LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chanson Calhoun’s dreams once dashed are now becoming a reality.
She first moved to California and then to Atlanta to pursue music, but tragedies threatened to derail those plans.
First, a car crash.
“If I didn't have on my seatbelt, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you,” she said to WHAS11’s Sherlene Shanklin.
Then, the death of her brother. He died of COVID-19 about a year and a half ago, and he would have been 32 years old this year she said.
But instead of giving up on her dream, she returned home more determined than ever to achieve it.
“I think God had other plans for me to bloom where I was planted in the first place, which is Kentucky,” Calhoun said.
Now she will do something she and her brother used to imagine; performing at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Aug. 4.
“This entire show is dedicated to him,” she said.
Calhoun said the concert will be a spiritual movement, a process. It’s a journey of hope.
“I've been so transparent because there's no other option left at this point. I put a prayer out there on social media in like, December of last year. And I said, ‘God, I leave my music and my music career to you,’” she said.
Calhoun’s music is designed to take you on a journey through the good news, heartbreaks and her testimony that so many will be able to relate too.
Her preshow will feature performances from her students at Young Stars Performance Academy and her choir at Elderserve Inc.
She doesn’t take life for granted and gave a word of encouragement for those going through something in their lives.
“To find hope in the smallest of smallest things, whether it's a word that someone has given you or some sort of just sign, I feel like God gives us little winks and blinks every now and then,” Calhoun said. “But if there's some sort of glimpse of hope, from another person, or from a movie or something that you can kind of hold on to, and just take one step, just one step can get you where you want to be.”
Tickets for Friday's performance are still available and can be found here.
►Contact WHAS11’s Sherlene Shanklin at sshanklin@whas11.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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