Southern Gospel Concerts

Last weekend, I went over to the great state of Alabama for another gospel concert!  It was the Peggye Basden Memorial Concert.  It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a year since promoter Norm Basden’s wife was killed in a fire but it was wonderful to celebrate in her honor with the music she loved.  The concert was held at the Forestdale Free Will Baptist Church and featured Cross4Crowns, New Ground, and the LeFevre Quartet.

Cross4Crowns took the stage after a short inspirational message by the church’s pastor, Mike Cox.  The members of the group are tenor Marcus Faulknor, lead Davis McCammon, baritone Allen Leath, and bass Justin Terry.  I’m always amused when the big guy of the group is the lead singer and the smallest one is the bass with a great big voice!  Most of the songs they sang were from their newest CD, It Just Started for Me.  This group has a really good sound together and I enjoyed seeing and hearing them.

Here’s one of the highlights from their set, Celebrating Resurrection Morning:

Here’s their song list:

• What a Wonderful Time – Great opening number!
• First and Last – folks will remember this from Greater Vision and writer Rodney Griffin.
• Celebrating Resurrection Morning – This song was on the charts for a while and I really enjoyed it.
• Now I’m On My Way to Heaven – Great energy on this song – and I love how each voice has a part of the chorus.
• It Just Started for Me – Nice change of pace here with a song featuring baritone Allen Leath and then lead Davis McCammon.
• Little Is Much – I’ve heard this so much from groups lately but it was very nicely done.
• Good News from the Graveyard – bass Justin Terry did a very good job on this one.
• Keep Living for Jesus – interesting, fun orchestration on this one!
• The Blood Remains – this was a special request from Norm.
• He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels – This was a different version than I am familiar with and I thought they did a very good job on it.

Next was New Ground!  This is the first time I’ve seen them with band members Mickey Bell and Taylor Guffey and I appreciated the difference that their performances made.  New Ground has a country style that is comfortable to listen to and enjoy.  Keyboardist Mickey Bell is the senior pastor of the Union Hill Baptist Church in Bessemer, Alabama, and he also hosts a radio program called This Week in Gospel Music that you can hear online.

Here’s my favorite of the evening from New Ground and their latest release “That Heavenly Home:”

New Ground sang several time-honored songs from their newest CD “Pages” (designated with an asterisk) that were special to a lot of people there, judging by the response they received!   I won’t elaborate much on them – I’ll just give you the links to several videos!!  Here’s what they sang:

• One Way Flight
• *Where Could I Go
• *One Day I Will – This was the first time I’ve heard them sing this song and Robbie was wonderful on it.
• *I Won’t Have to Worry Any More
• *That Heavenly Home – This was certainly an audience favorite!
• I Have Fought a Good Fight
• The Spelling Song – Dale is such a hoot on this song but it’s got a serious message, too!
• *I Know
• *I’ve Never Been This Homesick Before

The LeFevre Quartet (formerly Priority, formerly Mike LeFevre Quartet) now has a full team now with the addition of new tenor Jeremy Easley.  It was only his second performance with the quartet and he was amazing.  And I really enjoyed seeing not-quite-as-new bass Keith Inman – and yes, he is Clayton Inman’s brother!  Other group members are the original lead David Staton  and, of course, baritone Mike LeFevre.  This is a wonderful lineup and I’m looking forward to seeing them again.

Here are a couple of videos featuring the “new guys!”"

Without Him

The Last One Worthy:

Their song list:

• Without Him – This has been the opening number during each of the LeFevre Quartet concerts I’ve been to.
• Let Me Tell You About Jesus – Great upbeat song!
• The Cloud That He’s Coming Back On – This was a very smooth version of the song.
• First Day in Heaven – Great energy on this old Imperials song.
• The Last One Worthy – This was a wonderful song that featured bass Keith Inman
• It’s Time to Sing – This song had such a great message for me.
• Goodbye, World, Goodbye – Trey Ivey, 20-year-old pianist for the group, played this solo.  Seems to be a favorite piano solo, doesn’t it?!?!?
• When I Get Carried Away – This song is a must when you see Mike LeFevre!
• I Bless Your Name – Jeremy did a wonderful job on this song!
• I Love Him So – They have such a good time on this LeFevre song with Jordan taking the microphone away from his dad for part of the song.  Jordan has a really nice voice, which shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone!
• Big Mighty God – I love this one!
• Jesus Saves – Great ending to their set!

The final portion of the program was short and had everyone on the stage:  Cross4Crowns sang Under Control with Mike LeFevre on the baritone part and There’s Only One Well;  New Ground sang Hands Scarred by the Nails and Not In a Million Years; and the LeFevre Quartet sang I’ve Got My Reservation and Days of Elijah with everyone joining in on the chorus.

This was a very special evening!

My suspense had grown since the very first scheduled Mark Trammell Quartet appearance in Columbus, Georgia had to be cancelled because of weather, so I was especially pleased to be able to see them before they got too far out of my territory for  a while!  The venue was the Liberty Parkway Church of God, a beautiful facility in Albany, Georgia.

