Fight of Our Life Health Tour

Oklahoma City Concert Date Set

2009-10-28T10:57:00.001-06:00

The Oklahoma City leg of The Fight of Our Life Health Tour will take place on November 22, 2009 at Fairview Missionary Baptist Church at 6:00 pm. Stay tuned for ticket details.

Kirk Rocks Austin and Dallas/Fort Worth

2009-09-15T13:25:00.003-05:00

Grammy-award winning contemporary gospel artist Kirk Franklin pulled off a “Texas Two Step” of sorts with a pair of concerts in Dallas-Fort Worth August 8th and in Austin August 9th. The concerts were part of the “Fight of Our Life Health Tour,” Franklin's partnership with the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association's Power To End Stroke initiative, and played to jam-packed venues in both locations. At both stops, Franklin not only delivered an empowering message through his music, but personally led fans in taking the Power To End Stroke pledge and encouraging healthy habits in an effort to prevent stroke.

On Saturday, August 8th, more than 4,700 people attended the concert at Six Flags Over Texas, a group that included families and church groups of all ages and ethnicities. For that show, Kirk enlisted the support of national gospel artists Tye Tribett and Fred Hammond, both of whom gave a “shout out to AHA” and encouraged the audience to embrace our messaging. Concert goers were also treated to performances from BET’s Sunday Best season one and season two winners, Crystal Aikin and Y’anna Crawley. Fort Worth’s Sean Reed Music Ministry, audition winner from among two dozen finalists, served as opening act.

The Dallas-Fort Worth team generated nearly 1,900 Power To End Stroke pledges at the concert, and media highlights during the week included interviews on two of the market’s top radio stations, as well as a performance on the Fox affiliate’s Good Day Dallas program.

One night after Kirk rocked the Metroplex, more than 5,000 enthusiastic concert-goers jammed into the Shoreline Christian Center in Austin for a sold-out concert, sponsored locally by Seton Family of Hospitals and Dell. Also performing was Crystal Aikin, the 2008 “Sunday Best” winner and “Greater Mount Zion Worship Ministry: featuring New Vision Dancers and GMZ Choir,” a group selected from among ten finalists during live auditions in June.

More than 1,700 participants pledged to join the Power to End Stroke movement and commit to living a healthy lifestyle. Coverage of the concert throughout the week and on concert night generated more than 230,000 media impressions, including television coverage provided by ABC, CBS, Fox and Time Warner Cable outlets in the market.

The “Fight of Our Life Health Tour” Takes Houston By Storm!

2009-07-13T13:36:00.006-05:00

On Friday, June 5th, multiple Grammy® award-winning gospel artist Kirk Franklin teamed up with the American Heart Association’s Power to End Stroke Movement and Fo Yo Soul Entertainment to kick off his seven city “Fight of Our Life Health Tour”. The concert took place at St. Agnes Church in Houston where an enthusiastic crowd of over 3,200 people celebrated the launch of this powerful partnership.

In addition to Kirk Franklin, Pastor Cedric Hayes and the Gloryland Pastor’s Choir from North Little Rock, AR served as the opening act after beating out nearly 60 other performances in an audition hosted by the American Heart Association in May.

From the audience, stroke survivor Missouri City Councilwoman Cynthia Lenton-Gary and her husband E.J. Gary were able to enjoy the empowering performance. Others in attendance included Yolanda Adams, Merele Yarborough, Judy and Wayne McConnell, Larry Payne, Drs. Crystal and Randall Wright, Cheryl Solomon, Kelly Hodges and Leslie Taylor.

Dallas/Fort Worth Winner Announced!

2009-07-01T15:55:00.004-05:00

The winner of the Kirk Franklin Dallas/Fort Worth Auditions is Sean Reed Music Ministry from Fort Worth! Sean Reed Music Minisitry will be opening for Kirk Franklin at the Dallas/Fort Worth concert on August 8, 2009 at Six Flags Theme Park.

Tickets are now on sale for the Fight of Our Life Health Tour concert in Dallas/Fort Worth on August 8th. Ticket orders may be placed via phone or online from Ticketmaster .

