House of Blues: Sunday Gospel Brunch
By: Kim MillerMay 15, 2018On a beautiful Sunday morning in late November, my husband and I boarded a Disney bus bound for Disney Springs to attend the Sunday Gospel Brunch at House of Blues (hereafter referred to as HOB). The Sunday Gospel Brunch takes place on most Sundays throughout the year at 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. We reserved a 2-person pub table on the stage level, our reservations were for the 1:00 p.m. show (advanced reservations are recommended and I would be happy to make those for you. Visit this site for more information and a preview of the show: http://www.houseofblues.com/orlando/gospelbrunch. After picking up our pre-paid tickets at the HOB ticket booth, we got in the cue line outside the concert venue building, which is separate from the HOB restaurant. While in line, we were entertained with some preview gospel music by the Gospel Brunch backup singers, which got us in the mood for the show.
The doors to the HOB concert venue opened promptly at 1:00 p.m. and a hostess showed us to our table. We were told to help ourselves to the brunch, which we immediately did! It would be an understatement to say that there was a wide variety of food available to us hungry patrons. The buffet seemed to go on forever and included breakfast items such as eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and potatoes, along with fruit and pasta salads, peel-and-eat shrimp, mac & cheese, jambalaya, red beans and rice, barbeque chicken, fish, and vegetables. In addition, there were separate stations for made-to-order omelets, chicken and waffles, carved ham and roast beef, and desserts, including cookies, cakes, pecan pie, and the world famous HOB white chocolate banana bread pudding. Simply stated, the food was outstanding, and worth the price of admission by itself. But part two of our experience was yet to come.
After stuffing ourselves (it couldn’t be helped with all that yummy food!), the gospel music began. Our hostess kicked off the concert by stating that we would be having church on this fine afternoon at HOB. She then introduced the featured gospel music artist Carla Martin (it must be stated here that on this occasion and another visit by my husband the previous month, the advertised gospel artist was not featured - no disrespect to Ms. Martin, but I wanted to point this out in the interest of full disclosure). For the next 30-40 minutes, we were treated to superb gospel music from Ms. Martin and the outstanding backup singers and house band. Audience participation was encouraged and we found ourselves clapping our hands and singing along to the upbeat, God-honoring music. Following the short concert, our hostess returned to the stage and asked the audience if anyone was celebrating a birthday and/or anniversary. Upon identifying themselves, these audience members were invited onstage for the final portion of the show. This involved three members of the audience who volunteered to sing a snippet of Fred Hammond’s “The Spirit of David” for the audience. After listening to each rendition, the remaining audience members voted on which volunteer did the best job (the winner received a mystery bag full of HOB merchandise). We left the venue full and blessed to continue our day at WDW.We highly recommend experiencing the HOB Sunday Gospel Brunch at least once if you find yourself at WDW on a Sunday and looking for a great meal and uplifting experience. If you would like more information on a vacation to Disney please email me or contact me through my Facebook page. Let me know if you would like to add this fabulous & delicious brunch to your vacation!