Church member Mandy Harrell opened the concert.  Readers of the Southern Gospel folder of the Singing News forums will remember her as GoldCityQtGirl.  This young lady has quite a nice, strong voice.   She sang two Taranda Greene songs – Sky Full of Angels and God Made Me to Love – and one from Karen Peck – Four Days Late.  She may be posting some videos on her own youtube channel, and I’ll post her links here later.

Mark mentioned that he had been thinking about adding a fourth member for some time.  So, now the members are tenor Joel Wood, lead and pianist Dustin Sweatman, baritone and bass guitarist Mark Trammel, and new bass member Pat Barker.  Pat is one of my favorite basses and I was already a fan of the trio, so  I knew the combination had to be terrific —- and it certainly lived up to my expectations!  Mark sure does know what to do with a quartet which was pretty obvious from their song selections that night.

Here’s what they sang.  Several of the songs were performed with just piano and bass accompaniment.

• Gentle Shepherd – This was beautifully done.  I’ve seen three different groups using this as an opening song lately and it is very effective.
• I Always Have a Song to Sing – Great song from the last Trio CD.
• Hallelujah, I’m Going Home – Another great song that is even better with a quartet.
• How Big Is God – This is the song that was a big hit for the Dixie Echoes and features Pat.
• Master Builder – This is one of Mark’s signature songs hailing from his Cathedral Quartet days!
• While the Ages Roll – This one was written by Mosie Lister
• Loving the Lamb – Joel sounds so much like Eric on this song!  I really enjoyed the quartet version of the song.
• Mansion Over the Hilltop – Great old hymn and they did a good job with it.
• Wait Til You See Me In My New Home – This was a piano solo by Dustin
• God Said It, I Believe It – This one was written by and featured Dustin Sweatman.
• John Saw Me – This was a nice song about heaven with a country feel to it.
• Hide Thou Me – This one featured Joel and has been his “signature” song since he joined the group in July.
• Coming Out and Moving In – They added a little moving bass part to this one which was fun to hear.
• I Believe In a Hill Called Mt. Calvary – Terrific quartet song!
• Hold Me – Mark used this as a prayer and then led in a further time of prayer and commitment.  It is a really touching song.
• Victory In Jesus – Mark started the audience singing this at the end of the program, and the men left the stage.

The Vintage Gospel CD has been redone to include Pat Barker’s vocals and it has two additional songs on it – How Big Is God and Sweet, Sweet Spirit.   I don’t think Mark mentioned when their next major CD release would be but it should be a great one!

What a wonderful way to spend a Wednesday evening!  I attended the mid-week worship service at Pinecrest Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia that had special guests Daybreak Quartet and The Jonathans.  The church’s choir sang two very nice songs, We Have Come Into This House and You Are to start off the service.

After an enthusiastic welcome time, Daybreak took the stage.  Since this is their home church, they didn’t need a big introduction!   Playing the keyboard for them that night was Greg Howlett. Greg  has played on at least one their albums, and I really enjoyed seeing and hearing him in person for the first time.   Daybreak and The Jonathans did abbreviated sets to fit within the allotted time frame.

Here was my favorite Daybreak song of the evening, The Lord’s My Shepherd:

Here’s what Daybreak sang:

• Mansion Over the Hilltop – Great old hymn from their Hymns album.
• Hallelujah to His Wonderful Name – This one really got the audience clapping!  HERE’s a video of it from another concert I had already loaded to youtube.
• I Believe – This is a cute little song with a good message that has the audience singing along on the chorus before the song is over.
• Greg Howlett  – To God Be the Glory – This is an arrangement of the hymn that I think you’ll really enjoy.  Greg also has a video on his youtube channel that tells about the recording process for this particular song on his Portraits of Hope album.  You can find it HERE.     It’s a fantastic album, by the way!
• Walkin’ on the Heavenly Road – This is a nice a capella song.  I had already loaded this to youtube from another recent concert so you can see it HERE.
• Long, Black Train – This one came about as a request when they were at a church in Texas!  They sang it for their church since it was something different than what they normally do!  I enjoyed it!
• The Lord’s My Shepherd – These words were taken from Psalm 23 with a bit of Scottish influence, and is such a beautiful song!

The Jonathans were up next.  This group consists of Parker Jonathan (many people will remember him from his years with the Kingsmen!) and his wife Paula, Eric Dunson, and pianist Jacob Pitts.  They have a style similar to the Perrys except they have a little bit more of a country sound with plenty of steel guitar in several of their tracks.  They don’t have a website yet but their schedule can be found here on Gospel Gigs.  They have a new album that I’m sure you can get by e-mailing them for the details at jonathansgospelmusic@gmail.com.

Here’s my Jonathans favorite of the evening, Too Many Times:

Here’s what they sang:

• Gentle Shepherd – This was a beautiful way to start their set.
• Damascus Road – This familiar song really showed off their pianist!
• Too Many Times – This song featured Parker and is pure country!
• What a Beautiful Day – This was a great rendition of the old Goodman’s song.
• When They Ring the Bells – This was a such a good, short, peppy song.
• Medley – This was a medley of His Name Is Wonderful, Cherish that Wonderful Name, There’s Something about That Name, and Oh How I Love Jesus
• I Rest My Case at the Cross – This was just the right song for the end of their set and featured lead singer Eric Dunson.

