NewsChannel5.com | Nashville News, Weather & SportsDove Awards Leaving Nashville After 41 Years

Dove Awards Leaving Nashville After 41 Years

by Brent Frazier

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - After 41 years of calling Music City home, the Christian themed Dove Awards will be playing to its Gospel music following next year in Atlanta.

This will be the first time the gospel and Christian music awards show will not be hosted in Nashville since it started 41 years ago.

The 2010 show was held April 21 at the Grand Ole Opry House - less than two weeks before the Opry was damaged by the record flooding in May.

"This is nothing negative about Nashville," Ed Leonard, chairperson of the Gospel Music Association, told NewsChannel 5 Tuesday, shortly after the announcement was made public. "This is a positive move for us for a year."

Leonard, who also co-owns Daywind Records, a gospel music recording label in Hendersonville, said in all its glory, the Dove Awards has been dubbed "Christian music's biggest night," even the "Grammys of Gospel."

The 2011 Dove Awards will be held in the Fox Theatre on April 20, 2011. GMA will work in conjunction with the city of Atlanta to host the broadcast, where its television partner, GMC is also headquartered.

Atlanta is also home to many of the industry's biggest names such as Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Third Day, Byron Cage, Bishop Paul Morton, Canton Jones, Dottie Peoples, Brian Free and Assurance.

The Gospel music genre enjoys all the perks that more mainstream music recording formats enjoy, according to Leonard: three of the biggest Gospel labels; the management companies; booking agents; and songwriters. What Atlanta will offer, he explained, is the opportunity to strengthen an existing bond with an already established following.

Plus, Atlanta offers a wide variety of Gospel.

"There's traditional Gospel," Leonard said. "There's contemporary Christian, praise and worship, Southern Gospel down there. A lot of our artists are down there."

Leonard likens it to the November 2005 shift of the CMAs, country's big night to shine, to New York City for one year only. Organizers said that move, albeit temporary, was to draw from a northern audience, in a city that didn't even have country music formatted radio stations.

"I think the show is so good, that no matter where you take it it would be successful," said Ernie Haase, a Gospel music artist and five-time Dove Award winner. "But having said that, my first choice - besides Nashville - would be Atlanta. There's so much rich history there, with all genres of Christian music."

Haase, who lives outside Akron, OH, commented on the development via NewsChannel 5's CBS affiliate in Cleveland, WOIO Television.

Haase admitted to being a part of the Nashville based Dove Awards for about the last 25 years, having won some 15 Awards with his previous vocal group. Those five Awards Haase holds are rooted solely in his current act, "Ernie Haase's Signature Sound."

Both Haase and Leonard agreed, next year's move to Atlanta is nothing to do with the Gospel industry feeling slighted in Nashville, or a feeling of living in a shadow of country music.

"I wouldn't say that Nashville's not supportive of the Christian music community," Leonard said.

Despite his repeated references to the Atlanta move being for only one year, Leonard would not commit to a promise of returning to Music City in the year 2012.

Email: bfrazier@newschannel5.com