Heavenly Echoes Gospel Band Enters the Hall of Fame

For more than half a century, the Capital Region ensemble has uplifted audiences through faith, harmony, and community.

For more than half a century, the Heavenly Echoes Gospel Band has been a constant, uplifting presence in the Capital Region — carrying the sound of gospel tradition from church basements to public stages, and from one generation to the next. Their induction into the 2026 Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame class recognizes not only musical excellence, but a legacy built on faith, longevity, and deep community connection.

Founded in the mid-1960s by James Edmonds, the Heavenly Echoes were conceived as a gospel group rooted in tradition but open to everyone. The ensemble drew members from different churches and neighborhoods, creating a musical family bound not by institution, but by shared purpose. As longtime member Joe Abbey explains, the group was always meant to be inclusive: “Men from different churches… not affiliated with any particular church, but welcome everywhere.”

That openness helped the band endure. Over decades, the lineup evolved, but the mission remained intact. James Carr, who joined around 1965, embodies that continuity. “I think I joined about 1965… and I’m still holding on at 83 years of age.” His presence connects the group’s earliest years to its present day.

For newer members, joining Heavenly Echoes meant stepping into a living tradition. Abbey recalls first being invited not to a formal audition, but to what turned out to be an anniversary celebration of the band’s founding. “He said, ‘If you promise to show up on Tuesdays, then we’re happy to have you,’” Abbey remembers. “It started right then… and it still is an honor.”

That sense of honor is echoed throughout the group. Hayes Coleman, who joined in the late 90s and has sung gospel nearly his entire life, describes the band not just as colleagues, but as family. “We’re all friends… we almost like brothers,” he says, tracing relationships that stretch back decades and across families in Albany. “I’ve been knowing some of these families since I was a teenager.”

The band’s longevity is sustained by mentorship and passing knowledge forward. Decky Lawson, a lead singer and drummer, speaks openly about what the group has meant to him personally, “Heavenly Echoes — it’s a mentor thing for me. Learning from guys I watched when I was younger.” He notes that the songs themselves carry history. “We’re still singing songs that were sung before I even got in the group, and those songs are still touching people.”

That connection to people — audiences, neighborhoods, history — is central to the band’s identity. The Heavenly Echoes have performed at churches, Juneteenth celebrations, cultural institutions like the Tang Teaching Museum, and community events across the Capital Region.

For guitarist Earl Carnegie, who has been with the band for more than 35 years and is the founder’s nephew, the responsibility of carrying the group forward is deeply personal. “From that day forward, I’ve been one of the Heavenly Echoes ever since,” he says. Looking ahead, he adds, “One of my prayers is that it will continue going on after I leave this earth.”

That sense of stewardship gives special weight to the band’s Hall of Fame induction. For many members, the honor came as a surprise. “Are you serious?” Coleman recalls thinking. “That’s something you will take with you to your grave.” Lawson describes the recognition as affirming years of dedication, “What we do is not in vain. Our music is really appreciated and needed.”

Carr reflects on the journey simply and powerfully, “That’s a big honor. Think of all what we went through to get to this point.”

In welcoming the Heavenly Echoes into the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame, the community honors more than a band. It honors decades of faith-driven music, intergenerational mentorship, and a group that has never stopped showing up — singing with the same conviction whether for five people or five hundred. As Abbey puts it, the recognition validates “not just a style of music, but a community of people and a history of people.”

After all these years, the Heavenly Echoes remain what they have always been: a living testament to gospel music’s power to endure, connect, and uplift — for the long haul.

The inductee ceremony 7 p.m. Monday, March 23 is open to the public and includes musical performances, a social hour, videos on the musical career of each inductee and acceptance speeches. Tickets are on sale now through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at (518) 346-6204 from 12-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday or online by visiting atuph.org.

Universal Preservation Hall and Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame are part of Proctors Collaborative. For more information on the Hall of Fame visit theeddiesawards.com.