WILLIAMSBURG — “Tunes in Town” is an occasional series that will catch up with some of the local musical talents that call Hampton Roads home.
Angel Armies started innocently enough when the DelValle kids performed in 2018 at their church’s New Year’s Eve event. After getting a standing ovation from the crowd and a load of positive feedback, parents Kenya and Gerron realized that a budding musical group might be on the horizon.
“My husband and I have always been interested in the entertainment industry. As time has gone on with our kids growing up, we’ve never forced anything on them. We’ve always fostered their interests. Our church had an event where they had all the youth perform. We’d never really done anything performance-wise before this. We asked them if they wanted to perform in it, and every single one of them said yes,” Kenya said.
Their first performance was a rousing success and soon Angel Armies was officially launched.
Angel Armies is a Williamsburg-based performance group. Siblings Geremiah DelValle (15), Gervel DelValle (13), Keziah DelValle (11), Germain DelValle (9), and Gershon DelValle (5) work together to perform positive shows.
“The purpose of us is to give positive, good news. We believe in God, but not every performance or song we put out will be gospel. We like to put out good, clean, fun, positive music at the end of the day,” Kenya said.
The siblings create shows around different messages of positivity. Past shows have included dancing, singing, acting, original music, miming, rapping, and more. Each of the five siblings enjoys showcasing a different hobby during the show. When they are booked for a show, with the help of their parents, the kids try to produce a show with a positive message tied to wherever they might be performing.
The group takes rehearsals and performances seriously and their effort to practice and showcase their talents are self-driven. Kenya and Gerron proudly watch their kids during each performance.
Both parents hope that their kids understand the messages they are giving to the community. In turn, they also hope that they continue to enjoy learning skills that can be applied to everyday life, not just performing.
“They get to be involved with the community through this effort, even the ones who are reserved and shy. This opportunity gives them a chance to open up more and get them used to having to speak in front of people,” Gerron said. “We always try to give each one of them a job throughout the show. We want them to be proud of each other and themselves but we also want them to understand that they are giving back to the community with the talent they have,” Kenya added.
As they have gotten more involved in the group, the kids have also been releasing original music through their family’s YouTube channel. The family works hard to share their overarching message.
“We want people to leave an Angel Armies performance feeling good inside and inspired about the world around them,” Kenya said.
While each sibling had their own answer as to why they love performing as part of Angel Armies, overall they are happy to be doing it together.
- Geremiah: “I like performing for Angel Armies because I get to spread a message of love and unity while performing with my family.”
- Gervel: “I like being a part of Angel Armies because it brings positive content to the community.”
- Keziah: “I like performing in Angel Armies because it is fun and it gives positive effect to the world.”
- Germain: “I like performing in Angel Armies because I love to dance, mime, sing, and rap.”
- Gershon: “I like being in Angel Armies because I love to dance and going around to places.”
Angel Armies is actively looking to book more gigs and community performances. Anyone interested in discussing a performance opportunity is asked to email Dr. Kenya DelValle at creators@officialangelarmies.com.
For more information on Angel Armies, visit officialangelarmies.com.
