Sacred Strings Records Inc.
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Toledo, Ohio - The Mecca of Sacred Steel Music & History
Sacred Strings Showcase Concerts
The first Sacred Strings Showcase concert took place in Toledo, Ohio August 15, 2009. This grand event was packed to capacity in the Toledo Hilton Dana conference center. The concert began with the junior legends performing and paying homage to the senior legends with several instrumental renditions. The audience sat patiently during the award ceremony and all fifteen sacred steel performances.
The moderators for the evening were Tressa Boles of Jacksonville, Florida, Alberta Grace Warren of Southfield, Michigan, Sharon May of Detroit, Michigan, and Dale Hines of Detroit, Michigan. This magical evening was built on a foundation of one of Americas richest, most passionate musical traditions.
Bishop MeHarry Lewis of the Lewis Dominion church, was invited to speak on behalf of his grandmother, church founder, Mary Lena Lewis Tate. Meharry could not make it because of scheduling conflicts but he did send his nephew, Elder George Lockhart in his stead. George presented a bio sketch of Mother Tate and her life's work.
Performances were rendered by Felton W. Williams Jr, Maurice Ted Beard, Ned W. Mayes Jr, Calvin Cooke, Henry Wayne White, Clifford Warren, Ronnie P. Hall, The Amazing Grace Praise Band, Harold Smith, Nikki D. & the Browns, Eric Russell, Fran E. Grace, Reggie Covington, Duane Golden, and Robert Cook.
The second annual Sacred Strings Showcase entitled the "Hall of Fame Concert" was called to order August 21, 2010, at the Toledo Hilton Lucas Auditorium, Dana Conference Center located at 3100 Glendale Avenue in Toledo, Ohio. The concert was a live video recording. Our first Sacred Steel Hall of Fame induction ceremony was established at this concert. The moderator for this event was none other than Dale Hines, the Voice of Sacred Steel.
The host for the evening is Del Ray and Kelli Grace, both are former members of the Jewell Dominion Church of the Living God. The Campbell Brothers of Rochester, New York were the special guest for the Hall of Fame Concert. Other performances were by the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Tim Patterson, Maurice T. Beard, Calvin Cooke, and Ronnie P. Hall. Twelve gentlemen were inducted into the first Sacred Steel Hall of Fame. Maurice Ted Beard, Ronnie P. Hall, Henry W. White, James R. Sherman, Felton W. Williams, Ned W. Mayes, Calvin Cooke, Lorenzo L. Harrison, Rufus Maze, James R. Golden, Clifford L. Warren, and Kalvin Childs.
The 3rd Sacred Strings Showcase Concert was August 20, 2011, featuring entitled "Kings & Queens of Sacred Steel Concert." This gathering consisted of four male and four female steel guitar performances to give balance to this stellar line up. Third generation sacred steel master, Aubrey Ghent of Nashville, Tennessee, was invited as the special guest artist. The Amazing Grace Praise Band, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, Earl Catron, Fran E. Grace, Nikki D & the Browns, Teresa Jackson, and Maurice Bradley were all in attendance. The Hall of Fame inducted its second class of inductees consisting of five gentlemen, Earl Catron, Eugene O. Beene, Willie C. Eason, Henry Nelson, and Theodore Johnson.
The Sacred Steel Hall of Fame was established in 2010 as a memorial to honor the many illustrious and noteworthy pioneers responsible for the development of the African American Steel Guitar tradition over the past seventy-five years.
These individuals have dynamically influenced the direction of the sacred steel movement, giving them a place in Sacred Steel church history. The Sacred Steel Hall of Fame inductees are honored every August in Toledo, Ohio with plaques, ribbons, medallions, and certificates during the annual Sacred Strings Showcase concert.
The 4th Sacred Strings Showcase Concert moved from the concert hall of the Hilton Dana Conference Center back to the church setting. Faith Community United Holy Church, formerly known as Mays Chapel, located at 1201 S. Byrne and Arlington Street will host the 2012 sacred steel concert August 24th & 25th. Sacred Strings Records Inc. received a proclamation from the office of the mayor of the city of Toledo, Mayor Mike Bell. Mayor Bell declared the month of August as Sacred Steel Music & History month.
