK and Europe as well as Nigeria, Japan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Poland, Norway and Italy. She currently works in schools across London teaching singing and training future leaders.
Come see the choir that’s making the world sing “Hallelujah” Oct. 15 at 7:30 pm at TPAC’s Polk Theater.
Connect with Michael Aldrich on LinkedIn or follow him on Twitter @michaelwaldrich.
The Kingdom Choir’s Royal Wedding performance:
