June 1, 2025 | 2:00PM
First Presbyterian Church (6400 S. Kimbark)
Sacred Grounds, Gospel Sounds: A Musical Celebration of Oak Woods Cemetery will take place on June 1, 2025 from 2–9 PM at the First Presbyterian Church (6400 S. Kimbark). The event celebrates the gospel legacies of Chicago in connection with Oak Woods Cemetery, where many gospel notables like Thomas A. Dorsey, Albertina Walker, Otis Clay, and Pops and Oceola Staples have been laid to rest. The day's events will include a choir performance as well as a performance by William Kurk, great grandnephew of Thomas A. Dorsey, who is widely regarded as the father of gospel music. This will be followed by a gospel walking tour to the nearby cemetery before returning for Ayana Contreras in conversation with Jacoby Cochran about the histories of gospel music in Chicago. The evening will close out with dinner and a DJ set by Ayana Contreras.
The event is free and open to all, please RSVP here.
This event is made possible by the University of Chicago's Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity and the Department of Music, with support from the UChicago Women's Board.
---
Sacred Grounds, Gospel Sounds
2:00 PM: Choir performance – Sanctuary
2:30 PM: Performance by William Kurk (great-grand nephew of Thomas A. Dorsey) – Sanctuary
3:15 PM: assemble for walking tour
3:30–4:45 PM: Gospel walking tour at Oak Woods Cemetery (45 minutes tour + 20 minute walk both ways)
Return to The First Presbyterian Church
4:45 PM: Light refreshments on the lawn
5:00–6:30 PM: Ayana Contreras in Conversation With Jacoby Cochran: Histories of Gospel Music in Chicago – Sanctuary (Recording by Lumpen Radio)
6:30–7:00 PM: Dinner with Chef-in-Residence Dozzy Ibekwe – Porter Room
7:00–9:00 PM: DJ night with Ayana Contreras – John Knox Hall