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 What happens when you have four of the hottest acts in Gospel today sharing the same stage? You get an experience that is one for the ages.  Such is true for perhaps the most aptly named tour title in recent memory, The Gospel Evolution Tour. This exciting tour is crossing the nation at an amazing pace, bringing the Word and poking power-filled holes in the face of the enemy. Featuring Tonéx, Men of Standard, Trin-i-tee 5:7 and Ray Bady, the crew is stopping through churches across the nation and bringing their new school praise parties to a young person near you.The Norfolk, Virginia show began with all of the talents joining forces to rock "You" from P. Diddy's elusive but forthcoming Gospel project. From that energetic number, it became clear that it was going to be a praise party the likes of which we hadn't seen before. Ray Bady picked things up from there with a hype live set. Backed by his brother, musical director and musician extraordinaire Percy Bady and his crew, the GospoCentric artist embarked on a tight journey that featured an effective pairing between he and his son Lil' J as they represented on "Living This Kind Of Life". Bady kept the party going with a take on the secular tune "Siesta", taking the party to the next level with the reggae-flavored cut. He then proceeded to give his testimony to the hyped audience and explained the importance of purpose and following the will of God. This theme was shared by all of the artists who demonstrated how to make an urban party ministry-driven.  Bady also teamed with his award-winning brother on the powerful cut "Keep on Believing" and ended his set with "Mercy, Mercy Me", which features samples of Marvin Gaye's song of the same name and finishes segments of the ever-popular "Grace and Mercy", originally performed by Commissioned alumnus Marvin Sapp.The party went to a whole new level of intensity as Tonéx came to the stage rockin' "Dancin' In the Son". Backed by an awesome group of background singers which included Ms. Tonéx (Yvette Williams), Tonéx simply wrecked the show. It's truly hard to fully describe Tonéx in concert. Let's just say that his album really doesn't do him justice as he seems totally at home with a live audience. Mixing impeccable dance steps and crafty vocal stylings, Tonéx had the audience in the palm of his hands. He transitioned effortlessly from his opening song to "Personal Jesus", and then to "Why". Here, he took a seat at the Rhodes and remixed the song with samples of "Raindance" (made popular recently by Lil' Kim). While he played, Ms. Tonéx emerged from the background with vocal riffs that showed exactly why she is Ms. Tonéx. As Tonéx returned to the lead vocal role, he showed his amazing vocal versatility as he began to sing "Why" to the "Odd Couple" theme as only Tonéx could. After all of this, he transitioned to "Restoration" which ushered in the powerful anointing of God. Tonéx took time to minister to those who needed deliverance and even laid hands and took the audience straight to church. He closed his set with "God Has Not 4Got" and a word of encouragement admonishing young people to dare to be different.  After a brief intermission, the party resumed with the smooth vocals of Men of Standard. These four brothers brought the praise with the super strong urban cuts "Nothing Like Heaven" and "Feels Like Rain". While the original studio cuts seemed quite complex, they made the live versions even more intense with awesome arrangements of both songs which made you crave for a live album from the quartet.From there, the group reworked "Victory" into a slow, hard-itting jam (if you can imagine that). Men of Standard livened the party up some more with "Gotta Grip" and "Count It All Joy" from their latest release. In the drive of "Count It All Joy", they incorporated samples of Michael Jackson's "Untouchable" which sent the crowd into a frenzy. MOS then slowed it down and took us down memory lane as they revisited their debut project with "Winter" and the powerful "Trust in God", before closing the set with "In Your Will", which led the audience into another awesome period of praise and worship. The night closed with the ladies of Trin-i-tee 5:7 who took the stage with "Put Your Hands", which kept the crowd hyped and ready for more. The trio then moved to "People Get Ready" and "Lord", which was a crowd favorite. Throughout their presentation, Adrian Anderson exhorted the audience and encouraged them to live saved and share the love of Christ with all whom they would encounter.  Perhaps the surprise of the night came from Trin-i-tee as they offered a song which they lovingly referred to as the "Grandmother Medley", featuring each member singing hymns that their grandmother would sing.Chanelle Haynes offered "He Was There" followed by Adrian Anderson's touching rendition of "Amazing Grace". The medley ended with Angel Taylor's smooth rendition of "God Has Smiled On Me" and ended with the group joining together in sweet three-part harmony to close the set. They closed the concert with "God's Grace" and their latest hit "Holla". The tour is being advertised as what Gospel has evolved to. If this is indeed the case, then Gospel music is in great hands. It was a night of celebration and ministry. Who can ask for anything more....except for maybe a live recording of the tour…?! Some photos from the concert are presented below:      
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