I get to see The Old Paths fairly often and I always enjoy it!  I saw them last night at a really small church – North Paulding Baptist.  It looked like the church (a small, converted fire station) was designed to hold about 90 people but there were probably 110 or 115 there last night.  The Old Paths had been at their 2 morning worship services earlier in the day and baritone Douglas Roark even preached at one of them.  Old Paths’ concerts are evangelistic in nature and there were 4 people saved at different points during the service last night.  I didn’t get any good videos due to where I was sitting as well as the extra sounds of lots of small children during the service!  Bless their little hearts!!  No, really, it was nice that there were so many young families in the church.  (You can find a number of Old Paths videos on my youtube channel.)

Here’s what was sung during the evening:

• My Lord Will Send a Moses
• I’ve Got a Feeling
• Guilty of Loving Me – One of my very favorite TOP songs with such a wonderful message! (HERE’s a video from a previous concert.)
• Oh, Bless His Name
• I Know a Man Who Can – Jeremy does such a wonderful job on this one!
• Sheltered in the Arms of God – Jeremy accompanied himself on this song and it was wonderful!
• Shortened versions of several songs were sung together with the congregation – Til the Storm Passes By, Wonderful Peace, Oh How I Love Jesus, What a Day That Will Be, and Beulah Land.
• Look for Me at Jesus’ Feet – this one is always a favorite and it received a standing ovation.
• Goodbye, World, Goodbye – Jeremy played this piano solo.
• I’ve Missed Out
• Oh, What a Savior
• Who Am I
• Thank You, Lord, For Your Blessings on Me
• Cross Medley – containing Had It Not Been, Jesus Paid It All, and The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power
• Homeland
• Bottom of the Hill
• He Loves Me
• Living in Canaan Now

After that great evening, I’m looking forward to hearing The Old Paths again in concert with The LeFevre Quartet on June 12, 2010, at 6:30 pm at the North Metro Campus of Chattahoochee Tech.  The address is 5198 Ross Road (I-75 exit #278) in Acworth, GA.  You can contact promoter Robert York at 4030 Ebenezer Dr., Marietta, GA 30066 or bobbyyork2003@yahoo.com or by phone at 770 926-6021 (home) or 770 617-0359 (cell) for ticket information!

I promised to give you a short report on Gold City’s video taping that occurred on Feb. 11, so here it is!!

Center Stage Tours is the organization that is putting on these events and bringing in various groups for live tapings.  The studio that was used was called TGB COMPLEX, and from what I understand, is part of what used to be the Jim and Tammy Bakker/PTL facility.  There was a relatively small stage with an interesting louvered backdrop and the lighting wasn’t nearly as intense as I thought it would (or should) be.   Of course, no photography or private video taping was allowed!!

Gold City did a wonderful job on their program which lasted almost 75 minutes and they sang  what they have been singing at their concerts lately (no new songs!).   Everyone did a fabulous job and I can’t wait to see the final product when it is released!  Here’s the song list:

• One Scarred Hand
• I Cast My Bread Upon the Water
• When I Get Carried Away
• Look Who Just Checked In
• What Children Believe
• After a While
• Rainbow of Love
• Just a Little Talk with Jesus (Roy Webb solo)
• I’m Not Giving Up
• Satisfied (Josh Cobb solo)
• When He Blessed My Soul
• It’s Still the Cross
• Where Is God
• Under Control
• I’m Rich
• Midnight Cry

The Booth Brothers don’t get to my area very often so I was glad to get to see them in Dalton, Georgia this past weekend.  The venue was the Crosspointe Christian Center, a lovely facility and the home church of Staclynn Faulknor, one of the brothers in Voices Won.

Voices Won did a great job opening the concert with a few of their most popular -  and my favorite – songs!  Their members are brothers Jaron, Staclynn, and Shantell Faulknor.   They do such a good job of combining good, solid messages with fun songs, which I think “Guess What Zacchaeus Found” shows:

This is a list of all of their songs:

• Tell Your Story – Great opening number that comes from their newest album.
• Fishing Trip – This is such a fun song that has a great message!  HERE is a video from a previous concert.
• Knowing You – Shantell is featured on this one.  The video starts after the first verse.
• Guess What Zacchaeus Found – This one of my very favorites from Voices Won!
• Something for Everyone – Jaron wrote this song and is featured on it.
• Road Less Traveled – This is also from the newest album and I think it is their current radio single.  It features Staclynn.  Here is a video of the song from their Homecoming event last November.

