THE Gospel Music version of the Ghana @ 50 celebrations hit the Catholic Social Centre at Bolgatanga at the weekend and swept some high profile personalities including the Regional Minister, Mr. Boniface Gambila, off their feet to dance the night away. The venue was filled to capacity as the performers; mostly artistes based in northern Ghana thrilled the audience to danceable tunes. Artistes who performed on the night included Helen Abeong, Elijah Arthur, Collins Nabaare, Emmanuel Ayire and Martha Fuseini. The rest were Baba Blankson, Mary Amaana, Christiana Ekuban, Francis Obey, Cecelia Atinga, Felicia Adangabe and Modekaaaya. Impressed by what she saw, the Upper East Regional Chairperson of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Mrs. Martha Fuseini Atongo, called on producers and event organizers in the northern sector to use musicians from the north when organizing events rather than transporting musicians from the south. The show was organized in conjunction with the Upper East Regional Planning Committee of the Ghana@50 as part of programmes outlined for Ghana‘s Golden Jubilee celebration. She noted that apart from helping to develop such home-based talents, it would also enable the union to have a say and communicate with their national office when things go wrong with such shows. Saturday’s Gospelfest was a follow-up to the religious choral music festival organized by the Salt and Light Ministry held on January 12, 2007 and saw a marked improvement in terms of audience participation and artistes’ performance. The regional MUSIGA chairperson observed that music is a powerful weapon for spreading information at a fast rate and performing various actions spontaneously. She noted that music serves as a source of entertainment during public functions and social gatherings such as funerals, weddings, parties, chop bars and drinking bars. Daily Guide