Iheart contributor Darla sent us her photos of Danny Gokey on the red carpet with his wife Leyicet, presenting the Song of the Year award with Ricky Skaggs, and performing with fellow AI alums Ruben Studdard, Mandisa, and Phil Stacey. Thanks Darla!

Enjoy!

Danny Gokey appeared last night at the 43rd Annual Gospel Music Association “Dove Awards,” performing with fellow American Idol alumni Ruben Studdard, Mandisa, and Phil Stacey. Danny also presented an award during the event with country / gospel singer Ricky Skaggs.

View the full gallery at  zimbio.com, and check your local television listings for Tuesday, April 24th, when the awards show will be broadcast via the Gospel Music Channel.

You can also find summaries of the event at Music News Nashville

The evening featured a show-stopping performance by American Idol break-out stars Danny Gokey, Mandisa, Phil Stacey and Ruben Studdard paying homage to the role of faith in their lives with classics ranging from Lean on Me to Send Me An Angel.

and TheBoot.Com.

Danny later shared photos from the event via his twitter, with Christian artists Kirk Franklin and Jason Crabb, and Jaci Velasquez.

February 25, 2012

Ed and I made the two and half hour drive to check out Manitowoc and attend this “almost” hometown show of Danny’s. (Anywhere in Wisconsin is hometown, right?)

Manitowoc is a city of 35,000 people on Lake Michigan, about 75 minutes North of Milwaukee.  The venue for the show, the Capitol Theater, was constructed in 1921 and features two balconies and approximately 1000 seats. The city’s harbor is very pretty and so were some of the stately, historic homes and quaint downtown businesses.

We arrived at the theater when the doors opened at 6:30 for the 7:30 show.  That gave us time to collect our Meet and Greet passes and mingle with the many Danny fans that we’ve gotten to know. This show was part of a “Marquee Series” and the “Family Series” which meant season ticket holders would have a ticket to this event and have the best seats since they get to order theirs before the rest go on sale for the general public. Fortunately, Ed and I still had decent seats to the far left.

The Meet and Greet turned out to be in a very small, mirrored space (a dressing room?). Only a few people could enter at a time.  Some of the earlier fans were treated to seeing “Sweet Pea” — Danny and Leyicet’s new French Mastiff puppy. As Ed, Darla and I enter the dressing room,  I see Ed hand Danny a folded up wad of baler twine.  Yes, twine.  Ed explained it was an emergency leash for Sweet Pea. It still had hay stuck to it! Ed had fed the horses before we left and had stuffed the twine he took off the bale of hay into his jeans pocket… I said to Danny “I can’t take this man anywhere”.  We were laughing about the strange present when Byron took our pictures.  Danny signed a few photos for some SHF business and we were off to the concert.

The Sophia’s Heart Choir (and Dancers) were introduced by the theater’s Executive Director. But he stressed the dreaded words:

Photography or videography is strictly prohibited.  And they meant it….

I really enjoyed the high energy songs of the choir — they even featured an Adele song where Jeff plays the keyboards to some solo parts and then the Choir segue ways into Rolling in the Deep.  The happiness that singing and performing brings to these kids is evident on their faces! I think it was a very special night for the Sophia’s Heart kids. Danny interacted very well with them on the stage. I thought they had great chemistry. During one song, Danny put his hand on one of the boy’s shoulders, and when Danny turned away, he was just beaming to his friends.

Danny’s band consisted of Byron Chambers (Mr Talkbox) on keyboard, “Tim” on guitar (he plays with Byron regularly), Josh (Bass) and I missed the drummer’s name (Could Smokey be right???). The band members brought a lot of energy, but a bit more of a “wall of sound” effect than the old band…

Danny bounded onto stage to the beginning of “Like That’s a Bad Thing”.  Next up “Gimme a Kiss”.  I particularly liked the R and B flavor Danny infused into “Be Somebody”.  He had the audience do backup vocals on “What Hurts the Most”. He sounded great on all of the songs—although on “Get Away” I think the band over powered him a little.  The choir came back on stage to sing “It’s Only” with Danny and then joined him for “I Still Believe” in Nashville, Detroit, Atlanta, and Jamaica styles. (Danny said every part of the country has a different style of music). It was really creative. The kids formed two circles for this and they danced and sang the different styles of music. They received very enthusiastic applause as Danny led them off the stage!

