Danny Gokey brings message of hope to Tivoli

If anyone is entitled to speak about battling tragedy and overcoming adversity, it's Danny Gokey.

Fans who followed him on Season 8 of "American Idol" know his high-school sweetheart, who became his wife, died just a month before he auditioned for the reality show. In his backstory, he explained she had encouraged him to audition, he had promised her he would and did so in her memory. His story transfixed viewers, as well as inspiring them.

He's had his ups and downs - while album "Rise" reached No. 1 and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Contemporary Christian Music category, he was battling depression in his personal life. But those experiences led him to the discovery that God had a message for him to deliver. He has remarried and has three children. His passion has become encouraging people who, like him, have felt times of hopelessness.

Now he's got his first headlining tour, Hope Encounter, with Tauren Wells and Riley Clemmons. Wells recently won four Dove Awards at the Gospel Music Association's 49th annual awards ceremony, including New Artist of the Year and Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year.

Q: What made you decide to move on to Christian music after starting a career in country and even being nominated for an American Country Award?

Randy Travis was the one who told me to do country. I listened to country growing up, but at the time it just didn't work for me. Sometimes, even though you hit a wrong turn, it doesn't mean it's over. God moved me to where I was supposed to be. It was a process. We choose a door, and sometimes God just has to re-route us.

Q: The music on "Rise" gave hope to listeners and showed there was more to life. Now you have "The Hope Encounter" album. In your travels, you must be seeing a lot of people looking for hope, wanting to hear something positive.

Without a doubt. I've had to make tough choices. So coming through loss and dealing with different issues, I gravitated to that music because it was the music I needed. I needed that inspiration, that hand up.

I think right now people are feeling hopeless. Turn on the news. Or, they may be experiencing things in their personal lives that drain them. At the end of my shows, people often say, "I needed that tonight."

Q: In an interview with Mandisa last year before your tour with her stopped in Chattanooga, she said she reached out to you after listening to "Rise." She said at that time she was battling depression, and she believed she heard similar thoughts on your album. Was that the situation?

That was the situation. I think it's one of those things where, when you get out and talk about it, you realize more people are dealing with depression than you thought. That's why we need each other, need encouragement and hope.

Q: For fans who saw last year's tour with Mandisa, how is "Hope Encounter" tour different?

It's a totally different experience. The production, everything, is nothing like last year. And it's a different message. Each time I come out on the road, the message I feel like sharing changes. I have something new God has given me.

Q: So in what way is it different?

I wanted it to be really entertaining. I wanted people to feel like they were able to relax at a show, dance, feel free. I want people to encounter the God of all hope, so when they walk away from the show they think, "I can overcome this. This negative circumstance doesn't define me. This season of life will pass."

There is a lot of music, and I pick my points to talk. There are a few things on my heart I share, issues I've been dealing with. There was a pastor who committed suicide recently in California. It [involved] mental health issues, and I've dealt with those. But a lot of times, when you've been raised in church, you feel like you can't really discuss that. I share my battles in hope people will get out and find help for their secret battles.

Q: What's next?

I am working on new music, actively recording and writing new music. I'll have new music out next year, probably January. Not an entire album, but a new single out to radio.

I'm working on Better Than I Found It, which is my new nonprofit. You can find it online at betterthanIfoundit.org.

I am using TV to go out and find people doing great things in their communities. I use to run a nonprofit in honor of my first wife. We rescued homeless families, but couldn't keep the funding up.

That experience helped me transition to this nonprofit. In each city [where the tour stops] we've been having a Better Than I Found It contest, where we honor someone in that community. At [Sunday's] show, we will recognize someone there.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.