I attended a concert last Thursday night in Vinton, VA featuring the Dixie Melody Boys. I had never seen the group outside of NQC, and I had heard enough from the reunion last year and the 50th Anniversary project to know that I would likely enjoy their sound with the new lineup, and I was not disappointed. Due to the number of videos that I got, I’ll just link to the playlist. A large number of the songs done at this concert came from their latest CD, including their new radio single, “Jesus In My Boat.”

I got the opportunity to attend a benefit concert in my area last weekend featuring Gold City, Garden of Grace, and Doug Smith. This concert was part of an annual series put on by Central Virginia Angel Hearts, and all the proceeds for this event went toward the medical expenses of Erin Hope Coleman, a four-year old girl who has complications due to a very premature birth. I was unable to take any video, but my friend Andrew Graham was, and here’s what he posted:

“It Won’t Be Long” will be featured on the groups upcoming release, Somebody’s Coming, but in the meantime, they’ve been staging the song and working in some comedic moments!

What Children Believe – This was an unplanned moment in the concert, but Daniel had remarked from the stage how fun it was to watch little Erin Hope (the girl whom the concert was held for) dancing around to the songs the group was singing. As soon as he said that, she made her way up the stairs to give him a big hug. He picked her up and told Bryan he wanted to do this song for Erin Hope, and so the group did. This was one of the highlights of the night, as far as I’m concerned.

Truth Is Marching On

Midnight Cry – New lead singer Craig West has been making quite a name for himself in that position for Gold City, especially on this signature song. Ivan Parker may have introduced it, but Craig gets my vote for the best singer to take it on since Parker. It is worth noting that I was told after the concert that Craig was still recovering from bronchitis that night.

Anyone who has perused the various SG blogs these past few months undoubtedly knows that former Mercy’s Mark bass singer Chris West (who is, coincidentally, Craig’s brother) is the soundman for Gold City, and that he has been coming up to sing bass on a couple of songs every night. Daniel Riley confirmed from the stage what speculation has stated for some time: Chris is being prepped to take Tim Riley’s spot when he eventually retires again. West only sang this song, “After A While,” with the group that night, but judging by the sound and the response of the crowd, he will be the perfect fit with the group.

This past Saturday night, I made the hour-long trip to Buena Vista, VA for the last night of the VA Southern Gospel Jubilee, an outdoor three-day event held every July. I had been out of town all week and had just gotten back home that day, but since I’d never seen The Perrys outside of NQC and they don’t come to the area that often, I decided it was too good to pass up.

The concert started at 5:00, with close to an hour of musical groups affiliated with the local church that puts on the event. I took this opportunity to chat with some of the singers, and enjoyed talking with Troy Peach, Joseph Habedank, and Tracy and Libbi Stuffle.

At about 5:30, the first headliner group, Greater Love, took the stage. Subscribers to the Singing News may remember this Orange, VA based group getting a feature article in the May 2010 edition. I couldn’t name any of the songs they did, as this was my first time ever hearing them, but I was told that most of their songs were from their newest release. The group has a good sound and blend. One particular interesting note is that their bass singer, Don Leake, had open-heart surgery months ago, and it had not looked like he would be able to make the event. However, he was in good health, and did very well in the group’s set.

After an offering being taken up, The Perrys launched into their set. They started off with “I Love To Tell Of His Love,” “I Know It Was The Blood,” and “Still Blessed,” one right after the other. Other songs of the night included “Prior To A Prayer,” “This Old Sinner Testifies,” “Did I Mention?” “I Wish I Could Have Been There,” and “If You Knew Him.” Bryan Elliot did a remarkably fast piano solo, and Tracy Stuffle also did his chainsaw impersonation.

This particular lineup has really gelled well. The voices play really well off of each other, and an A Capella encore of “Did I Mention” really highlighted that fact. Tracy Stuffle’s style of MC work connects with the audience really well. He injects a good dose of humor throughout the program, but also builds up to songs very well, as he did with the closer, “If You Knew Him.” That particular song led into an altar call that had many going forward, and was twice encored with just piano.

If you have the chance to see either of these groups, this blogger highly recommends them. Although the sets were not as long as a regular event might be, I was still impressed with both.

The music and business world was saddened to hear about the passing of Jimmy Dean Sunday.  One of Dean’s most recognizable songs is “Big Bad John” which tells the story of a common working man that gives his life to save his fellow man.  Dean hosted his own TV show known as the Jimmy Dean show.  The younger crowd will know Dean for his sausage, Jimmy Dean Sausage.  This is all amazing for a man that dropped out of high school after the ninth grade.

