A JOYFUL NOISE

Yes, it's finally official. In conjunction with the NOFO Soul & Gospel Festival, Holy Ghost will be sponsoring an appearance by the one and only Jus B'Cuz at the historic Jamesport Meeting House on Sunday, July 11th at 2pm.

In what promises to be an unforgettable afternoon, we will be exploring the rich history of African-American Gospel Music, and celebrating its vibrant and living legacy.

Admission is only $15, with the proceeds helping to preserve the Meeting House and keep Holy Ghost Gospel up and running.

Don't Miss It!

A JOYFUL NOISE
A Celebration of Gospel Music fearuring the North Fork's own JUS B'CUZ

SUNDAY, JULY 11th - 2pm
Jamesport Meeting House
1590 Main Road
Jamesport, NY 11947

From the RIVERHEAD NEWS REVIEW:

North Fork gospel band celebrates the good

Concert this weekend traces the evolution of gospel music

BY BRIDGET DEGNAN |CONTRIBUTOR

Photo courtesy of Kevin Ford
Members of the gospel band Jus B’Cuz gather at First Baptist Church in Cutchogue. Front row, from left: Alethis Ford and Dominique Aviles. Second row: Vanessa Langhorn, Darlene Hubbard and Grace Hubbard. Back row: Richard Langhorne, Russell Smith Jr., Kevin Ford and Michael Hubbard. Not pictured: Jane Turpin.

It came to him in a vision.

South Jamesport Postmaster Kevin Ford sat in bed for three months in 2005 following a gruesome infection in his feet. A painful result of diabetes, the infection left him with nothing to do but pray.

So he did, and one night, he believes, God spoke back.

'There's a lot of bad going around, but we only know that because that's what the news covers. I can almost guarantee that there is more good in the world than there is bad.'

Kevin Ford

"I was just sitting there and all of a sudden -- bam! -- I just knew we needed to put a singing group together," Mr. Ford said. "I believe that God spoke to me and said that we needed to go spread his word through song."

That year, Mr. Ford started Jus B'Cuz, a gospel band based in the North Fork that performs in churches and concerts across Long Island. This Sunday, July 11, the group will perform at the Jamesport Meeting House at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 a person, and all proceeds will benefit both the Jamesport Meeting House and Holy Ghost Gospel, a nonprofit organization on the North Fork dedicated to preserving the rich history of gospel music.

"We're going to be doing something like an evolution of gospel music at this concert," Mr. Ford said. "Basically, it's going to be an eclectic arrangement of gospel music. It's not just going to be the kind you hear about on TV with people clapping their hands and swaying from side to side. It's going to be a variety of songs and styles."

During the concert, the band will debut three original songs it hopes to include in a future CD. Each song, Mr. Ford said, encourages people to dwell on the good things in life, not the bad.

"There's a lot of bad going around, but we only know that because that's what the news covers," he said. "I can almost guarantee that there is more good in the world than there is bad. In fact, there's a song I like to sing called 'I Won't Complain,' and it goes, 'I won't complain, because my good days outnumber my bad days.'"

Although Mr. Ford has battled diabetes for most of his life, he believes that the debilitating illness has only made him more aware of God's goodness. The name Jus B'Cuz, Mr. Ford said, summarizes why his nine-member band exists.

"The question we asked ourselves was, 'Why do we praise God?'" he said. "And well, the answer was, 'Just because' -- just because he's been so good to us, just because he's awesome, just because he's a healer. We couldn't think of any other name. We praise him just because."

bdegnan@timesreview.com