Gospel stars tour after recent operations [...] the Grammy-winning gospel singers are preparing for the Festival of Praise Tour, which spans 31 cities. The tour, which includes Minneapolis, Cleveland, Miami and Atlanta, kicked off this week as McClurkin recovers from surgery to remove precancerous cells from one of his vocal cords and Hammond recuperates after having a bilateral knee replacement. Doctors removed an inch of scar tissue from McClurkin's right vocal cord in mid-August. The 54-year-old singer discovered a cyst several months ago after having some difficulty singing. A biopsy revealed some precancerous cells. "God uses imperfect and broken people," McClurkin said.