The Booth Brothers have become more high-tech with a new multi-media and light show in their program produced by their new member, Jake Sammons.  I think he is also responsible for the computer kiosk in the lobby where people could sign up for the e-letter.  I didn’t watch the side screens very much to see what they displayed except when selected scripture verses were displayed as Michael read them,  but I loved the different colored lights reflected from some white backdrops on the stage.   Combined with their powerful music and the effects, the program was simply awesome!  They sang several songs that were new to me and two of them will be on a new CD that will be released within the next two months.   The second part of their program included a band made up of Michael on the drums, and Ronnie, Jim, Christian (Michael’s oldest son) and Jake Sammons on guitars.  On a couple of songs, Jake switched to the keyboard.   I imagine that they’re still polishing this part of the program, but I thought the band overwhelmed the songs they were singing, especially on Castles in the Sand.  Overall, though, it was a wonderful concert!  I’ve posted a few videos of the first portion of the program, but I’ve got to say that they don’t really capture the excitement that was in the auditorium.  This video will give you a hint of what we saw that night as they sang Tradin’ the Old Cross:

Here is what the Booth Brothers sang:

• In the Sweet By and By – Great old song that the Booth Brothers put their touch on!
• I See Grace – This is a wonderful song and will be on the new CD.  I have a video that I will release when the CD is released.
• I’m the Lamb – Such a beautiful, beautiful song.  HERE’s a video from a previous concert.
• Look For Me at Jesus’ Feet – Michael’s “signature” song.
• Feeling Mighty Fine
• We Believe – This is another of the songs that will be on the new CD.  I was familiar with it from hearing it sung by Steve Green back in the late 80’s or 90’s.
• Love Was In the Room
• Sail On
• Tradin’ the Old Cross – This song had the most action from the lights!
• What Salvation’s Done for Me – The Singing News Fan Awards song of the year!
• This Is My Valley – Beautiful song penned by Dottie Rambo.
• Peace In the Shelter – This one was written by Jim Brady.
• Crying in the Chapel -
• Still Feeling Fine
• Truth Is Marching On – This was a huge favorite with the crowd and got a standing ovation.  This was also written by Jim Brady
• He Saw It All
• Castles in the Sand
• I’ll Fly Away – with Voices Won
• Tears Are a Language – So very pretty!!  HERE’s a video from a previous concert.
• Secret Place
• Through It All – When this song was over, everyone except Michael left stage.  Michael shared for a few more minutes and then led the audience in How Great Thou Art.

It was a rainy night in Georgia, but that didn’t hinder a crowd of about 300 or 400 or so people from gathering in the new worship center at the Mount Holly Church of God in Carrollton, Georgia for the 5th annual Diplomats/Gold City sing.  The beautiful, brand new auditorium probably holds about 1500 or 2000 people so there was plenty of room for everyone!  The church had their cameras going and they displayed up-close shots of the groups on their big screens on each side of the stage.  In the center was a huge screen (someone said it was 36′ wide) which displayed the group names all evening.   There were several other southern gospel groups represented in the audience and it was nice to see and talk to Trent Adams (who will begin singing with the Dixie Echoes on 2/11/10) and his wife and 2-week-old daughter.   It was also nice to see a new friend, Carla, that I met at a Gold City concert in Jacksonville, Florida recently!  She drove all the way up from Waycross to see Gold City and then to visit some friends for the weekend.

The Diplomats sang first.  They used to be a quartet but with the addition of Matt Dibbler, they now sing sometimes as a mixed quartet, sometimes as a male quartet, and sometimes as a quintet during their program, and it does provide some good variety!  And if that weren’t enough, they brought on good friend Les Beasley at the end of their set and he sang with them as well!

Here are some video clip highlights of the Diplomats program:

Here’s what the Diplomats sang:

• Had It Not Been – Corey did a beautiful job on this classic.
• Come and Dine – the lead was shared between Matt Dibbler and Rita Pearson on this one.
• Jesus Is Coming Soon – This one featured the male quartet version with Matt on the lead
• This I Just What Heaven Means to Me – This song just belongs to Rita and the 4 men did a good job backing her up!!
• Soul Healing
• Unclouded Day -this one featured the band — Michael Lott on keyboard, Corey Pearson on bass guitar, and Rodney on the drums.
• Satan is On My Track
• Lonesome Road – always fun with Joe Brown singing bass!
• There’s a Blessing Somewhere in This Trial
• Les Beasley joined them and they sang One Day at a Time, Gone, and Standing on the Solid Rock

I’ve been able to see Gold City three times now since Josh and Roy joined the group and it’s so much fun seeing the progress from one concert to the next.  They sang a few more of my favorite songs last night that I had not heard them do at the previous two concerts.

Here’s a video of When He Blessed My Soul – you can see more of the big screen in the background near the end of the song:

Here is GC’s  song list:

• One Scarred Hand – The acoustics were great in the church so they took advantage and sang this song a capella and without microphones!  It was simply beautiful but the volume was just a little too low to capture a good video.
• Where Is God -  This was the first time I’ve heard this group sing this song and it was very nice!
• I Cast My Bread Upon the Water
• What Children Believe – Danny has been suffering with bronchitis again this week but you sure wouldn’t have known it to hear him sing!
• Look Who Just Checked In – this song had such great energy!
• Rainbow of Love – this one gets better each time I see it – and you can tell that Tim really loves it!
• Josh soloed on Satisfied and got a standing ovation!
• When He Blessed My Soul – Tim is just fantastic on this song!  They got a big standing ovation during the reprise.
• Under Control – Another great song with a great message.
• I’m Rich – if you thought nobody but Jonathan Wilburn could sing this song, well, you are wrong!!  I’ll try to get a good video of the group the next time they sing it.  Last night,  I was busy watching Roy Webb!!
• It’s Still the Cross – such a powerful song.  Danny and Bruce did great jobs on it.  And there was another standing ovation!!

