THE 42nd ANNUAL GMA DOVE AWARDS ANNOUNCES “SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR” NOMINEES

Nashville, TN – (April 13, 2011) – The coveted songwriter award nominees have been announced for next week’s 42^nd Annual GMA Dove Awards. Chris August, Gerald Crabb, Jason Ingram, Joel Lindsey and Wayne Haun are this year’s nominees.  Jason Ingram leads now with 12 nominations which is the most anyone has received in one awards season.  The 42^nd Annual Dove Awards, hosted by Sherri Shepherd, will take place at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, April 20^th at 8 p.m. ET.  The awards show will be televised on GMC, America’s favorite network for uplifting entertainment, on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 7 p.m. ET.

 

The list of presenters includes Greg Jennings, Kim Fields, Yvette Nicole Brown, Chonda Pierce, Kevin Sorbo, Mandisa, Ruben Studdard, Leigh Ann Tuohy and Collins Tuohy. The pre-show event will be hosted by artist Jason Crabb, who is a multi-Dove Award nominee.  Brian Courtney Wilson and Guy Penrod will perform at the pre-show.

 

Previously announced performers and appearances during the televised show include Audrey Assad, Francesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound, Deitrick Haddon, Kirk Franklin, LeCrae, Mary Mary, Britt Nicole, Chonda Pierce, Point of Grace, Kerrie Roberts, Kenny Rogers, Smokie Norful, Marvin Sapp, Chris Tomlin, Laura Story, Tenth Avenue North.  

 

The year’s new location and excitement surrounding the awards show have tickets selling at a record pace.  The ticket sales are already exceeding 60% over the past years at this date leading up to the April 20^th awards show. “This is exciting and unprecedented for the GMA Dove Awards,” states INO’s Dan Michaels, who is overseeing the sales for this year’s event.

 

In addition to the already announced appearances, the GMA launched a very successful campaign inviting churches to submit video of them performing a praise and worship hymn. With nearly 100 entries to date, the winners will be part of this year’s telecast and awards show.

 

The 42^nd Annual GMA Dove Awards are produced by GMC, in association with Encore Entertainment.  Michael Johnson is director.  Tommy Sims is musical director. Rex Humbard is executive producer for GMC.  Ed Leonard and Mitchell Solarek are executive producers for GMA.

 

For more information on the awards, please visit www.wortmanworks.com/clients/doveawards for more detailed information on the show and all the participants or visit www.doveawards.com.

 

Tickets to the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards are now on sale at the Fox Theatre box office in Atlanta or at www.ticketmaster.com. 

 

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Founded in 1964, the Gospel Music Association serves as the face and voice for the Gospel/Christian music community and is dedicated to exposing, promoting and celebrating the Gospel through music of all styles including Pop, Rock, Praise & Worship, Urban Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Southern Gospel, Bluegrass, Country and more. The GMA community consists of members including agents, artists, church leaders, managers, promoters, radio personnel, record company executives, retailers, songwriters and other industry visionaries. The GMA produces the GMA Dove Awards, GMA Dove Week and IMMERSE. For more on supporting the GMA or becoming a member, please visit  www.gospelmusic.org or contact the GMA directly at 615.277.1376.

 

GMC ( www.watchgmctv.com) is America’s favorite channel for uplifting music and family entertainment. In 2010, The Parents Television Council™ awarded its Entertainment Seal of Approval™ to GMC for being “an authentic family-friendly cable network.” GMC was the only television network to receive the highly coveted honor last year.

 

GMC can be seen in nearly 48 million homes on various cable systems around the country, on DIRECTV on channel 338 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 224.