The Gospel Festival of New England Comes To the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford on Feb. 15

As anyone who's been down to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will tell you, gospel music is extremely underrated as a form of musical entertainment. There's a regional JazzFest equivalent brewing this Friday, when the Gospel Festival of New England takes over the University of Saint Joseph's Hoffman Auditorium, with four of the area's best gospel choirs — from Hartford's Mount Calvary Baptist Church and Mount Olive Church Ministries and Springfield's Alden Baptist Church and Canaan Baptist Church choirs — rocking the proverbial pews. It's sure to be an uplifting show. (But then, if you're still reading this, I'm probably preaching to the choir.)

By Michael Hamad

February 11, 2013