It’s not often that Trey McLaughlin and his Sounds of Zamar schedule performance dates close to home.
But this year, the group is embarking on its Zamar Experience tour that includes several dates in the Southeast, beginning Nov. 3 in Greenville, N.C.
“We do college and lyceum tours,” said McLaughlin, who wears many musical hats not limited to directing the Sounds of Zamar. He also directs Creative Impressions and the Paine College choir as well as being the worship director at Tabernacle Baptist Church. Plus, he’s a composer and arranger.
Read more: Paine College choir director comes full circle
McLaughlin and the Sounds of Zamar have performed with gospel greats such as William McDowell, Kierra “Kiki” Sheard, Brian Courtney Wilson, and James Fortune.
This tour represents a first though, said McLaughlin.
While he’s traveled internationally, he’s never been able to take the entire group out of the country with him until now.
In October, they traveled to Mexico for a workshop and concert.
“There were 6,000 people in the audience,” he said of the Guanajuato, Mexico event on Oct. 26.
Although many in the audience didn’t understand English, McLaughlin said it didn’t matter; the audience was engaged and connected through the music.
“It really does show that music breaks the language barrier,” he said. “It was life changing.”
From Greenville, N.C, the group travels to other cities in the Carolinas including Clemson, S.C. on Nov. 7, Newberry, S.C. Nov. 9 and Asheville, N.C. Nov. 11.
Many of the cities on this regional tour are places McLaughlin has never performed, and he said he’s excited about the adventure.
The fall portion of the tour ends in Virginia on Nov. 16, and McLaughlin will return to Augusta to make final preparations for holiday performances with his local groups.
McLaughlin said he’s recently added new music to his YouTube channel, where he has 334,000 subscribers, and his videos have been viewed millions of times.
He’ll pack his bags again in February 2024 and head to Canada, Michigan and Ohio with Sounds of Zamar. He’s also scheduled to travel to Ireland in March 2024.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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