The unique musical style, striking harmonies, and infectious praise that are the hallmark of acclaimed Brooklyn-based men's ensemble MANIFEST will be on full display at the group's upcoming concert, "An Evening of Praise with MANIFEST and Friends." The concert, hosted by New York's famed music personality and producer Ron Grant, will take place Friday, September 28, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. at Emmanuel Baptist Church (Rev. Anthony L. Trufant, Senior Pastor), 279 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (at St. James Place). The event is free and open to the public.

MANIFEST will perform songs from their debut album, Highest Praise (2011), as well as contemporary gospel favorites and new material-including the debut of a new song from renowned keyboardist, songwriter and producer Shedrick Mitchell.  The concert will also feature recording artist and Broadway/television actor Chaz Shepherd and singer/songwriter Nedelka Prescod.

MANIFEST is a men's ensemble with a repertoire that includes a range of original songs that span a number of musical genres from traditional gospel, to contemporary gospel, to jazz-infused inspirational songs, to holy hip hop. MANIFEST's inaugural CD, Highest Praise, debuted at #32 on Billboard's Gospel Albums chart, and was produced by renowned keyboardist Shedrick Mitchell, who has toured with and produced for artists ranging from Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston to Maxwell and Jay-Z. The song "One God," from the CD, is also featured on Maranatha! Gospel'sTop 25 Gospel Songs 2012 Edition. Under the direction of Jonathan P. Hicks, the group made its performance debut at the Triad Theater in New York City on February 4, 2011. Since then, MANIFEST has performed on Sirius XM's Praise station and at Radio One's Interactive One. They have been featured in four television specials aired by Trinity Broadcasting's JCTV's 15^th Street Live.  In addition, MANIFEST was among the featured artists participating in the nationally televised Global Day of Worship, along with Andraé Crouch, Le'Andria Johnson, and other top Christian and inspirational artists.  They also were featured performers on a new show that will be aired on the Word Network.  The group has ministered at churches, homeless shelters, community activities, and other events in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The group is currently in the studio working on a Christmas project. MANIFEST, who gospel chart-topping musician JJ Hairston has called "an amazing group," was featured in the April 30, 2012 issue of JET magazine in "Gospel Gold: The Acts You Should Know." They joined James Fortune and FIYA, Kierra Sheard, Le'Andria Johnson, Amber Bullock and JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise as JET's top picks of "spiritual singers who are taking their careers to new highs"  and headed for "superstardom."

Ron Grant is the host of the popular Ron Grant & Friends Open Mic Showcase at the Village Underground, held Sunday evenings at the New York City iconic jazz club.  He is a highly-successful and sought out record executive and producer.  He has also produced severalpopularmusic events and showcases over the past ten years at top New York City nightspots such as: The Blue Angel, Chas & Wilson's and Cheetah's.  An accomplished vocalist in his own right, Ron has toured internationally, recorded jingles for major companies such asAT&T, M&M, Pizza Hut and Frito Lay, and recorded background vocals for Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, BrianMcKnight, Teena Marie, The Temptations and The Notorious B.I.G. among many others. He has appeared on The Today Show,Bobby Jones Gospel and the Martin Luther King Jr. television special. Ron's passion for music is also exemplified in his work as the musical director and organist for the Church Of Christ Disciples and as a senior executive at Sony Music, where he is charged with the task of finding, nurturing and promoting new talent.

Chaz Shepherd was born in Philadelphia and began singing in church and at major events in the city. In 1993, at 15-years-old, he won $100,000 in the Star Search competition. However, he has made his name as an actor, appearing on Seventh Heaven, The Game, and Steve Harvey's Me and the Boys. He starred as Harpo with Fantasia, in the Broadway musical smash hit, Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple, and starred as Curtis Taylor in a national tour of Dreamgirls. In 2008 his debut CD project, The First One, was released by veteran songwriter/producer Precious King's PRK Group.  Chaz released his sophomore project, Love &Truth,in 2010 on his own independent label. A devout Christian, Chaz stays close to his church roots and has been featured on songs by gospel artists, including LaVal Belle and the West Angeles Mass Choir. Chaz is also featured on MANIFEST's upcoming Christmas project.

Nedelka Prescod's musical offerings include Manifest, which was her first CD project, independently released in 2008.  She has been featured on GRAMMY^® Award-winning saxophonist Kenny Garrett's two latest recording projects, one of which was GRAMMY^®-nominated. Nedelka performed background vocal work for Alicia Keys at the 2001 MTV Music Awards. She has worked as a session singer on various recordings of independent and major labels, performing house music with the likes of DJ Romain and Matt Keys (RoMatt). In 2010, she participated in the 8th Annual Panama Jazz Festival and she has toured Central America and the Caribbean with The Roy Prescod Chorale, as a member and soloist. In 2001, Nedelka formed the community youth-based choir, "Progression," allowing local youth to come together to share their experiences and release through song. Progression was a finalist in McDonald's Gospelfest 2003. Nedelka recently earned a master of music degree from the New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation graduate program. She currently is a member of the NEC faculty in that program.

RSVP to manifestsings@gmail.com