Gospel singer CeCe Winans has a new album out and Generations Live event in May

Gospel powerhouse CeCe Winans is in the middle of her The Goodness Tour, is set to release her next album, "More Than This," on Friday, and is gearing up for her third annual Generations Live 2024 conference, being held in May at Nashville's Curb Event Center.

We caught up with the Nashvillian on a rare day at home, before she headed back out on the road.

"This tour has been awesome," she told The Tennessean. "People are really responding to the songs we are sharing on tour. I think people are going to love this record. We picked some powerful songs."

Songs that were recorded live at Nashville's Rocketown in front of an audience of worship teams. You can't get a much more enthusiastic audience than that.

"We invited worship teams from different churches, so when you hear the singing, ... I am telling you. That whole place came alive," she said. "They were completely uninhibited and it was a powerful night to be a part of. We captured what was in the room, which was a little bit of heaven on Earth."

Winans sees pros and cons to recording live

"More Than This" is Winans' second album that was recorded live and includes 13 tracks, some cover songs as well as a few new tunes. So does she enjoy capturing the energy on a live recording or a studio setting more?

There's benefits to both, she said.

"When it comes to recording, I love being in the studio," she said. "There's nobody there. You can do it over and over. You can listen to it, live with it and change it if you want. When you record live, you are going to capture some magical moments for sure. But a recording you are going to hear over and over again, I like to dwell on it a little bit, and in a live recording you can't do that. There's nothing like performing live, but to me, I enjoy the process of recording."

How does Winans select a song to record? It has to move her

When culling through songs to consider recording, Winans asks herself "is it relevant and is it going to deposit hope?"

"I pick songs that really touch my heart," she said. "I've found over the years when I stick with that, I'm able to deliver the song in a way that if it touches my heart, I can touch others with it. The message of the song is so important."

It's a process that has proved extremely successful for the singer, who is also known for recording and touring with her brothers as the Winans as well as with her brother BeBe Winans.

CeCe Winans has earned the title of best-selling and most-awarded female gospel artist of all time with her 15 Grammy Awards, 27 Dove Awards and 16 Stellar Awards.

Generations Live 2024 set for May in Nashville

Winans describes her annual Generations Live event as a place for "you, your mom and your grandmother" just in time for Mother's Day.

"It's all generations coming together and celebrating life," she said. "It's a healing event, which is something the world needs. I'm honored to be able to host something that will bring life to people."

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Speakers slated for the event include Joyce Meyer, Jackie Hill Perry, Anita Phillips, Sheryl Brady, Ashley Phillips, Andrea Mellini and Mom Winans.

The event is being held May 10-11 at the Curb Event Center in Nashville. The third year for the event, it's the first time she will more than double the capacity, from 1,500 seats to 4,000 seats, after moving from Bethel World Outreach in Nashville.

"We're taking a leap of faith to move to Curb," she said. "It's a jump. But we are at the halfway point now with ticket sales, which is already more tickets than we sold last year. Even though I'm on stage for a few things, when I sit down I just get poured into. It's an awesome event."

For more information on the conference, visit generationsliveconference.com. For more information on the tour and new music, visit cecewinans.com.

If you go:

What: Generations Live 2024

Where: Curb Event Center, 2002 Belmont Blvd., Nashville

When: May 10-11

Tickets: generationsliveconference.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville music: CeCe Winans releases live album 'More Than This'