Dressed in a sapphire blue African costume, Kelvin Luster joined the roughly 20 members of Holy Family Gospel Choir trekking up the stairs to perform Thursday night.

A Spring Pilgrimage season staple for 15 years, Southern Road to Freedom weaves gospel music and history to tell the story of black Natchez residents.

This is Luster’s first year to join the choir in the annual Southern Road to Freedom performance.

“This is my church,” Luster said. “I was born and baptized here, and I went to school here.”

And as part of the community, he attended performances as a youth. Now 24, Luster is the newest addition to the choir.

Since this is his senior year in college, his schedule was a little less demanding, so he joined the program.

“It’s like the music calls to you,” he said.

“And there are so many untold stories — the knowledge of what our people gave and their courage so I could be here to tell their stories.”

Luster isn’t the only change to this year’s performance, though.

The performance has been held for years at First Presbyterian Church. But this year, the performances have a new venue — Holy Family Catholic Church, the choir’s home church.

“It’s wonderful,” Director Alvin Shelby said.

“The acoustics are fantastic in that church. And because of its historical meaning, it’s nice to be in the presence of that particular place.”

The church and its founders played a big part in the history of Natchez, Shelby said. It even plays a part in the new, slightly revised performance.

“It’s nice to be there, knowing 100 or so years ago, somebody struggled to help them get this church built,” Shelby said. “That’s really cool.”

And while First Presbyterian might have had more elbowroom for the audience, Holy Family has a good atmosphere, Shelby said.

“It’s a small church, but the ambiance is conducive to a great concert,” he said. “And you need very little amplification to be heard.”

The choir consists of veterans and newcomers to the Southern Road program. The mix makes for great dynamics, Shelby said.

“The older people are seasoned and they really know the material,” he said. “The younger people, it’s wonderful watching their energy. I just love watching the contrast. When you put them all together, they just turn into this symphony of fun to watch.”