Gospel Singer Dies While Performing in Florida: Report

Preacher and gospel singer Shawn Jones reportedly collapsed and died while singing on stage in Pensacola, Florida, on Friday, Nov. 24.

Kenneth Woodson, manager of The Event Center where the performance took place, told the Christian Post that Jones was on stage for 10 to 15 minutes before he collapsed.

“This fellow was blowing. It had a little jazzy feel to it and this was my first time hearing him but I was very impressed. I said, ‘Wow, this is gonna be nice. I can’t wait to hear some more music from this guy and his band.’ They were tight,” Woodson said. “I guess the young man got hot. He took some water and he drank some more water [for a second time], sat down and was speaking and he passed out.”

According to his Facebook page, Shawn Jones & The Believers, Jones arrived in Penascola to perform with his quartet on Nov. 18. The next day, the page posted: “Gone too soon. Rest in Peace.”

On social media and YouTube, concertgoers and witnesses said he died while performing.

“[He] had a massive heart attack while performing with the group”, wrote one YouTube commenter who said they attended the concert. “He took a step back after the song and collapsed [sic] on stage due to heart attack [sic],” wrote another.

According to a commenter on The Old Black Church blog, who claimed to be a cousin of one of Jones’s bandmates, Jones suffered a “massive heart attack, due to blood clot.”

“He had suffered a blood clot about 8 months ago. But he pulled through and kept singing, even after Dr. warned him to stop. He replied to Dr. if I got to die, I want [sic] to die singing and preaching. And, he did. RIP Shawn Jones, and sing on.”

Last November, Jones posted a photo of himself in what looks like a treatment facility, but didn’t indicate where he was or why he was there. “Down one day... right back up the next day!”, he wrote.

“It was always what he wanted to do. It wasn’t a job. It was his passion. He was driven and he was driven by his passion and wanted to reach as many people as he could. So I think it was his drive that kept him going,” Jones’ cousin, Brandy Lee-Harris, told The Christian Post.

A legacy website set up after his death says he was born in 1985, making him 31 or 32.

The band’s website says they are based out of Rockford, Alabama.

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