I’m getting to see a lot of Gold City so far this year and it’s been wonderful!!  I am planning to be at their video taping next week.  I’ll  write up a short report on it but I sure won’t be taking my own videos there!  We’ll all just have to wait until the DVD comes out!

I was so disappointed when Tribute Quartet had to cancel their concert in Sharpsburg, GA on January 31 because of the icy roads in the  mountains between Tennessee and Georgia.  I don’t get to see this group in concert very often and their schedule isn’t looking very promising for me for the near future, so I thought I’d write about the songs I would have liked to have heard during the cancelled concert!  Tribute’s members are Brian Alvey (tenor), Gary Casto (lead), Josh Singletary (baritone and pianist), and Dennis Dugger (bass).

From their newest album, For This Time, I would have particularly liked to hear:

• That’s Why I Love Him So.  I believe this is their current radio single and it was written by Brian Alvey and Gary Casto.  This is my favorite from the album and is such a beautiful song of testimony.
• I Love Living In Grace.  Written by Rodney Griffin.  Such a fun little song!!
• I’ve Been Blessed.  Written by Shaun Weeks.  Another fun song that really gets the message across.
• Calvary Wins Again.  Written by Barbara Huffman.  I love the story in this song!  It features bass, Dennis on the first verse and Brian on the second.   (I think you can really detect the Roger Talley touch on this one!)
• That’s What Makes Grace Amazing.  Written by Marty Funderburk and John Darin Rowsey.  This gentle song features Josh.
• Helpless Not Hopeless.  Written by Chris Binion and Marty Funderburk.  Another really beautiful song of testimony that features Brian.
• He Was In Charge.  Written by Kyla Rowland.  A nice, solid quartet song!
• I Heard It, I Believe It.  Written by Brian Alvey.   Perfect song for Josh.
• I Am Healed.  Written by Sherry Forbes.  Such a lovely, encouraging song.  Gary does such a great job on it.
• And, of course, I’d like to hear Brian sing Who Am I!!  I don’t ever get tired of that one!

I’d really like to hear Josh play a couple of songs from his “Singletary” album that I haven’t heard him play live – Mansion Over the Hilltop and He Is Lord,

I have so many favorites on the Anticipation album, but I’ll limit my selections to these:

• Be Still and Know or This I Know.  Either one would be great!
• Beulah
• When Those Gates Open Wide
• Over On the Other Side
• Wait on the Water to Part

From My Tribute, I’d like to hear:

• You’d Better Have a Boat.
• In the Shelter of His Hands or God Knows.  Both of these feature Brian and are slow songs, so I’d want to hear one but not necessarily both (since I listed so many of the same type of songs above from the new album!!).
• I’m In That Crowd.  A great way to end a concert!

Do you think I could convince Gary Casto to make this his song list at my next concert?!?!?  Probably not all of them, but I can still dream!

(Editor’s note:  Here is a review from some members of Southern Gospel Forums that I think you will enjoy!  These two young ladies, Naomi and Katie, are always very enthusiastic about their love for Legacy Five and it sure does show in this unedited review of a concert they attended on 1/15/10.)

Ok guys! We FINALLY wrote the review from Weatherford!!  Hope you all enjoy it!! Oh yeah, just so y’all know; a lot of this in first-person format, but me and Katie both are writing it So when you see “I” it could be either of us! lol
______________________________________

It was about a 5 1/2 hour drive to the concert, so we planned to leave by about 9 AM, so we wouldn’t be cutting it too short. Naturally, we left at about 11:30. We ended up getting to the church about 10-15 minutes before the concert started. Thank goodness for assigned seating!!! We wanted to get to our seats then run back to the table for a couple minutes to say hi to the guys, but when we got there, we were seated directly in the middle of the very narrow 8th row… and we just didn’t have the heart to make all those folks stand up again! (Not to mention most of them were probably over 75 and it took a great deal of effort to get up and down anyway!)LOL.

DISCLAIMER: We LOVE old people!!

The pastor came up and got the concert started. He was really a character! He said that this was the first time in his life that he’d had to PAY to attend an event at his own church… He didn’t let anyone forget it either! He introduced the guys(finally) and they kicked off the concert with “What A Friend We Have In Jesus“. It is an amazing opening song… they sing it with such class (not that I’m biased or anything ). Simply beautiful

Next, they went straight into “Heavenly Signs“  then “Feelin’ Fine” . Man, they knocked it out of the park!! They were singing with such energy that you couldn’t help getting into it with them!! Let me tell you guys… the next time you hear them sing this song at a concert, WATCH TIM!! He goes to town on that piano every time!! Gus was amazing on the high notes . AND he had bronchitis !! These singers are like, super-human when it comes to singing while they’re sick! I’ve heard Ronnie Booth sing with bronchitis; I’ve also heard Lauren and Debra Talley sing with a cold… and I wouldn’t have known ANY of it if I hadn’t been told after the fact!

