Five gospel music industry veterans will be honoured at this year’s staging of the Sterling Gospel Music Awards.

The event, which is now in its 9th staging, will be held on Saturday, October 4 at Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Portmore, St Catherine.

Bishops Herro Blair, Everton Thompson, Rohan Edwards, and Delford Davis will be bestowed with the prestigious KFC Big Deal ‘Kingdom Stalwarts’ Awards. Bishop Ronald Blair will be honoured posthumously.

In an interview with the Jamaica Observer at the launch of the 2025 Sterling Gospel Music Awards on Thursday night at R Hotel in New Kingston, marketing manager for Restaurants of Jamaica – KFC, Andrei Roper said the KFC Big Deal ‘Kingdom Stalwarts’ Awards were truly important.

“Those awards are special to us, because we’re paying special tribute to those persons who have dedicated, in many instances, a lifetime to the gospel industry, and we want to give them their flowers, most of them while they are still around. Gospel music is a big deal, these icons are a big deal, and Sterling is a big deal,” said Roper.

This is KFC’s 9th year partnering with the event and the company plans to amplify its presence with the event by giving away tickets to fans on its social media platforms.

Gospel artiste Johnmark Wiggan leads the nominees in this year’s awards with eight nominations. Sebastian Braham and Prince Saj are tied with four nominations each, while Kevin Downswell and Petra Kaye each secured three nominations.

The event is being held under the theme ‘African Elegance’ and will also feature a Red-Carpet Glam Cam, elite food stations, dynamic performances, and collaborations from leading gospel artistes, as well as celebrity presenters and surprise awards, a release from the organisers stated.