This was the first show I attended with an actual 15+ minute intermission.  I think that prevented Mr. T from needing to make an appearance… Danny sang “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” and did a dedication to Whitney Houston with a part of “I Will Always Love You”, “I Can Only Imagine” (this was especially beautiful, IMO) and a praise and worship song called “How Great is My God?” with a return to ICOI.  Another stand out performance for me was “Crazy Not To” which Danny sang accompanied only by an acoustic guitar. Very pretty. Danny also sang “Gimme a Kiss”, “Second Hand Heart” and closed with “Trouble”, “Life is a Highway” and “Living on a Prayer”.  I may have missed something in there, but it was a good length show with all of the songs from MBD except “Life on Ya”.

Danny had his tour and SHF merchandise for sale and he told the crowd he would stay and autograph and meet the fans.  There was a very long line after the show. He even let fans crouch down next to him at his signing table for photos.

Danny News:  The SHF video project seems to be moving forward with an Urban/Hip Hop version of “I Still Believe”. He mentioned they hope to have the video shoot at the end of March.  Danny also reported that he hopes to have his six song EP released by late April or Early May.

Final tidbit:  Fandom remains strong for Danny in Manitowoc, and Wisconsin as a whole. When Ed and I were checking into our hotel Saturday afternoon, the clerk asked if we were going to the Danny Gokey concert.  We said yes.  He proudly told us that Danny was staying at our hotel, LOL.  I really think that is not the info Danny expects new guests to be told, but don’t worry, no Danny sightings for us at the Holiday Inn.  But we did see two of the band members on our floor……

Also, I did break the rules (surprise, surprise.) I have exactly one concert photo included!

Danny Gokey has posted a set of photos from his recent appearance for the American Heart Association’s Nashville gala event. You can view them via Danny’s Facebook page here.  (photos via Donn Jones Photography)

and p.s. — while you’re on Facebook, if you haven’t yet done so please consider joining (“liking”) our IHDG Facebook page! It’s fun, it’s free, what could be better?   http://www.facebook.com/iheartdannygokey

Plus, Toni and Jan add a new adventure….

The second annual Danny Gokey Cruise to benefit Sophias Heart launched from Miami, Florida, on February 2nd through 7th. Some people have been inspired by Danny’s music.  Some have been inspired by his heartfelt story about overcoming the grief of losing his dear Sophia and using it as a catalyst to help others.  While my friend Toni has been inspired by both of these things, she’s also been inspired to…..

Try zip-lining.  Yup.  Toni and I take on ziplining over the treetops in Cozumel!

But back to Cruisin’ on the Second Annual Cruise for Sophia’s Heart.

Danny and his guest, Matt Giraud, entertained about a hundred die-hard Gokey fans aboard the Carnival Cruise Line’s Destiny to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico.

There were lots of great events available:  Formal Night Meet and Greets with Photos, Private Serenades with the Artists, Dinners with Danny (for just two additional guests per night),  a Super Bowl Party, Danny items to bid on, front row seats at the concerts AND a chance to shake it with Danny on the dance floor!  And three concerts:  Matt’s, Danny’s and a Matt and Danny combo! (With Brandon Fraley, too!)

The first concert featured Matt Giraud.  Danny introduced his lovely new bride, Leyicet.  They seriously were on their honeymoon with us.  (I don’t know how she agreed to that, but let me tell you, I wouldn’t have let Ed take me and 90 other women on our honeymoon, LOL!)  Matt put on a great performance, Danny told us that he would be filling us in on his music at his solo concert on Friday and then it was time for dinner and exploring the cruise ship‘s entertainments.

On Friday morning we were able to go ashore at Key West. Some of the other ihearties and I strolled up to Ernest Hemingway’s house.  Other than his writing and his four wives, what is he famous for?  Yup, cats with 6 toes.  See picture….

When we returned to the boat, it was soon time for Danny’s solo concert.  I had bid for a front row seat (Yeah!)  Danny had said he would answer questions, so I pulled out my list. (Anybody surprised by this?) The ladies next to me probably thought I was a bit OTT— but I was not going to end up unprepared!