Aaaanyways, back to the concert

After finishing “Feelin’ Fine”, Scott talked for a little bit about how great it was to be back in Weatherford (I guess they hadn’t been for about 2 years). Since alot of the folks hadn’t heard, he went on to tell the story about the “church” in Florida that they were scheduled to sing at a couple years ago, who had called saying that new policies had been instated… No scripture reading; No personal testimonies; and no praying from the platform unless they promised not to say the Name “Jesus” in the prayer. Scott said “I couldn’t edit what was in my mind… and I couldn’t prevent my mouth from saying it… and before I could even think, I said ‘Pastor, in all due respect, Legacy Five ain’t a-comin’ to your church.’ ” The crowd errupted in applause .

Then, he started talking about how life isn’t a dress rehersal, and we only have one chance in this life to be a good witness and to tell people about the Cross. That led into Scott Howard singing “Take It To The Cross“ . That is such a beautiful song with a very powerful message, and I just love the way Howie sings it!

After that, Scott talked about how, for some reason, he always forgets to introduce Scott Howard to everyone! Howie (being his typically hilarious self) said, “That’s because you never know what I’m going to say!” . They said several other funny things, but instead of trying to tell you myself and not coming off very funny, I’ll just let you watch the clip . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRJtMJlpgwI

After Howie’s intro, Scott went on to introduce Gus to everyone. He told about when they found Gus he was singing for two groups(LeFevre Qt. & the original Imperials), and how he had a hard time remembering Gus’s name. He said Gus told him a good way to remember was to say, “Good Gracious, It’s Gus Gaches!”LOL. Scott said that lots of times when you hire a new guy, you can go right into the studio and record a brand new set of songs to introduce him; but since they weren’t planning on recording a new CD any time soon, he asked Gus if there was any old song that he had heard them sing that he really liked. Gus said he had always loved that old Cathedrals song that they re-recorded on the Jubilee! CD called, “Life Will Be Sweeter Someday“.  So they sang it… and it was awesome !!!

They went straight into “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” … it doesn’t get any better than that! Absolutely the most beautiful arrangement of that song that I have ever heard (and I’m not just saying that because L5 is my favorite group )!! I don’t mean to keep going back to this, but I just can’t get over the fact that Gus had bronchitis when he sang these songs! Can you guys imagine what he’s gonna sound like when he’s feeling better?! Watch out, Horizon Individual Award!!!! . Anywho, they got a standing ovation for that one .

Scott introduced Tim, who went straight into “Wonderful Grace of Jesus” … Let me just put it this way… We’ve decided that they need to invent a piano with a lot more keys on it JUST for Tim Parton… because 81 keys are simply NOT ENOUGH!!!!! After Tim finished, Howie said that they ought to put another piano under his feet so he could play a duet with himself!!

They sang “I Can Hardly Wait” and “Some One Who Cares” from the Jubilee! project; then Scott walked over and sat on the edge of the platform and told a couple stories about his boys, Preston and Bailey. I included the clip where Scott slipped off of the stage, so make sure you watch the whole thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6189quzCH0

They sang “One Thing God Can’t Do” (beautiful is all I can say!) then Scott led the audience in singing “Jesus Loves Me”. It’s so silly how we think of that as a “kid’s” song. It has the most precious message, put in the simplest form . Scott took a few minutes to pray and thank God for just loving us… then they ended the first half of the concert with “Champion of Love“(another standing O ).
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After things calmed down a little bit, we made our way back to the table. Scott was so sweet! He leaned over the table and gave us a hug While we were talking to Scott, Gus walked up with this big smile and said, “Hey! How are you guys doing? I know you guys!” Come to find out, he recognized us from posting on his Facebook It was really nice to get to talk to him for a few minutes. He was SO sweet . I (Naomi) made a post a couple weeks ago saying that I really believed Gus was the right guy for L5 from a singing standpoint… I can now say that he is just as great of a person as he is a singer You are all going to love him!

We were just finishing talking to Gus when my little sister, Anna, tapped me and said “Look behind you!!”. I turned around and saw Frank talking to my mom a few feet from the table. We ran over and gave him a hug It was SO great to see him again!! We only got to talk for a second because he had to get back to his seat (So did we! lol.).

We bought the Jubilee! songbook and t-shirts and talked to Tim for a minute, then we headed back to our seats(and had to make all those poor people get up again! ).
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They started up the second half with some requests that people had handed in at intermission. “I Found Grace” , “I’ve Been Changed” and “Vessel of Mercy“. Then Howie sang “Above All Circumstances” (awesomeness!!!). Scott asked Tim to play “His Name Is Wonderful”, then asked the audience to sing it. I love that portion of L5’s concerts… it always brings such a sweet worship atmosphere. Scott read the story of the Resurrection from St. Luke 24… then they sang “When They Found Nothing“. It is such a powerful song, and a great ending to an AWESOME concert .

We got to talk to all of the guys again after the concert (except Howie we didn’t see him anywhere.). We got to talk to Frank again, for several minutes this time. It was different to see him wearing normal clothes instead of a suit! It was so good to see him again We’ll try to post more about him over on the Frank Seamans thread.  We even got to talk to Ken Payne(Glenn Payne’s brother)who had come to the concert with Frank! We had met him at another concert last year(and he actually remembered me!! lol.).

It was an absolutely AWESOME evening, and we are all pumped for the next concert!

