“Get high but still leave sober” at Gospel Fest 2026

As Guyanese across the country gear up for the various parties, concerts and fetes that go with the annual Mashramani celebrations, Christian Guyanese looking for less secular, cleaner, family fun can be sure that they won’t be left out of something to do as the “Gospel Fest” gospel concert celebrates its tenth anniversary, hosting on Mash Night at the National Exhibition Centre under the theme “Abnormal Praise: Keeping It Loud”.
And event organiser Pastor Kwame Wilson shared that patrons looking for clean, fun, high-energy time can expect “something major” as they “get high but still leave sober”.
“We will be gathering to lift up a loud praise to the Lord this year,” Wilson shared in a recent interview with the Times Entertainment.
“Mash is a time for celebration after hard work, and there are Christians and even non-Christians as well that sometimes want to go out, but there’s nothing clean or healthy for them to be a part of. Gospel Fest is that clean environment, that healthy environment. We often say it’s where you get high but you still leave sober. You get high, you praise the Lord, and then you leave sober.”
This year the Gospel Fest line-up will be headed by the return of Jamaican dancehall and gospel artist DJ Nicholas. Well known for his energetic performances, DJ Nicholas is no stranger to the Guyanese stage and is known to deliver when he steps out.
With Nicholas, real name Nicholas Eccleston, not having been to Guyana for quite some time, no doubt his Guyanese fan base is eagerly anticipating his return.
“He’s excited to be coming back. He’s coming here with his band to play some of his classics that we all love, and he has some new music as well, so he is excited to be at Gospel Fest,” Wilson shared.
DJ Nicholas will be joined by his fellow countryman, gospel artist Prince Saj, who has been blowing up in social media circles as of late with his release of a number of new singles, including his new feature with DJ Nicholas, “Equilibrium”.
While this is Saj’s first time at the Gospel Fest, he previously performed in Guyana last year at the One Guyana Worship experience, and according to Wilson, it’s a clear case of back by popular demand.
Also present and accounted for is Trinidadian Sean Daniels of the “Who Started the Waving Thing” fame. The concert will carry its usual line-up of local heavy hitters in the gospel music scene.
As has become a custom, the local line-up will be led by arguably Guyana’s best-performing gospel artist, Samuel Medas. Notwithstanding his blow-up as an international sensation over the years, Medas never forgets to show up and deliver his best for his Guyanese peeps.
“He’s been flying the Golden Arrowhead flame all around the Caribbean and North America, and he will be at Gospel Festival 2026,” Wilson announced.
Medas will be backed by concert regulars like Ronald Gonsalves from Linden, Solid Youth from Bartica, Joanna Singh, and Faith Corica, as well as newcomers Erica Williams-Jack and Berbician Alonica Anthon.
First held in 2015, over the years Gospel Fest has grown into an event that many Guyanese Christians eagerly anticipate for a chance to participate in the Mashramani excitement in a faith-focused setting. Since its start the concert has been held annually with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As he celebrates the concert’s tenth hosting, Wilson reflects on how it all started for him with a charge from God and has ballooned into something big from there.
“This is really an assignment that we saw from the Lord: to ensure that we host an evening of extravagant praise and worship on Mashramani night. And with obedience from 2015 until now, we’ve been gathering, and we thank God for the persons that turn out. We started with about 2000 persons, and by last year our numbers increased to over 3000, and we are believing for 4000 persons to be at the location this year,” Wilson shared.
The event was initially held at the tarmac of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall but quickly outgrew that venue over the years before moving to its current home at the National Exhibition Site. Wilson shared that the new venue has also made it possible for the organisers to offer secure parking at the event.
“We provide free safe parking. We have a security team that will be looking over the vehicles for everybody. And we don’t charge you for that; when you pay for your ticket, you get free parking,” Wilson explained.
Patrons who haven’t gotten their tickets as yet just missed out on the early bird tickets, which ended on January 15, but patrons can still pick up the regular tickets at $5000 a pop from several locations all across the country, including many churches.
Wilson is promising that it’ll be an exciting one and you won’t regret it.
“That’s one thing people are always excited about – the next experience at Gospel Fest – and this year something major is happening at Gospel Fest 2026, and we want to encourage everyone to come out and be part of it. You definitely won’t be among those who will look at the pictures afterwards and say, ‘I should’ve been there.’ We know that the presence of the Lord is going to be there, so come out,” Wilson encouraged.