Austin Winner Announced!

2009-06-16T14:54:00.008-05:00

Congratulations are in order for the winners of the Austin live auditions, the Greater Mount Zion Worship Ministry: featuring New Vision Dancers and GMZ Choir. This group will perform live with Kirk Franklin on Sunday, August 9 at the Shoreline Christian Center.

Tickets are now on sale for the Fight of Our Life Health Tour concert in Austin on August 9th. Ticket orders may be placed via phone or online from Ticketmaster or in person at the Shoreline Christian Center, 15201 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX 78728.

Thank you to our sponsor, Seton Family of Hospitals.

Opening Act Auditions

2009-05-18T15:10:00.009-05:00

Round 1: Thanks to everyone who auditioned to be the opening act for The Fight of Our Life Health Tour. Nearly 350 demo tapes were submitted. As part of the audition process, each artist was asked to be an ambassador for the Power To End Stroke campaign and spread the message. As a result, more than 16,000 people took the Power To End Stroke pledge.

The judges had a difficult time narrowing down the competition, but the finalists have been chosen for each city and invited to perform live for Round 2 of the auditions.

Round 2: The live auditions are underway. Little Rock, Houston and San Antonio hosted their live auditions this month. So far, every performance has been a knock out performance.

Houston's Top 12 Finalists performed at Houston's Black Expo on May 17th. The judges selected Gloryland’s Pastors Choir to be the opening act on June 5th.
San Antonio's top finalists performed live to a crowd of more than 500 on May 16th. However, the artists are still waiting to find out who will get to showcase their talent at the concert. The opening act will be announed later this month.
Little Rock's Top 10 performed on May 2nd. Out of those ten, 5 were selected to perform at Riverfest on May 24th. The judges selected True Praise to be the opening act.

Keep checking the blog to find out who will be the opening act for the Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, Tulsa and Oklahoma City concerts.

Purchase Tickets

2009-05-13T11:26:00.001-05:00

Tickets are now on sale for the Fight of Our Life Health Tour Houston and San Antonio concerts. Tickets may be purchased from Ticketmaster or by calling the church box office.

For the Houston show, you may call St. Agnes Church at 713.733.0146 for ticket sale information.
For the San Antonio shows, you may call New Creation Christian Fellowship Church at 210.646.7997 for ticket sale information.

Keep checking our blog for ticket information on other shows.

The link provided above is for convenience only, and is not an endorsement of either the linked-to entity or any product or service.

Power Sunday

2009-05-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

Power Sunday is part of the Power To End Stroke awareness campaign. On this day, church leaders preach a lifesaving message to their congregations--stroke. The service is dedicated to those who have survived or died of stroke.

To combat stroke, church leaders share key messages to help reduce risk in the African African community. Church leaders spread the word about the seriousness of the Nation's No. 3 killer and the leading cause of long-term, severe disability. Power Sunday is held any Sunday during American Stroke Month (May).

To kick-off this year's Power Sunday, Kirk Franklin and his church, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, were the first to host a Power Sunday service. Kirk talked to the congregation about the risk factors and warning signs of stroke. Then, he led the congregation in the Power To End Stroke pledge. More than 1,200 church members took the pledge. During the service, Pastor Tony Evans reinforced the message, and church member and stroke survivor, Bertha Banks, gave a personal testimony. After the service, the Health and Wellness ministry conducted health screenings and distributed educational brochures.

Throughout the month of May, congregations across country will celebrate Power Sunday. Many will wear purple to show their support for this cause and conduct Power Sunday activities. If you would like to get your congregation involved, please visit our Power To End Stroke page.

Concert Announcement

2009-02-10T09:39:00.001-06:00

Power To End Stroke and Kirk Franklin are proud to announce the Fight of Our Life Health Tour. The tour will kick off in Houston in summer 2009 and will make stops in Austin, Dallas, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Tulsa. Dates, times and locations are TBD. Keep checking the blog for tour and ticket information.

