On January 6, I was privileged to be able to attend the Soul’d Out Quartet concert in East Bend, NC, hosted by JOY FM and a local group, The Boys. Every Soul’d Out concert I’ve ever been to has been great, but there was an extra level of excitement to this one, as it was the debut concert for the group’s new vocalist, Bryan Hutson. Hutson came from singing lead with The Kingsmen to fill the void left by Tanner Stahl’s departure in December 2011.

The activity center of Enon Baptist Church was filled to capacity, making it one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen for a concert that wasn’t NQC or Gaither related. There were quite a few singers in our genre, past and present, that were in attendance as well; among those spotted were Phil Barker, Darren Osborne, Harold Reed, and Chris Collins.

Bryan Hutson fits the Soul’d Out Quartet like a glove in sound, stage presence, and personality. I also picked up the new Soulace project and a pre-release copy of their upcoming Crossroads debut, What The World Doesn’t Know, and both are really good. But you don’t have to take my word for it about their live sound; see and hear for yourself!

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