Someone started the questions by asking about whether he had a new music label deal?  Danny explained that he did have labels interested in him, but that he wanted to take his time and make sure it was a good fit.  And that the label would let his soulful voice out. He said that on MBD, he was sent home to rest his voice if it was too gravelly…. He talked about the advantages that a label brings to the making of an album, but that you do lose control to others.  He also talked about wanting to support Sophia’s Heart, but balancing it with his music career.  Frankly, he did confuse me at times.  But when I had a chance, I asked him three separate questions:  What genre would he be following:  He said he would be soulful country, but that he would have lots of other influences.  I asked about the song he cut with Ma$e.  He said it would be on Ma$e’s next album.  I asked how he was going to combat the Idol “fade” that often occurs?  He said he felt that using social media was the way the music business was going and he would fully utilize it.

Danny sounded confident.  BUT…. Some of us were still thinking that the second CD that was originally announced to come out at the end of 2011 ….And we wanted something more definite.  After the concert it was time to get ready for formal night in the dining room.  A few of us got “decked out” and met the photographer for pictures with Danny (black jacket) before dinner .

Saturday we got to sleep in and we arrived in Cozumel at 1PM. Do you remember Danny talking about going zip lining in skinny jeans back in Wisconsin around Thanksgiving?  Well, I think that inspired Toni.  (Not the skinny jeans, the zip lining….) She decided we needed to try zip lining!  Now, I am not afraid of heights, and generally feel that I am not going to die until I’m 95.  (Unless a bus takes me out when I’m jaywalking…).  Toni, on the other hand, hated crossing a rope bridge when we were over the Royal Gorge in Colorado.  But she was ready for this adventure.  So zip line we did! I think I may have been the oldest person getting harnessed up to fly the line 40 feet in the air— but hey, I’ll never be younger .

Sunday was going to be a jam packed day.  Matt and Danny’s concert was to start at 1 PM!  Food and drinks were provided as Danny, Matt and Brandon entertained us with their great sense of humor, solo songs and duets.  Check out the great videos.  Danny announced at the concert that he would be putting out an EP by late April– Big applause for the crowd hungry for new music from him!  And to top it off?  Danny and Matt threw in some table dancing AND Danny announced that he was honoring fan requests for a “dollar” dance with him before the full group Meet and Greets.  What a great opportunity to jump on the stage and do a slow or fast dance with Danny.  And some of us were fortunate enough to get to do a few spins with Brandon, too!  (An added bonus? Brandon talked a little more about the EP they would be working on and indicated it would be “country”.)

My finale event was for 16 of us to join Danny for a private Superbowl party in the Piano Bar.  Now, nothing will substitute for a Superbowl featuring my fave team, the Green Bay Packers, but we were treated to a mini DJG halftime show.  And it was so sweet when Danny called Amanda up to play and sing “What Hurts the Most” with him. Awww…. Finally, Nancy broke out some champagne and we toasted Danny and Leyicet to many, many happy years of marriage.

And another DJG Cruise came to an end, too soon.  But I have to say:

“Danny, if you ever decide to try sky diving, will you give me a heads up first?  I have to condition my heart for Toni’s next inspiration………”

Thanks to iheart contributor Darla for her photos from the recent Danny Gokey concert cruise for Sophia’s Heart, featuring Matt Giraud.

View Darla’s full slideshow gallery here.

Thanks Darla!

Lori and Toni posted videos from the same show. Check them out below.

Thanks, ladies!

Like That’s A Bad Thing

O Holy Night

Be Somebody

Get Away

T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

What Hurts The Most

Livin’ On A Prayer

My Best Days Are Ahead Of Me / Life Is A Highway

Second Hand Heart

Crazy Not To

View the entire collection here.

Thanks to iheart contributor Darla for her photos from Friday’s Danny Gokey headlining show near Tampa Bay FL.

You can check them out here.

Tampa Bay area country radio station WQYK has posted a photo gallery from last evening’s Danny Gokey concert.

You can view it here.

Danny Gokey stopped by the Cledus and Dave morning show to talk about his show tonight, jet skiing, and more.

Click HERE to go to 99.5 WQYK‘s website and listen to the interview. Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery as well!