Nigel Hall And Roosevelt Collier Offer Gospel Surprise At Bear Creek

Back in May Roosevelt Collier and Nigel Hall led an ensemble of talented musicians through a set dubbed Roosevelt Collier and Nigel Hall’s Gospel Surprise at the Purple Hatter’s Ball music festival in Live Oak, FL. This past Sunday the musicians reprised Gospel Surprise on the final day of this year’s Bear Creek Music Festival.

[Photo by Brad Kuntz]

Hall and Collier were joined by a badass band that included such outstanding performers as Nikki Glaspie on drums, Nick Cassarino and Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff on guitar, keyboardist Joey Porter, percussionist Weedie Braimah, bassist Nate Edgar, vocalists Alecia Chakour, James Casey, Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman, a horn section of Igmar Thomas, Khris Royal and Ryan Zoidis as well as special guest Andrew Block for the Gospel Surprise set. The 10-song performance included covers of Frank Zappa’s “Uncle Remus,” “Higher Ground” by Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin’s “Spirit In The Dark,” among others.

Our friends at CHeeSeHeaD PRoDuCTioNS have shared footage of Walter Hawkins’ “Goin’ Up Yonder” from Bear Creek:

Here’s a look at the setlist from the Gospel Surprise set at Bear Creek 2013:

Set: Standing On Shaky Ground, Higher Ground, Brought The Sunshine, I Won’t Complain, How I Got Over, God is a Good God, Uncle Remus, Goin’ Up Yonder, Spirit in the Dark, Before I Let Go