Sacred Strings Records Inc. provides the largest stage for Sacred Steel musicians to showcase their God given gifts. Seventeen African American steel guitar players and other musicians from eight cities and six states gathered with their bands for the annual two-day event to celebrate the “75th Diamond Jubilee” of Sacred Steel History and Music. The performers were Courtney and Cozetta Wells, Demetrius Beasly, William Beasley Sr, Eric Russel, Nikki D Brown and Fran E. Grace, Joe Randall, Kashiah Hunter & The ATL Crew, Ronnie P. Hall, Shanta Bristow, Marcus Hall, Yolando Ramsey, Maurice Ted Beard, Odis Hychs, Charles Flenory, The Amazing Grace Praise Band, Aaron Hines, and Clifford Warren.
The fifth Sacred Strings Showcase was entitled the "2013 Young Guns Concert. It took place August 23 & 24, at our new location, Faith Community Church, formerly known as Mays Chapel Holy United Church, 1201 S. Byrne / Arlington. Del Ray and Kelli Grace hosted the event and Dale Hines, the Voice of Sacred Steel, was to master of ceremonies for both days.
We were blessed to witness sixteen sacred steel performances by Fran E. Grace, Shanta Bristow, Nicolle Brown, the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, Manoah Burns, Clifford Warren, Ted Beard, Ronnie Hall, Marcus Hall, Eric Russell, Joe Randall, Derrick Marion, Duane Golden, Gary McKinney, and Dale Hines.
The sixth Sacred Strings Showcase was entitled "Steel Praising," This grand event took place at Faith Community Church, formerly known as Mays Chapel Holy United Church, 1201 S. Byrne / Arlington. Once Again Sacred Strings Records Inc. has assembled another fantastic collection of phenomenal sacred steel players from ten cities and eight states. This two-day celebration of African American steel guitar players convened in Toledo, Ohio, Friday August 8th and Saturday August 9th, 2014.
Aubrey Ghent was the headliner for this event but sharing the stage with other tradition bearers such as the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Ronnie P. Hall, Courtney and Cozetta Wells, Dale Hines, Eric Russell, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, Marcus Hall, Nikki D & the Browns, Shante Bristow, Chuck Campbell, Gary McKinney, Allen & Candra Bethea, Lonnie Bennett, and William Warren. The Sacred Steel Hall of Fame welcomed Aubrey Ghent, Charles Flenory, and Eartley Washington.
Welcome to our 7th Annual Sacred Strings Showcase entitled "Glorious Triumph Concert". This concert took place at the Faith Community United Holy Church, located @ 1201 S. Byrne Toledo, Ohio. It was an anointed two-day event that began Friday August 14, 2015, from 6:00pm – 9:00pm and Saturday August 15th from 3:00pm – 6:00pm. Del and Kelli Grace hosted the event with Dale Hines as master of ceremonies.
A total of eight teen performances graced our stage that weekend in the persons of Robert Cook, the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Andre Miller, Donnell Golden, Edwin Grace, Reggie Footie Covington, Joseph Randall, Kashiah Hunter and the ATL Crew, Lisa Lang, Marcus Hall, Ronnie Hall, Shanta Bristow, Tressa Boles, Antwan Ethridge, Fran E. Grace, Gary McKinney, Manoah Burns, and Nikki D & the Browns. William Beasley, Hananiah Sims, and Del Grace were inducted into the 2015 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame.
The 8th annual Sacred Strings Showcase Concert entitled “The Bloodline Continues,” proved to be another awesome celebration of sacred steel talent. Many gifted African American steel guitarist from ten cities and six states graced our stage for two days of musical bliss, ages ranging from seventeen to eighty years old. The Ark Church hosted this year's event located at 2500 Nebraska Ave, Toledo, Ohio. This two-day event was Friday August 12, 2016, from 6pm to 9pm and August 13, 2016, from 3pm to 7pm. The moderator for the event was Elder Dale A. Hines, also known as the Voice of Sacred Steel.
Our featured guest musicians were Donnell Golden, Lonnie Bennett, Eric Russell, Marcus Hall, Ronnie P. Hall, Shanta Bristow, Fran E. Grace, Maurice Ted Beard, Andre Miller, Tim Patterson, Andrae Maze, The Amazing Grace Praise Band, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, Terrell King, Nikki D & the Browns. The 2016 Sacred Steel The 2016 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame welcomes ten new inductees, Lonnie Bennett, Tim Patterson, Andre Miller, JoeHanner Russell, Andrae Maze, Odis Hychs, Dale H. Hines, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, The Amazing Grace Praise Band, and Joseph Randall.
