Stewart Varnado just posted this clip of the new lineup of the Dixie Echoes, featuring new additions Michael Helwig on tenor and Mike Jennings singing bass. This standard for tenor singers features Helwig, although Jennings can be heard on the chorus. This clip is a great show of the potential that this new combination of singers has. It is worth noting that this is their first full concert together, and the first time that they have sung this song.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wuicUFTWvc

Update: Another video has just been posted from the same concert, this one featuring Mike Jennings. He is singing a song I don’t believe the group has staged since Pat Barker’s time with them: “How Big Is God.” This both gives a better insight to Jennings’ voice, and gives Helwig some of Wesley Smith’s higher notes to hit. Check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_HOAXwz1MI

Last week, the news broke that the Dixie Echoes had filled the vacancy left by departing bass singer Trent Adams with a relative newcomer: Mike Jennings. See Daniel Mount’s post about the hire, which includes videos highlighting his sound, here.

Today, the announcement was made about a new tenor for the group following Wesley Smith’s move to the Palmetto State Quartet. In a surprising move, the group has hired a lead/baritone singer: Michael Helwig. You may remember him from groups such as The Wilburns, The Stamps, and The Williamsons (formerly The Homesteaders.) In all of those groups, he sang lead or baritone. Most recently, Helwig was the lead singer for the Blackwood Quartet. I was at the concert where he debuted with the group, though interestingly enough, he was the quartet’s new tenor, coming in after Dale Evans left. He did a fantastic job, but moved down to lead when David Mann went to Statement of Faith. Here are some videos of Helwig with the Blackwood Quartet:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxvh_qp_ODQ

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8IIdJ71rbk

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIzftV1awLU

Daniel Mount has linked to another video in his post about the move which highlights Michael’s tenor singing. Needless to say, Helwig has quite a range. I have been impressed with his vocal ability for quite a while and will be looking forward to hearing him as a Dixie Echo. I agree with Daniel: look for this lineup of the Dixie Echoes to generate buzz soon.

A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that Dixie Echoes bass singer Trent Adams had turned in his notice, and the group was taking auditions for a new bass. Now, the group is seeking to fill the tenor position after Wesley Smith has left the group. To quell any rumors before they start, here is the announcement from the group’s Facebook page last night:

“The Dixie Echoes are now seeking a Tenor & Bass Just to answer any questions, nothing is going on here. Nobody has been fired, nobody is on bad terms, just unfortunately Wesley has turned in his notice, leaving us with two open positions. Interested singers can email demos to stewart@dixieechoes.com. We appreciate your prayers through this transition.”

Update: Right after I hit the publish button, I noticed that Daniel Mount had posted an update to his post about this, in which Stewart Varnado commented on the current plans of the group. To sum it up, the group is traveling as a trio this weekend, and former Dixie Echoes tenors will be filling in until a new tenor is found. There should be a bass announced within the month. Wesley Smith has joined a group much closer to his home, and an announcement is forthcoming.

The Dixie Echoes have a bass singer once again, and they’ve hired nineteen year old Trent Adams. (h/t, Daniel Mount) Here’s the press release from the Singing News:

Pensacola, FL – The Dixie Echoes are pleased to announce their new bass vocalist, Trent Adams. Trent, 19, hails from Ashland, Alabama. His first concert will be on February 11, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We believe that Trent is one of the best young bass singers and we are excited that he has accepted the offer to become part of the Dixie Echoes. Trent is an exceptional young bass singer, and we feel that our fans will love his smooth bass voice and friendly personality.
Since the announcement of the departure of Pat Barker, we have been overwhelmed with the response we have received. While we auditioned several fantastic bass singers for the position, we truly feel the addition of Trent to the Dixie Echoes is the right choice. We would like to thank everyone for their interest.
Joining the Dixie Echoes family along with Trent will be his wife, Jessica, and their daughter, Anzlee. Please join us in welcoming this young family. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for the Dixie Echoes in our 50th year of ministry. Please remember to keep us in your prayers.

Adams is one of the best up-and-coming basses in the business, and the Dixie Echoes have made an excellent hire here. He has a good amount of experience as well, singing stints with groups such as Hope’s Journey, The Old Paths, and Ron Blackwood & The Blackwood Quartet. Looking forward to hearing his sound with the Dixie Echoes.

Here are a couple of news items from the week:

1. Devin McGlamery’s first concert with Ernie Haase & Signature Sound was last night, and here’s the first video clip from the night. The song is “Climbing Higher & Higher.”

