Shout & Never Get Tired: 20 Years of Jubilation

Jubilation is a unique beast, an acapella gospel choir with a rock & roll heart. Born in Ponsonby in 2000, the choir is turning 20 this year, with a birthday celebration gig in the 2020 Auckland Fringe to mark this milestone with passion and soul.

For two decades Jubilation has wowed crowds of all sizes, from 10,000 on the main stage at WOMAD to an intimate 65 at the Old Cheese Factory near Arrowtown. The choir has sung up a storm at the Wellington Jazz Festival, Nelson’s Opera in The Park, New Plymouth’s Festival of Lights and Wanaka’s Festival of Colour, and bringing it home to TAPAC for this Fringe birthday gig are some of New Zealand’s favourite voices.

Entertainer extraordinaire Jackie Clarke (The Ladykillers, Member of the NZOM for services to the entertainment industry) and musical theatre supernova Jennifer Ward-Lealand (Falling In Love Again, Delicious Oblivion, Companion of NZOM for services to film, theatre and television, 2019 Woman of Influence - Arts & Culture Award) are among Jubilation’s vocalists; singing soul, blues and country-infused gospel from the songbooks of Nina Simone, Tom Waits and Blind Willie Johnson.

With the loss of much-loved Jubilation soloists and founding members Rick Bryant and Peter Kirkbride at the end of 2019, gospel’s eternal themes of struggle, release and salvation have never felt fresher. This is soul-stirring music about life & death, pain & glory, written by master songwriters and powered by the emotion of the naked human voice.

Jubilation will be raising TAPAC’s roof on Sunday March 8 to in a celebration of good times, bad times, glory and groove for twenty years - this is a birthday you won’t want to miss!