The ninth annual Sacred Strings Showcase concert was entitled, “80 Years of Sacred Steel Music,” and it took place at the First Alliance Church, located at 2201 Monroe Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604. This was a two-day musical event, Friday August 18, 2017, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and Saturday August 19, 2017, from 3pm to 7pm. The moderator for the event was Elder Dale A. Hines, also known as the Voice of Sacred Steel. Yolando Ramsey of Toledo, Ohio was inducted into the 2017 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame.
This year we were blessed to witness twelve sacred steel performances by the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, Fran E. Grace, Eric Russell, Clifford Warren, Yolando Ramsey, Ronnie P. Hall, Maurice Ted Beard, Joseph Randall, Ned W. Mayes, Nikki D & the Browns, Lisa Lang.
Sacred Strings Records Inc took the 2017 Sacred Strings Showcase on the road to Deerfield Beach, Florida. The concert was entitled the "Florida State Unity Concert." The event was hosted by Pastor Dennis Fulmore of the Jewell Dominion Church of the Living God. Joseph Randall was our liaison and responsible for organizing the local steel players. Kenya Wheeler handled the social media and public relations for the event.
A total of eight teen performances went forth during this one-day event. The performers were the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Elton Noble, Bryan Josh Taylor, Eddie Harmon, Chris Johnson, Joseph Randall, Darryl Blue, Warren Carroll, Lisa Lang, Derrick Marion, Shane McCormick, Dominic Collins, Ryan Green, Jamaal Johnson, Faith's Place, Kenneth Ellis, Marcus Hardy, Noble Lockhart Mays. Twelve Floridians were recognized and inducted into the 2017 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame. Elton Noble, Lester Wilks, Jerry Glenn, Joseph Randall, Kenneth Ellis, Charles Pettigrew, Marcus Hardy, Darryl Blue, Eston Sonny Treadway, Glenn Lee, Bryan Josh Taylor, and the Lee Boys.
The Georgia State Sacred Steel Concert was held in Stone Mountain, Georgia at the Camp Jewell House, a private academy designed to work with at risk scholars. The benefit concert was hosted by Kashiah and Jewell Hunter of Atlanta, Georgia and Del and Kelli Grace of Toledo, Ohio. We were blessed to record a total of seven teen sacred steel performances by Aaron Hines, the Amazing Grace Praise Band, Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew, B Jay Bivens, Calvin Cooke, Dante Harmon, Darick Campbell, Dave Fonville, Deontrae Hicks, Donnell Golden, Fran E. Grace, Richard Blackmon, The Rockridge Boys, Steve Cunningham, Terrel King, Tommy Phillips, Tremaine Young.
We welcomed seven new members into the 2018 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame, Paul Jones, Jerry Gadson, Dante Harmon, Richard Blackmon, Henry Dillard, Darick Campbell, and Kashiah Hunter & the ATL Crew.
The 10th Sacred Strings Showcase / Banquet Concert took place at the Radisson Hotel located 3100 Glendale Ave Toledo, Ohio. The event took place Saturday August 25, 2018, from 12 noon to 6pm and was entitled "10 Years of Sacred Steel". This was our very first banquet musical event and we experienced a great turn out. The renown Campbell Brothers were the special guest for the evening. Other featured sacred steel artist is Kashiah Hunter, Terrell King, Fran E. Grace, and the Amazing Grace Praise Band.
Sacred Strings Records Inc. also presented its first Lifetime Achievement Award during the concert recognizing some of the living legends that have dedicated their lives to playing and preserving this music tradition. These individuals have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the time-honored tradition of Sacred Steel music. Elder Maurice Ted Beard of Detroit, Michigan, Bishop Clifford L. Warren of Toledo, Ohio, Bishop Ronnie P. Hall of Detroit, Michigan, and Elder Aubrey Ghent.