Dean died in his Henrico Co. home just outside of Richmond, VA.  I had the privilidge of seeing him at a Gaither concert here in the VA area.  He will be truly missed by friends and family.

Bill Gaither gives tribute to his friend here.

As of late, Dean appeared on the Gaither Homecoming Joy In My Heart DVD.  Here are a couple links to those videos.  You can also find clips of Dean on youtube when he was in better health appearing in his TV show as well as other events.

Thursday evening 3 members of the Virginia Gospel Music Association had the privilege of seeing the new lineup of Gold City in concert in Wirtz, VA at Halesford Baptist Church. In attendance was Aaron Swain, Andrew Graham, and myself Jeremy Bell. (Ruth V gets a shout out since she was there early enough to save seats.) Aaron will be posting a review later on and I will be posting pictures to facebook. Just as a teaser, here are some clips that Andrew shot for your enjoyment. My favorite was probably One Scarred Hand Acappella.

Rainbow of Love

One Scarred Hand – Acappella

(more…)

I had the privilege of attending this April 26 concert. I call it a privilege simply because it was an awesome night.

The concert opened up with Bill Gaither singing “Old Friends” and interacting with the audience. He then introduced Sue Dodge, a native of Northern VA and has been featured on many of the Homecoming videos. She was followed by a three-song set by Gordon Mote consisting of “All That Noise,” “Mercy Walked In,” and “Don’t Let Me Miss The Glory.” The videos that went with Mote’s songs really added to the performances.

Ben Speer was featured on one song. It is good to see a legend like that still chugging along at such an advanced age. Janet Paschal did a two-song set to follow.

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound charged the crowd up with their energetic song list. They brought David Griffith with them to play bass guitar, giving them a complete live band with Kevin Williams on guitar, Grit on bass, Greg Ritchie on drums, and Wayne Haun at piano. The crowd ate it up, warranting several completely live encores of “Get Away Jordan,” in one particular instance. Judging by the response, it is a pretty safe bet that EH&SS will carry out what they mentioned a while ago about adding a live band to their solo concerts. (Side note: Since the time of this writing, they’ve announced that they are adding a three-piece band for their 2009 Summer Tour, at least.)

Another thing I have noticed with EH&SS lately (and this concert further confirmed it) is that their stage presence has definitely matured over time. It’s not all about the choreography and dancing around anymore; rather, that’s become a small part of their set, and they are now more of a throwback to the old quartets. Most of their set was done around two mics, even throwing in an impressively tight-harmony a capella rendition of “Wonderful Grace Of Jesus.” Sure, the energy is very much still there, but they’re giving the naysayers a whole lot less to complain about.

Lynda Randle followed up with two songs, the latter in tribute to a couple that happened to be in the arena that helped her into a Christian school. Bill Gaither encored it a couple times, and then the lights went completely out. If you’ve read recent concert reviews and kept an eye on Youtube, you can guess what happened next; the new GVB started into “Alpha & Omega,” with the lights progressing up as the song went on.

I came to the concert not knowing what to expect from the new GVB. I’d heard they were incredible, and I’d seen the Youtube clips, but unless you hear something like that for yourself, it’s all talk.

All those who are unsure about the new lineup, go catch a concert soon. I have heard every lineup the GVB has ever had, and I can honestly say that this one is the best. The blend is superb, and each singer is impressive in his own right. David Phelps and Wes Hampton alternating on tenor makes for a great high range. Michael English is sounding more and more like his old self again, and is clearly having the time of his life. Mark Lowry has matured in both voice and stage presence. Sure, he’s still the clown, but his serious side has developed a whole lot since he went off on his own. Even Bill, at the ripe old age of 73, is still sounding good. I was particularly impressed at his bass slide on the end of “He Touched Me.” Tim Duncan was nowhere to be seen, so I was surprised that something that low could come out of Bill Gaither.

The second half was a typical Homecoming gathering, with different singers singing old songs. The concert closed with a powerful version of “Because He Lives,” followed by “Holy Highway.” All in all, it was a fantastic night, and one that showed a bright future for the GVB. I am eagerly awaiting the two projects that they are currently at work on.

My friend Jeremy Bell over at VA Southern Gospel was in attendance and took many pictures, which can be viewed here, here, and here.