Maurette Brown Clark may be a seasoned gospel artist but that hasn’t stopped her from acknowledging other skilled musicians in the industry who’ve helped shape the sound of gospel music.
It’s been a month since the “Just Want to Praise You” singer attended Kirk Franklin’s “The Reunion Tour” stop in Washington, D.C. In addition to Franklin, the 24-show excursion features all-star gospel artists such as The Clark Sisters, Israel Houghton, Tamela and David Mann and Tye Tribbett.
The concert was an “incredible” experience for Brown Clark, who expressed about her time at the show during a recent exclusive interview with Atlanta Black Star.
Halfway through the conversation, she described the overall project as a “middle-aged-people tour.”
“They sold out the Capital Arena and they said that that was their biggest venue that they had gone to,” Clark, 57, shared, referring to the shows at Capital One Arena on Oct. 22.
“They hadn’t even opened up all the seats ‘cause they were thinking, ‘We’ll just sell out certain sections,” she continued. “They sold out all the sections all around.”
Clark then spoke highly of the number of attendees Franklin’s highly anticipated tour attracted. “To see that many people – police officers outside, people lined up. That kind of energy for the gospel and then you get inside and Kirk, The Clark Sisters, Tye, Israel, Tamela, David […] Like, incredible. And they weaved their ministries together so it wasn’t just like AB selection, AB selection.”
She said she enjoyed seeing every artist on “The Reunion Tour” being given the chance to perform some of their most notable hits.
“It was amazing,” said Clark. “Songs can change, industry can change but people, they’re hungry for that music. They’re hungry for that word, that positive message. You can point back to where you heard –” the Stellar Award winner began before singing the intro to Kirk Franklin and the Family’s popular tune “Why We Sing.”
She celebrated the jam-packed reunion for putting gospel music on a “10-star display,” stating that Franklin may have to do a part two of his tour following the success of his current shows.
“I feel like they’re gonna have to re – go back out again. I think that this is not gonna be enough,” she said.
A week before Clark, one of ABS’ own attended Franklin’s show in Atlanta, Georgia, which took place on Oct. 13. Similar to Clark’s experience, the sold-out show completely took the State Farm Arena by storm.
Every song that each artist performed unwittingly turned into a full-out worship medley that had audience members getting up out of their seats.
It included joyous cheers from Franklin’s upbeat tune “Melodies from Heaven” and an outpouring of cries from Tamela’s moving ballad “Change Me,” during the three-hour concert.
Elsewhere in the interview, Clark admitted that she didn’t get a chance to watch Franklin’s newest documentary, “Father’s Day: A Kirk Franklin Story,” due to her mourning her own father’s death. However, she did state her plans to check out his movie in the near future.
Advertisement for Franklin’s film began back in September, however, it quickly faced public scrutiny after fans accused the Grammy winner of exploiting his family drama for views.
Over the years, fans have been given a front-row seat to the tumultuous relationship between the “Imagine Me” choirmaster and his adult son Kerrion. The “Bad Boys: Texas” alum previously accused his father of being a poor parent and leaked an explicit audio recording of Franklin cursing him out in 2021.
Since then, both men have seemed to be taking the necessary steps to evolve in order to have a healthier relationship with each other.