Want to know how you can be a part of this show?
Well, we're looking for POWERful acts to open up for Kirk Franklin. Do you have the voice of an angel or the God given talent of a star? If so, auditions are open to GOSPEL soloists, groups, choirs, spoken word, rappers, instrumentalists and praise dancers. Auditions will be held in each of the tour cities--Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Tulsa.

So warm up your voices, tune up your instruments or polish your moves because here's what you'll need to do in order to audition. Performers will need to submit a demo of their talent to the city or cities of their choice. A panel of judges will review the demos and narrow it down to 10 finalists. The Top 10 will be asked to perform live. At the live auditions, the judges will announce the winner(s) to be the opening act(s) for Kirk Franklin. The winner will perform at The Fight of Our Life Health Tour in that certain city on the scheduled date. For contact information about the audition process, please review the City Contacts section.

The Top 10 will also be featured on our YouTube Channel - stay tuned for details!

City Contacts

2009-02-10T09:38:00.001-06:00

If you're interested in auditioning, please download the audition packet which contains several documents (audition packet, talking points and registration information). Please submit audition documentation and demo to the city contact listed. All appropriate documentation MUST be turned in with your demo in order to be considered for the audition process.

Austin:
Larissa De Luna - (512) 433-4081 or larissa.deluna@heart.org
Please submit demos by Monday, April 13th.
Live auditions will be Saturday, June 13th.
Audition Packet

Dallas:
Dione Banks - (214) 748-7212 or dione.banks@heart.org
Please submit demos by Friday, May 1st. Deadline Extended!
Live auditions will be Saturday, June 6th.
Audition Packet

Fort Worth:
Benzi George - (817) 698-5472 or benzi.george@heart.org
Please submit demos by Friday, May 1st. Deadline Extended!
Live auditions will be Friday, June 5th.
Audition Packet

Houston:
Aabha Brown - (713) 610-5024 or aabha.brown@heart.org
Demos must be postmarked by Friday, April 10th.
Live auditions will be Sunday, May 17th.
Audition Packet

Little Rock:
Marilyn Clark - (501) 379-1189 or marilyn.clark@heart.org
Please submit demos by Monday, April 13th.
Live auditions will be Saturday, May 2nd.
Audition Packet

Oklahoma City:
Nancy Grayson - (918) 712-4013 or nancy.grayson@heart.org
Please submit demos by Friday, May 15th. Deadline Extended!
Live auditions TBD.
Audition Packet

San Antonio:
Nora Silva - (210) 617-2611 or nora.silva@heart.org
Please submit demos by Monday, April 13th.
Live auditions will be Saturday, May 16th.
Audition Packet

Tulsa:
Nancy Grayson - (918) 712-4013 or nancy.grayson@heart.org
Please submit demos by Friday, May 15th. Deadline extended!
Live auditions TBD.
Audition Packet

About The Fight of Our Life Health Tour

2009-02-10T09:32:00.000-06:00

The Fight of Our Life Health Tour is a seven city tour that brings together gospel music and stroke awareness. It's a partnership between Kirk Franklin, Power To End Stroke and local businesses. All partners agreeing that stroke is a major threat to the African American community and believing that awareness and education are the initial steps in preventing and overcoming stroke.

Stroke is the No. 3 leading cause of death and a leading cause of long-term disability among African Americans. African Americans have almost twice the risk of first-ever strokes compared with whites, and blacks 35-54 years old have four times the relative risk for stroke. Fortunately stroke is often preventable, and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Power To End Stroke movement is empowering African Americans to reduce their risk by making healthy lifestyle changes.

Power To End Stroke is an exciting national campaign that raises awareness about stroke—while embracing and celebrating the culture, creativity and energy of African Americans. Leading the campaign and taking it to new heights in Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma is multiple Grammy award winner, Kirk Franklin. Kirk Franklin has revolutionized gospel music. He's bridged the gap between the faith-based community and mainstream urban music. The genius fusion of the gospel message and hip-hop beats have made him a mainstay atop Billboard charts for more than 15 years. Kirk's artistry and high energy performances are directly linked to the daily choices he makes in favor of a healthy diet and exercise.