UVA Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Presents: Black History Month Gospel Concert

This concert will feature Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Tasha Cobbs Leonard, with a special performance by Grammy-nominated artist Melvin Crispell III. A pre-concert featuring a Northern Virginia-based praise team will begin at 6:00PM.

About the Artists:

Tasha Cobbs Leonard

A pastor’s daughter born and raised in Georgia, Leonard first emerged to widespread acclaim with her breakout 2013 release, Grace, which garnered a GRAMMY, three Doves, and three Stellar Awards on the strength of its chart-topping, platinum-selling lead single, “Break Every Chain.” In the years that followed, Leonard would go on to establish herself as one of her genre’s most celebrated voices, racking up more than two billion streams across platforms, landing three more #1 singles and five #1 albums, performing with everyone from Common and Nicki Minaj to Ne-Yo and Ciara, and making national television appearances on Good Morning America, CNN’s Fourth in America special, BET’s Black Girls Rock, CBC’s “A Day Of Healing,” and the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration. Billboard named Leonard the “Top Gospel Artist of the Decade,” while NPR declared her a “gospel sensation,” and Forbes hailed her as “by far one of the most successful contemporary gospel artists of our time.” A tireless advocate for empowerment and positivity, Leonard also broke new ground as an author, actress, entrepreneur, and executive pastor at The Purpose Place Church in her adopted home of South Carolina, where she co-pastors with her husband and producer, Kenneth Leonard, Jr.

Melvin Crispell III

Melvin Crispell III hails from a rich musical legacy. His father, world-renowned musician Melvin Crispell, Jr., composed and played on award-winning songs for some of gospel music’s biggest artists. His mother, Tunesha Crispell, was a celebrated gospel singer whose voice was featured on several well-known choir recordings along with a critically acclaimed solo project. With the sudden death of his father at 16 followed by the untimely demise of his mother at 18, Melvin was able to overcome through his relationship with God and music and that the trauma was not the end of his story. In 2019, he competed on and won the ninth season of BET’s Sunday Best. After winning, he signed with RCA Inspiration and released his debut album, I’ve Got A Testimony, in 2020, which will be followed up by his live sophomore album, No Failure, in Summer 2023. No Failure, led by the single “Alright,” is an in-depth look into who Melvin is becoming as he navigates life’s ups and downs and pushes past his comfort zone to get to a place God promised victory. Through his own journey of healing and overcoming, No Failure serves as a transparent message of hope and a reminder that “there is no failure in Him.”