2. In case you’ve been under a rock, the Dixie Echoes are seeking a new bass singer after Pat Barker’s departure to join the Mark Trammell Quartet. Here is the official press release from the Dixie Echoes at the Singing News:

Pensacola, FL – This year marks a milestone in the Dixie Echoes career. We are celebrating our 50th Anniversary in Gospel music. Through the years, many great quartet men have carried a suitcase on the Dixie Echoes bus. It is with a heavy heart that we announce the departure of our bass singer, Pat Barker. Pat joined the Dixie Echoes in September 2007 and has been a vital part of the groups’ sound.
Pat shares, “My years with the Dixie Echoes have been some of the greatest years I’ve known in ministry. I have met some of the most wonderful people on the Planet. No one has shown me more kindness than Randy, Scoot, Stewart, Wesley, and the Gospel Music family as a whole. I am very sad to be leaving, but excited about the new ministry opportunities that await me. My prayer is that God will bless the Dixie Echoes more this coming year than He has in all 50 years combined. I never imagined my time with the Dixie Echoes would have been so short, but I also never imagined almost 3 years ago that I would get back on the road, leave my hometown, and start a new life in Pensacola, Florida. The Lord moves in mysterious ways. I love you all. Continue to lift up the Dixie Echoes in your prayers. And please say a prayer for me and my family as we continue to follow God wherever He leads.”
“Members come and go in every group. This was an unexpected change for us, but I know Pat’s heart, and if there’s one thing that I can tell anyone about him, it is that he lives what he sings about,” shares Stewart. “We will miss Pat, his wife Kesha, son Andy, and daughter Breelyn. They have become our extended family, and I wish him the best. Mark Trammell and I have been friends for many years and I know that Pat will be working with a great guy.”
We appreciate your prayers for both the Dixie Echoes and Pat Barker. We invite serious parties to send their information to auditions@dixieechoes.com or mail to: Dixie Echoes, 481 Ronda Street, Pensacola, FL 32534.

3. This may be old news to some, but speaking of open singing positions, the Toney Brothers are currently seeking a new vocalist as well, following the departure of lead singer Joe Kitson. All serious applicants can send submissions to toneybrothersbooking@gmail.com. The position is open to either lead singers or tenors, because their current tenor, Daniel Childs, can sing either part, and it is a full-time position.

In a long-awaited announcement at the Singing News, Mark Trammell announced that he is adding Pat Barker as bass singer to round out his quartet:

Gadsden, AL – George Younce said it best: Mark Trammell is a “quartet man” period. And after two years of soul searching and watching the craft of the traditional gospel quartet become scarce, Mark has decided to move from trio status to realizing his life long dream of having his own traditional style all male gospel quartet.
“This is not a decision that was made flippantly,” Mark states, “and all I’m really doing is simply returning to my roots. I was trained by some of the greatest men to ever take a quartet to the stage and I’m very excited about MTQ endeavoring to raise the bar when it comes our music and being able to minister to, as well as entertain our friends and fans.”
Mark has always been about singing and not gimmicks. He reminds us that Glen Payne and George Younce taught him that at the end of the day if you want to be successful in stirring the hearts of the people, you MUST eventually sing TO their hearts, and not just their heads.
Mark admits that there was a motive behind his decision to announce the change before knowing who the bass singer was going to be. While he openly states that this was not necessarily a religious awakening, he does want the right man for the position. In making the announcement the way he did, the prospects came to him, instead of him going on a search to find the right man.
The Mark Trammell Quartet is happy to announce the arrival of Patrick Barker to the Gadsden, Ala., based group, and they are looking forward to great days ahead. Pat will be joining the group somewhere around Feburary 1.

This is a surprise to me, as Barker’s name never came up in any discussions I saw, but it is a good hire on Mark’s part. Barker’s voice will fit well with the group’s sound; he impressed me with the Dixie Echoes, and while I hate to see that lineup get a change, Barker is one of the finest bass singers out there, and Mark Trammell made a great choice.

The question now is, who is to move to the bass position for the Dixie Echoes? It will be interesting to see who they get now; Brad Smith, formerly of the Blackwood Gospel Quartet, would be a fine addition, or perhaps they’ll hire an undiscovered talent.

Thursday of NQC 2009 saw a major flux in attendance numbers. Bill Gaither has come to town, bringing a big draw with him. Some observations and thoughts of today include:

1. Sound issues are not limited to the mainstage, folks. The mix on some songs in the GVB/EHSSQ showcase today was horrendous. I’m not sure if one of Gaither’s crew was running it or not. It sounded no different than earlier this week in the evenings, what with vocalists mics not being at the right levels.

