Local gospel artist garnering international attention in Nashville

Hazel Kinder, owner of Hazel Kinder's Lighthouse Theater near Millersburg, will be participating in "Experience Music and Fashion" June 6, a country and gospel event at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville.
Hazel Kinder, owner of Hazel Kinder's Lighthouse Theater near Millersburg, will be participating in "Experience Music and Fashion" June 6, a country and gospel event at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville.

When Hazel Kinder built Callaway's Lighthouse Theater and penned her album "Divine Weaver - a Tapestry of Songs," she likely didn't realize they would lead to her playing a huge crowd at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville.

The singer-songwriter will be doing just that June 6 as part of Dreamwest Magazine/TV's "Experience Music and Fashion" event.

Dreamwest is a country music and lifestyle publication touting a circulation of 65,000 subscribers - quite an impressive feat, considering it is based out of Paris, France. The "Experience Music and Fashion" event will launch the magazine's online English version, and also will raise funds for the "I'll Fly Away Foundation," formed to bring music education and preservation to U.S. schools.

In addition to performances by major acts such as Phil Vassar, "Experience Music and Fashion" will feature performances of more than 20 independent or regional country and gospel musicians. Kinder was called to be among them, where she will play two of her songs for the crowd.

"I was pretty surprised at first," she said. "I still don't know what's going to happen with all of it, but I feel like this is like the coolest thing that could ever happen.

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.