If Hopkinsville wanted to name a dean of gospel music, Kenneth Bates would be hard to beat for that honor.
For more than 40 years, Bates has been hosting weekly gospel radio programs on two Hopkinsville stations — WHOP and WNKJ — and a couple of years ago he picked up another station, WEKT in Elkton, for a third gospel show.
When he’s not spinning someone else’s gospel music on a turntable, Bates is making his own in local churches. He sings and plays the piano and organ.
Bates will take his talents to a new stage Saturday night when he sings with the Fabulous Equinox orchestra for a concert at the Alhambra Theatre to benefit tornado victims.
“We’ve had a lot of destruction here,” said Bates. He said he’s happy to be part of the benefit concert that will raise money for people affected by the tornadoes.
The Fabulous Equinox, based in Savannah, Georgia, volunteered to help the Pennyroyal Arts Council with the benefit after the orchestra members heard about the storms in Western Kentucky. They have performed in Hopkinsville two other times, most recently at an outdoor concert in May.
As plans came together, organizers decided they wanted to also feature a local musician in the show, and Bates was asked to join the orchestra for part of the show. Bates is the Hopkinsville chapter president for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and he serves on several local boards and commissions. He is former county magistrate.
The concert, featuring gospel and big band music, starts at 7 p.m. Tickets, available online, are $25. The arts council is also selling livestream tickets for $10.
The benefit has a $7,500 fundraising goal through ticket sales and other sources. As of Wednesday afternoon, the fund had raised $3,250.
The arts council said 100% of the proceeds will be dispersed to two campaigns that are helping with tornado relief — the Christian County Chamber of Commerce Gift Cards for Compassion and the Kentucky Sports Radio and Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Tornado Relief Fund.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
