One of the top 14 contestants in the current American Idol season is set to perform in Aiken later this year. 

“You’re not going to believe who I booked to sing at this year’s Shoutfest…,” Umoja Village co-founder Donna Wesby posted on Facebook. “Only three people know. Now, you do! Yep, it’s American Idol contestant Jamal Roberts!”

Shoutfest is a free gospel concert held in the CSRA, and the signature event of Umoja Village’s Unity Weekend which is held every fall.

Umoja Village is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing about positive change through unification of underserved populations. Its name derives from the Swahili word for unity. 

Wesby said she found Roberts’s Instagram and Facebook pages years ago. 

“I grew up singing primarily gospel,” Wesby said. “My whole family sings gospel music. So of course I have an affinity for gospel.” 

Roberts is a physical education teacher in Mississippi who often sings gospel songs from his car, Wesby continued. 

“If you go on his profile… you will also see he grew up in the church,” Wesby added. “His voice is incredible.” 

Wesby said she saw Roberts’s initial American Idol audition and decided he’d be perfect for Shoutfest. 

“If you look at the responses he has gotten, it’s from everybody — every ethnicity, every age — he connects all the dots,” Wesby said. “And that’s what Unity Weekend is all about: to do as best as we can to bring people together to focus on the the common good of love of God, of family, of fellowship.” 

She called it divinely orchestrated to get Roberts for Shoutfest. 

“Before I even made contact with his people, I prayed over it,” Wesby said. “I said God, if this is what you want me to do, then you give me the steps that I need to take and you make it a proper provision. And that’s what happened.” 

Wesby said she hopes Roberts and the other artists to perform at Shoutfest will help bring people to Aiken and the CSRA to visit and, if they like it, to live. 

“This is my home and I love my home and be able to bring attention to a place that I love… that matters to me,” Wesby added. 

Roberts will return to the American Idol stage Sunday, April 27. Viewers will cast ballots for the top 12 as the contestants perform songs live from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. American Idol’s 23rd season will conclude with a three-hour finale May 18. 

“I told his manager weeks ago that I believe he will win this year’s Idol,” Wesby said. 

Shoutfest is scheduled to take place Oct. 18. 

For more information about Shoutfest, visit umojavillage.com.