CeCe set to shine at the Lutcher

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  • Cece Winans
    Cece Winans
  • Cece Winans
    Cece Winans
  • Cece Winans
    Cece Winans
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By Chad Cooper
Entertainment Editor

With a staggering resume that features 12 Grammy Awards, 20 Dove Awards, seven Steller Awards as well as enshrinement into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the Nashville Music City Walk of Fame, CeCe Winans is one of the most accomplished female gospel artists of all time. The trailblazer, who has influenced a generation of gospel and secular vocalists over the course of her astonishing career, will perform at the Lutcher Theater on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased online at lutcher.org or the Lutcher Theater box office at 707 Main Ave. in downtown Orange.

“The Lutcher Theater is profoundly honored to have the opportunity to present the ‘best-selling female gospel artist of all time,’ CeCe Winans,” said Lynae Sanford, managing director of the Lutcher Theater. “She is an incredible artist and a wonderful person and we look forward to starting the New Year with her beautiful music and an evening of refreshment and renewal. The response to this engagement has been amazing, as the performance is projected to be a ‘sellout.’ We’re excited to have patrons from all over Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana join us to begin 2022 with CeCe.”

Winans, 57, has sold more than 19 million albums and has repeatedly topped the “Billboard” Gospel charts with hits like “Alabaster Box,” “Thy Kingdom Come,” “Goodness of God,” “Waging War,” “I Surrender All,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” “Never Have to be Alone” and “Count on Me,” which was her stunning duet with the late Whitney Houston from the multi-platinum “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack.

It would be easy to look back and rest on such illustrious laurels, but Winans has always had her eyes fixed firmly on the future, so it should come as little surprise that she jumped at the opportunity when her son, Alvin Love III, proposed she record the generation-bridging the 2017 album, “Let Them Fall in Love.” Her first in nearly a decade, the record found Winans returning to the studio with gusto, working for roughly three years to craft her most confident, adventurous collection yet.

“That was the first song for this album and I knew right away that I wanted the record to be named ‘Let Them Fall In Love,’” said Winans. “I told my son that it had to be the heartbeat of the album. There’s a lot of different styles and a lot of strong messages on there, but all of them are to bring us to this point. It’s why I came back and recorded another album, to express my heart and my desire that people young and old can listen and fall in love with the higher power, fall in love with love, and fall in love with faith and joy and peace.” 

Just last year, Winans recorded her first non-holiday album in four years, “Believe For It,” which was recorded live with 12 songs including “King of Glory,” “Hunger,” “No Greater,” “Worthy of it All” as well as the title track, “Believe For It.”

Over the last two years, Winans helped guide her church, Nashville Life Church, through a pandemic and found time to help fellow artist Carrie Underwood release a gospel album, “My Savior,” and duet with her on the classic hymn “Great is They Faithfulness.”

For those attending the Winans’ show, the Lutcher is putting their patron’s health at center stage and have taken enhanced safety measures for guests, volunteers, cast members, tech crews and staff.

According to Lutcher.org website, they strongly discourage anyone unvaccinated from attending a show and recommend everyone wear a mask, regardless of vaccination status.

For detailed information, call (409) 886-5535.