If you actually read the whole thing… God bless you!!!

This is going to be a very different kind of review!   This past week I was privileged to attend a Carnegie Hall concert featuring Triumphant Quartet, Babbie Mason, and Vocal Union.  This special production of “American Gospel Music” was arranged by Dr. Roy J. Hayes, artistic director of True North Presents based in Brentwood, Tennessee.  Here’s some information on the participants:

Triumphant Quartet represented our traditional Southern Gospel music, which was very appropriate since they are the 2009 Singing News Fan Awards’ “Favorite Male Quartet.”   Members are Eric Bennett, Clayton Inman, Scott Inman, David Sutton, and Jeff Stice.  This was their second appearance at Carnegie Hall.

Babbie Mason is a “traditional gospel” artist.  She has appeared with the Homecoming Friends and has won 2 Dove awards.  She is an incredible songwriter (All Rise, Each One Reach One, Jesus the One and Only, or With All My Heart, just to name some of her most famous songs), and even has her own TV show – “Babbie’s House.”  This was also Babbie’s second appearance at Carnegie Hall.

Vocal Union is an “all-vocal, contemporary gospel” group based out of  Nashville, Tennessee.   They have seven members – Gary Miller, Brian Wiersma, Ryan Thomas, Steve Camping, Cory Martin, Mateo Coronado, and Mike Allen.      You can see some of their videos HERE.

The conductor was Mr. Eric Dale Knapp.  Mr. Knapp  led the 2008 Beijing Olympics Festival Chorus and Orchestra in an official XXIX OLYMPIAD concert and has conducted at quite a number of American and  international venues.   He is affiliated with several choral, orchestral and chamber music groups.

The 250-member New American Chorus was made up of the following groups:  Sanctuary Choir of First Baptist Church, Prattville, Alabama; Celebration Singers of First Baptist Church, Florence, Mississippi; Heritage Baptist Church Worship Choir, Montgomery, Alabama; First Baptist Church Chorus, Eufaula, Alabama; Sanctuary Choir of Eastern Hills Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama; a number of  friends of Triumphant Quartet;  Connecticut Choral Society, Southbury, Connecticut; and New Jersey Choral Society, Ridgewood, New Jersey.   The very lovely and talented Mrs. Linda Sweetman-Waters was the pianist for most of the songs during the rehearsal and performance.  The majority of the chorus members were making their Carnegie Hall debuts and were sooooo excited!

The New American Symphony Orchestra was comprised of musicians from around the country.  By my estimation there were about 35 members, although there was no listing of the names in the playbill.

No photography or recording of any kind is allowed in Carnegie Hall, so I will tell about and show some of the footage I got of the choral rehearsals and then tell about the concert itself.

Thursday’s rehearsal with all of the groups except those from New Jersey and Connecticut began with the introduction of Mr Knapp.  During the morning rehearsal, most of the numbers that were to be sung with Babbie Mason were rehearsed – maybe because they were the most difficult.  I found it interesting to watch as Mr. Knapp got the choir to “loosen up” and sing the “soul” music Babbie had written and/or arranged.  The chorus members had been working on all of the repertoire before they arrived in New York, and it was incredible to see how Mr. Knapp shaped and polished each song concentrating on rhythms, inflections/pronunciations, dynamics of soft/loud, cresendo/decrescendo, etc.  He wasn’t just interested in correct notes and I had such a good time seeing how the choir responded and hearing how each of the suggestions he made created such a difference in the sound.  He even coined a new word – blastissimo – for one of the songs!  If maestro means master (and it does!), then Mr. Knapp is most definitely a maestro!!!

On Friday morning, the choral groups from New Jersey and Connecticut arrived and the sound of the 250-member chorus was incredible to hear in the absolutely packed rehearsal area.  More polishing was done on more of the songs during the morning rehearsal including getting to hear the artists on a few of the songs, and then it was off to the Isaac Sterns Auditorium/Ronald O. Perelman stage at Carnegie Hall – the largest of the auditoriums there.   No non-chorus members of the traveling groups (like the spouses of some of the choir members and me) were allowed to enter the auditorium during dress rehearsal, but since the normal tours were still being conducted, I did get into the auditorium during my tour and I got to see one song  – “The Great I Am Still Is” which features Scott Inman and  Triumphant Quartet with the orchestra and choir!  HERE is the video I put together of some rehearsal footage.

The concert had such a wonderful variety of styles.  Unless otherwise stated, all numbers included the orchestra and chorus as well as the specified artist except for Vocal Union numbers which was entirely a capella.    Here’s the full program:

• American Gospel Festive Overture by the orchestra included Delivered Again (sung later by Triumphant), Old Time Religion, Sheltered in the Arms of God, Who Am I, and Jerusalem (which was also sung during the program).

• Come On Into the House – written by Babbie Mason, arr. David Clydesdale.   This one started out with just Babbie (and some of the orchestra) and then expanded to include the other artists and finally the full orchestra and chorus.  I was expecting the concert to be wonderful but I just wasn’t fully prepared for the incredible sound on the final portion of this song.

