Having recently made its musical début as a featured act on gospel recording artiste and minister Kevin Downswell’s Midnight to Victory, released June 27, the gospel outfit Gilead Collective is looking forward to sharing the stage with Downswell during his set at the August 1 staging of the CeCe Winans More Than This concert.

The show, which will be held on the East Lawns, King’s House, will also feature Chevelle Franklyn, Prince Saj, Johnmark Wiggan, and others.

“We are incredibly excited because a lot of us in the group are huge CeCe fans, so this opportunity is like a dream. I’m not sure if we have woken up as yet,” Ramona Ricketts, one of the vocalists of Gilead Collective told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

Ricketts shared how the opportunity to perform with Downswell concert came about.

“Minister Downswell invited us to join him in his ministry for the show seeing that we collaborated with him on the song. We are really grateful for the opportunity, and we are also looking forward to the ministry and the worship,” Ricketts stated.

Gilead Collective, which was formed more than a year ago, comprises vocalists Ramona Ricketts, Ramario Ricketts, Gabrielle Palmer, Djimon Palmer, Brittania Henry, Jana-Lee Henry, Ashley Brown, Joraine Welsh, while the musicians include Aundrez Pusey, David Douse, Kevin Sterling, and Delano Patterson.

“A lot of things have happened in a short space of time. We got to sing with two international artistes. We did tributes for Goddy Goddy, Chevelle Franklin, and Junior Tucker at the Sterling Gospel Awards, and we also did background vocals for Donnie McClurkin at Realignment, a charity show put on by Kevin Downswell. It’s been a whirlwind of a year,” Ricketts disclosed.

Co-lead vocalist Ramario Ricketts said the group brings a lot to the table musically.

“I think, musically, Gilead brings intentionality and creativity when it comes to the composition of harmonies. I don’t think our sound is new, to be honest, but I think it’s just new to the Jamaican landscape. We ensure that supporting vocals, especially, carry a weight of excellence; a big part of that is developing a tone that Jamaica will never forget. I have always been onto defying the rubric of how harmonies should be sung in this landscape,” said Ramario.

More than just a ministry, Gilead embodies the spirit of its biblical namesake, offering restoration and renewal through song. They made their official début at Gilead 2024: Issues of the Heart — a worship experience held in April 2024 that marked the beginning of their public ministry. From that moment, Gilead has continued to minister across Jamaica, gracing various worship spaces, churches, and events, and consistently using their ministry to reach the lost, restore the broken, and revive the weary through the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

In May 2024 Gilead shared stages with international gospel artistes Todd Galberth and Phil Thompson at the Mindset Conference. They delivered soul-stirring performances that deeply impacted worshippers and affirmed their rising influence in gospel music.