Not to say either group sounded bad; quite the opposite. I just wish the sound had been on par with their performances.

Speaking of which, has anyone else noticed a whispery echo effect creeping into the sound? I noticed it to some extent last night on Eric Bennett’s feature on “One Drop Of Blood,” but today it was much more prominent. I thought it might have been just an added effect to David Phelps’ “Nessun Dorma,” but this evening it showed up EVERYWHERE, and it was kind of distracting, to be honest. The regular issues showed up tonight as well. I’m sure everyone would really rather not have NQC Volume 9 just be a collection of the only songs that didn’t have sound issues.

2. The Dixie Echoes are probably the best Traditional group in the business. They know how to get it done and get it done right. Pat Barker’s rendition of “How Big Is God” brought my mind back to clips of the old Blackwood Brothers groups, and it earned a standing ovation. I believe their performance of “Little Is Much” did as well.

3. If people thought Gold City was good Monday night, they should have heard them with the full Band Of Gold tonight. It was like the Gold City of days gone by. Chris Cooper must not have been feeling well tonight; the end of the second verse of “In My Robe Of White” sounded pretty faint, and when The Kingsmen joined them for the encore, he handed off the mic to Harold Reed. Gold City has a masterful command of the stage these days; play their cards right with the hiring of a new bass and it will keep on going.

Tonight’s lineup of concerts was “Quartet Night,” meaning that every group on mainstage was a male quartet. Let’s take a look at memorable events and happenings that transpired during this first night of NQC 2009.

1. Tim Riley is back! And hasn’t lost a thing; in fact, some might say he’s even better now. Not a word had been spoken by Gold City when they hit the stage, but once Tim stepped on, the place erupted. They were the only group of the night to have such a response. The sound was powerful and crisp, like the GC of the 80s and 90s. Great performance.

2. Speaking of Gold City, anybody who’s doubted about Chris Cooper’s fit at tenor should have heard him tonight. Close your eyes and you would have sworn it was a lineup with Jay Parrack. Gold City as a whole is bringing it so far. I’d like to hear them do “For The Sake Of My Heart” some time this week.

3. Sound issues abound, but that’s almost the norm nowadays. It just seems like it would be common sense for, when the singer is lifting his or her mic, to TURN THE THING ON. Groups that had decent sets were hindered by mediocre operating of the mic levels. Even when the mics were tested beforehand (example, The Dixie Echoes), the mics were still somehow off when the singing started. Hopefully as the week progresses the sound problems will decrease.

4. The comparisons between old and new lineups of the groups is a good idea. The way it worked was, a vintage clip of the group would play, which would segue into the group’s set as a “then-and-now” statement. It was quite fascinating, especially with groups like The Inspirations, whose vintage lineup and current lineup sounded almost identical.

Anything else? Chat away.

Singing News is having a test run of their new website layout here. They’ve been using this lineup on SouthernGospel.com for quite a while, so I figured it was a matter of time before the actual Singing News website got a similar look.

Also, the Dixie Echoes have unveiled a new website. It’s their first flash-based site, as opposed to the straight HTML they’ve used in the past (hat tip, DM).

Check out this video of The Kingsmen singing one of their best-known songs, “Beautiful Home,” at the recent Bill Bailey’s Winter Gospel Sing in Palmetto, FL. I’d encourage you to go watch it in high quality for best picture and sound.

I remember back when Reed first joined The Kingsmen, many wondered if he would fit the “Kingsmen tenor” style. If you haven’t heard how fantastic he sounded on their latest recording, When God Ran, then this video will settle any doubts. I heard the group do this live at last NQC, but it was near the end of the week, the guys were probably tired, and it didn’t sound so good. This one is the best I’ve heard. Harold’s range has extended since joining The Kingsmen; he hits a B-natural, which Daniel Mount says is a half-step above Ernie Phillips’ famed sky-high ending on “Love Lifted Me”.

Members of the Perrys and the Dixie Echoes (Tracy Stuffle and Pat Barker help Ray Dean Reese out on the bass) join on the encore, making for a powerful ending.

On a side note, notice the young piano player with The Kingsmen. His name is Cody McVeigh (I hope I didn’t butcher that spelling!), he is 17 years old, and as far as I know has been filling in with the group for about three weeks. I watched the other clips of the same night to see how Cody sounded, and what little I heard tells me he’s very talented for his age. Keep an eye open; we may hopefully see an announcement soon!