‘Good News Music’ : Oxnard Rapper, Others Bring Gospel to the County Fair

VENTURA —  His spirit was once heavy with the dark, hopeless messages he preached about life in the ‘hood. But then Reggie Rogers was captured by the “good news music” called gospel.

The music’s electrifying harmonies, heart-rending melodies and messages of hope have helped soothe the souls and energize the spirits of weary, downtrodden churchgoers for more than 200 years.

Tonight, Ventura County Fair visitors can take in a dose of spiritual celebration in a three-hour program of gospel music featuring members of 12 local churches and a handful of individual singers. They include Rogers, an Oxnard gospel rap artist who hosts a gospel music radio show.

The performances will range in style from traditional African American gospel to gospel rap and jazz to Hispanic spirituals and Christian hymns. But all will have one underlying positive message, said Rogers, who was once a “gangsta” rapper.

“Gospel is uplifting for the heart and the soul,” he said. “If you’ve the blues, good news music is the kind of music you want to listen to. These are not just words: These songs really minister to your heart and your soul. You can be poor, but if somebody preaches good news to you, it sure feels good.”

The gospel show aims to offer fair visitors a blend of entertainment appealing to a broad audience, said Vanessa Webster, the fair’s entertainment coordinator. This is the first year local gospel acts have been invited to perform, Webster said.

“I decided at the beginning of the year to bring in something new,” Webster said. “I’m very excited [about the gospel show]. When I book entertainment, I book it for everyone. Everything has a place in the fair.”

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This year’s musical acts have ranged from country singer Willie Nelson to Las Vegas lounge star Wayne Newton to Immature, a group of 14-year-old R & B singers. Webster said she considers the racial and ethnic diversity in the county to determine what types of acts to book.

One of her first priorities, she said, is to make sure the entertainment is family oriented. Then, she said, entertainers’ fees have to be moderate, since visitors pay only a $6 flat rate to enter the fair and see concerts.

Since the county fair attracts a large number of country-western fans, a quarter of the acts are country. The rest are divided among other musical genres.

The gospel performance, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the Pepsi Community Stage, will feature performers from churches throughout Ventura County such as South Fellowship and Tried Stone Church of God in Christ in Oxnard. There will also be representatives from outside the county, like those from Church of the Hills in Agoura.

Although scheduling the choirs and churches took more than three months, Oxnard resident Lawrence Droughn said, it was relatively easy, since gospel music performers are like family. Droughn, who has been singing gospel since age 5 and whose father is a local pastor, knew he wanted to bring gospel to a larger audience. When he suggested the idea to Webster, she was enthusiastic.

“All these churches are intertwined to one another,” said Droughn, who will solo in the show. “There is definitely a need for [gospel] in this area. It has never been exposed at this level.”

Rogers, the host of a radio show called “Midnight Psalms” on KDAR-FM (98.3), said the positive message of gospel is needed at a time when it seems like only bad news makes headlines.

“We have so many negative sounds in the community and in the world,” Rogers said. “I truly believe the world is in need of good news music. The world ain’t that bad. You can survive in this world.”

African American gospel originated as a way of enduring the suffering and hardships of slavery, Rogers said. Psalms in the Bible were put to music and verse as a means to find strength in the midst of beatings and abuse.

“The African community and those in bondage took hold of these songs,” Rogers said. “As they went through these hard times, they grabbed these songs and took power from them. Some of these songs were ministered to them 24 hours a day as they were beaten or misused, and they were able to rise above.”

Although the history of spiritual hymns within white churches is different, the message is the same, said Pamela Darden, a gospel soloist and music teacher at the Junior Music Academy in Ventura.

“Being able to have that message and anchor to stand on--that is how all of us make it through anything,” said Darden, who will perform in the show. “You can come together from all areas and backgrounds and you are accepted. Through hard times and easy times, you are never alone.”