• He Loves Me – written by George Amon Webster.  Jeff Stice accompanied Triumphant Quartet alone for this song.  Eric was featured on this one I could not have been more proud of each of the Triumphant members.  It was so wonderful to hear this simple message being sung in one of the most famous concert halls in America.

• Terrible Time Down There/Wonderful Time Up There – written by Leroy Abernathy, arr. Otis Forrest.  Triumphant Quartet and the orchestra performed this selection.   I was a little surprised to see this number on a program at Carnegie Hall (it being so high-brow and all!) but this and the other songs performed by Triumphant really did represent the variety within Southern Gospel music.

• God Will Open Up the Window – written by Babbie Mason, arr. Andre’ Dubos.   Babbie Mason was featured on this one that started out with the chorus and just piano and a drum set and then built until the full orchestra was playing.

• King Jesus Is His Name – written by Babbie Mason and Donna Douglas, arr. Danny Daniels.  This  Christmas song was performed by Babbie and started out with the traditional “Some Children See Him” with just violins and the small chimes and it was so pretty!   It was fun to hear the songs with the soloists and the orchestra after hearing only the vocal parts with the piano during rehearsal.

• We Shall Wear a Crown – written by Rex Nelon.  Vocal Union performed this old southern gospel classic in a new way – with lots of “vocal percussion” and no accompaniment except their own voices!  I was very impressed at how well they articulated every word on this song.

• Blessed Jesus – written by Joey Holder, arr. Steve Mauldin.  This song was performed by the Chorus and Orchestra.  One section of the song was a capella and it was absolutely stunning.

• Rock Bottom – written by Phil Cross, arr. Steve Mauldin.  Triumphant Quartet performed this one and what a change of pace it was from Blessed Jesus.    Excellent job by Triumphant and the chorus!!

• The Great I Am Still Is – written by Phil Cross, arr. Steve Mauldin.  This was the final song on the first half of the program and it was magnificent.  Scott Inman was featured on this great Triumphant song and he did an outstanding job.

• Living Love – written by Allen Krehbiel and Brian Wiersma.  This was by Vocal Union.  They used a lot of what they call “vocal percussion” and “vocal bass guitar” on this song and most of the time there were only four of the seven members actually singing the words of the song!   This is a very talented group of men.

• Wade In the Water – traditional, arr. Babbie Mason and Andre’ Dubos.    This one was sung by Babbie Mason.   I really enjoyed the bass guitar and Jeff Stice on the piano for this one, as well as the chorus and the rest of the orchestra!

• Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho – traditional, arr. Jeff Stice and Otis Forrest.  This was a Jeff Stice piano solo with the orchestra.   You could tell that Jeff was lovin’ it!!

• Delivered Again – written by Ann Downing and Kyla Rowland, arr. Steve Mauldin.   David Sutton always does a great job on this Triumphant song, and he sure did look right at home on that big, big stage!!

• With All My Heart – written by Babbie Mason, arr. Camp Kirkland.  This was another of Babbie’s  beautiful songs.

• East to West – written by Gary Miller.  This song was written by one of their members.  It was a slow, soft, gorgeous song!    (Edit – again:  Someone managed to get a video but now it’s been removed.)

• It Is Well with My Soul – written by Philip Bliss, arr. Steve Mauldin.  This one was performed by the orchestra and had some really lovely, smooth, peaceful passages in it.  The harp was used on the melody of one of the verses and it was exquisite.

• Only One – written by Bruce Coleson and Gary Miller.  This was a Vocal Union number.  This was a very smooth song, and the group didn’t “over-sing” it at all.   I really enjoyed the “vocal bass guitar” on this one as well!

• In All of His Glory – written by Babbie Mason and Donna Douglas, arr. David Clydesdale.  Babbie and David Sutton (Triumphant) performed this duet with the chorus and orchestra and it was breathtaking!  We got to hear a lot of David’s lower register on this one when he sang the harmony under Babbie’s alto voice.

• Jerusalem – written by Paula Stefanovich, arr. Steve Mauldin.  Everyone was in on this finale!   Various artists sang different pieces of the verses and in a couple of spots there was a duo of David Sutton and Scotty Inman that was really nice.  The audience obviously appreciated this song and gave a standing ovation at the end.  There was an encore of the last portion of the song after which there were several more minutes of standing ovation.

True North sponsored an after-concert dinner cruise in New York harbor.  Although he was not able to attend the cruise, from what I understand from several of the singers in the chorus, Mr. Knapp greeted and thanked every person as they exited the stage after the concert.  Babbie Mason also could not attend the cruise because she had to leave for a Saturday night engagement in Mississippi or Louisianna.  Vocal Union and Triumphant joined the cruise and entertained us with several more songs.  The highlight for me was when Triumphant sang the song The Statue of Liberty as we were cruising by it.  I did manage to get a video of that.  Keep in mind, please, that I was on a moving boat!!

There are so many things to see and do in New York City.  We saw Central Park, Rockefeller Center, and Times Square, saw a Broadway show (“Wicked” – it was excellent!), ate in some nice restaurants, cruised the harbor,  rode the subway, and attended a worship service at The Brooklyn Tabernacle.  But none of that could even begin to compare to the concert at Carnegie Hall with these artists.  The next time a trip like this is offered, I’ll be there again!!