The 11th Annual Sacred Strings Showcase Concert & Banquet entitled "Queens of Sacred Steel." This event took place Saturday August 10, 2019, 12 noon - 6:00pm @ the Tamaron Country Club 2162 W. Alexis Rd. Toledo, Ohio 43613. This historic event will feature our 1st all female sacred steel line up consisting of Fran E. Grace, Lisa Lang, Lisa Williams, Nikki D. Brown, Mariah House, Shanta Bristow, Maurice Bradley, and Kim Postell McClendon.
Six female steel players were inducted into the 2019 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame in the persons of Teresa Jackson, Kim Mclendon, Fran E. Grace, Maurice Bradley, Angela Grace Russell, and Lisa Lang.
Sacred Strings Records Inc, traveled to the west coast to induct five members into the 2021 Sacred Steel Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, California. Bishop Marva Neal, pastor of the Jewell Dominion Church of the Living God was kind enough to host this event. The inductees are Perry Brown II, Perry Brown III, Bruce Henry Duren, Moustiquim Muhammad, and William Nolen.t.
2009 Legends Concert
2010 Hall of Fame Concert
2011 Kings & Queens Concert
2012 Diamond Jubilee Concert
2013 Young Guns Concert
2014 Steel Prasing Concert
2015 Glorious Triumph Concert
2016 The Bloodline Continues Concert
2017 "80 Years of Sacred Steel Music"
2017 Florida State Unity Concert
2018 "10 Year Celebration" Concert
2019 Queens of Sacred Steel Concert
2021 West Coast Concert
2018 Georgia State Benefit Concert
2020 Virtual Sacred Steel Concert
Because of the pandemic and Covid 19, we were forced to postpone our 12th Annual Sacred Strings Concert in Toledo, Ohio but we were blessed to air a virtual concert. The coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly impacted all aspects of our everyday lives in a plethora of ways.
2021 Virtual Sacred Steel Inductions
2023 Sacred Strings Showcase Concert
The pandemic and Covd 19, caused us to go virtual with our Sacred Strings Showcase Hall of Fame Inductions. Congratulations to our thirteen (13) new members of the Sacred Steel Hall of Fame. Acorn Coffee, Albert Thompkins III, Annabelle Bowen, Anthony Fox, Arthur Lee Pough, Bruce Henry Duren, Dwayne T. Snelling Sr., Gregory Walls, James McKoy, James Summersett, Jason Whitehead, Nicolle Brown, and Sean Spearman.
Our 15th Annual Sacred Strings Showcase Banquet / Concert was entitled "Steel Standing." It took place August 19, 2023, in Perrysburg, Ohio, at the Hilton Garden Inn Perrysburg and was another sold out success. The Amazing Grace Praise Band of Toledo, Ohio opened up the concert followed by Terrell King of Nashville, Tennessee. Luther Robinson was joined on stage by his daughter both from Rochester, New York. Kashiah Hunter of the Atlanta, Georgia and Lady Strings, Fran E. Grace of Toledo, Ohio closed out the concert.
Ten new members were inducted into the Sacred Steel Hall of Fame in 2023. Eric Russell of Toledo, Ohio, Mike Wortham of Calhoun City, Mississippi, Cornelius Wortham of Indianapolis, Indiana, Robert Cook of Detroit, Michigan, George Rumph of Ridgeville, South Carolina, Jay Caver of Detroit, Michigan, Darrell White of Mount Clemens, Michigan, Enouch Boles of Nashville, Tennessee, Luther Robinson of Rochester, New York, and Kenard Buchanon of Mount Clemens, Michigan. In May of 2023, we attended the Sacred Steel Summitt in Florida where we inducted three more sacred steel players into the hall of fame. David Fonville, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, DaShawn Hickman of Mt Airy, North Carolina, and Brian Byrd of Sarasota, Florida.
The Sacred Steel Showcase is the longest running music concert of its kind in the country. This event was a major gathering of African American sacred steel players from across the country. It was here that Sacred Strings Records Inc. first coined the term “Sacred Steel Legends” and presented the Legend Awards honoring fifth teen sacred steel pioneers, innovators, and major contributors responsible for keeping the tradition alive.
Since that time, every August, musicians from the Jewell Dominion, Keith Dominion churches, and off shoots of those churches make the pilgrimage to Toledo, Ohio to share in a common goal which is to present the steel guitar from an African American perspective.
