GospelFest 2026
Powered by Faith – United by Worship – Changed by Grace
Saturday 29th August 2026
12pm – 4pm
Gary Holland Hall, Rockingham
FREE ENTRY · All welcome
What Is GospelFest 2026
GospelFest is a multicultural Christian community festival bringing together faith, music, culture, food, performance and community.
It is proudly Christian in its foundation, but GospelFest was never created only for people who attend church.
Everyone is welcome.
You don’t have to be Christian. You don’t have to belong to a church. You don’t need to know anything about gospel music. You might come because you want to hear a band, watch a cultural performance, enjoy some food, bring the family out for the afternoon or simply see what GospelFest is about.
The intention is not to preach at people. It is to create a welcoming community environment where Christian values such as faith, hope, love, kindness, forgiveness and service can be experienced through the way people treat one another as much as through what happens on stage.
Musically, GospelFest is deliberately diverse. Gospel sits alongside hip-hop, R&B, reggae, country and worship music, while cultural performances bring together communities including Tokelau, Samoa, Māori, Cook Islands, Tonga, Indonesia, Italy, South Africa, Zimbabwe, China and Aboriginal artists and communities.
GospelFest is about churches coming out into the community rather than expecting the community to come into the church.
It Started with The Sound of a Drum
The story behind GospelFest goes back much further than the festival itself.
Dean Umu was 12 years old when he heard musicians playing inside a building. Drawn towards the sound of the drums, he walked inside without initially realising he had entered a church.
The song being played was Fear Not.
That moment in 1985 became the beginning of Dean’s Christian journey and a lifelong connection between faith, music and community.
Years later, during the 1990s, Dean helped run community events known as JAM — Jesus And Me. These weren’t conventional church services. They combined concerts, basketball, games, food, drama, dance, bands and community activities.
The principle behind JAM was simple: if you want to connect with people, sometimes you need to go to where the people are.
Decades later, GospelFest carries that philosophy forward.
What We Want You to Experience
For Dean and the WAKAA Inc. team, success isn’t measured simply by how many people walk through the gates.
GospelFest succeeds when people feel safe, relaxed, welcomed and that they belong.
We want families to spend time together. We want someone who has never attended a church to feel just as comfortable as someone who has attended one all their life. We want cultures to meet one another, young performers to be encouraged and established performers to share what they have learned.
If someone leaves GospelFest feeling happier, more hopeful, more connected or simply glad that they came, the festival has achieved something worthwhile.
Proudly supported by the City of Rockingham and local Rockingham businesses.
Want to perform, volunteer, run a stall, or bring your business on board?
GospelFest 2026 Lineup Highlights
Vitale Tionisio — Tokelau
JayJay — South Africa
Hilda Tendisa — Zimbabwe
Avram — Jewish
Moana — New Zealand
Lilly Gogos — Aboriginal
Grace Yi — Chinese
EMCF Inc — Cook Islands
Gio Roman — Italian
KCBI — Indonesian
Plus Cook Island drumming demonstrations, local church choirs, cultural speakers and a live DJ.
On the Day
Gates / bump-in from 9:00am
Sound check from 10:30am
Program: 12:00pm – 4:00pm
Food stalls: Jamaican, Indonesian, sausage sizzle and more, plus indigenous foods, arts and crafts
Family-friendly, all ages, no cost to attend
GospelFest Moments
A colourful gallery celebrating gospel music, dance, culture and community at GospelFest.
