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A fairly extensive photo gallery is here.

I am typing this post as I wait in line for the Gaither Vocal Band / Ernie Haase & Signature Sound showcase. To get a seat anywhere closer than the nosebleeds, you have to be there over an hour before the doors open–that is to say, two hours before the show starts.

Last night, I spent less time than I wanted in Freedom Hall; however, I did attend several showcases, and, during the time I wasn’t in Freedom Hall, got some fascinating footage for the site.

The first item on the day’s schedule was Bill Gaither’s “World’s Largest Sing-Along.” Probably about 75 artists joined him on stage, and several thousand fans joined in the singing. Different artists would sing solos on the verses of a song. This made sense, since there were no words on a teleprompter or projection screen, at least for the audience, and while audiences typically remember the first verse and chorus of a song, many will not remember second verses.

• Just a Little While – Josh Garner had an amazing solo on the second verse, and received a standing ovation.
• I’m Saved, and I know that I Am – McCray Dove sang a solo.
• Goodbye World Goodbye – Ronny Hinson and Ivan Parker both sang solos. There was a rousing round of applause when Parker stood up.
• Wait Till You See Me in my new Home – Ben Speer and Devin McGlamery both sang solos. Speer was sitting in front, and there was a round of applause where he started. McGlamery was sitting in or near the back row, and it took several seconds for the fans in several off angles from stage to figure out who it was.
• When God Dips His Pen – Jessy Dixon started the song, and was joined by Stephen Hill. John Rulapaugh did a verse with a high ending and receiving a standing ovation. He ended up doing several encores, each time getting more solid.
• He Pilots My Ship – Mike Bowling and Ronny Hinson both had solos.
• Jesus Hold My Hand – This was sung by a trio of Sheri Easter, Ben Speer, and Wesley Pritchard (I think).
• I’ll Meet You in the Morning – The Speer sisters (Mary Tom and Rosa Nell) sang the song and received a strong response from the audience. It wasn’t because it was breathtaking musically as much as the audience realized that it may be one of our last opportunities to see those legends.
• Canaanland is Just in Site – There was a round of applause when Jason Crabb stood, and he did not disappoint.
• Give the World a Smile – The entire bass section – led by Tim Riley – was featured on the song; Ben Speer sang the lead lines. Tim Riley provided a depth to the bass section that added a rich texture that enhanced the overall sound of the rest of the Homecoming Choir.
• Up Above My Head – Ronny Hinson and Ivan Parker started the song, before Gaither cut to a video of George Younce and Jake Hess. More thoughts later.
• Joy Comes in the Morning – Jeanne Johnson(?) sang the solo on this song. Not too many of the artists knew it–a number of artists who held microphones for the rest of the concert handed their microphones to the few who knew the song.
• Till The Storm Passes By – Bill Gaither introduced Mosie Lister before featuring Ben Speer on the Lister classic.
• Rock of Ages – A trio of Charlotte Ritchie, Wesley Pritchard, and someone who is presently slipping my mind (Sheri Easter?) sang the first verse. Then Gaither cut to a video of Vestal Goodman singing the last verse. As with the Younce / Hess video, it sent chills down my spine, and, based on the audience response, probably most of the last of the audience. In fact, the audience response to the video clip was so strong that it would hardly have been any more had Goodman still been alive and delivered the solo in person. Could this be the future of the Homecoming events? As more legends pass on, could we see a higher percentage of video guest apparances? For that matter, might Bill Gaither himself prepare video for such future uses?
• Sweetest Song I Know – This started with a solo by Howard Goodman. It didn’t get quite the response the first two did, probably because it immediately followed a similar video appearances. TaRanda Greene, Mark Trammell, and Jason Crabb sang later in the song.
• Sho’ Do Need Him Now – This featured the bass section, particularly Tim Riley, Ronnie Hinson, and Jeff Chapman. Lauren Talley, Kim Hopper, TaRanda Greene, and Charlotte Ritchie were featured for the soprano part.
• Eastern Gate – Ann Downing was featured.
• What a Day – Jim Hill, who wrote the song fifty years ago, delivered a rousing rendition of his classic, and received a standing ovation.
• What a Lovely Name – This featured 11-year-old Logan Smith, a cute little kid who sounds amazingly like Vestal Goodman. He received a standing ovation and had to do an encore or two, which also received standing ovations.
• Feelin’ Fine – I don’t believe there were any solos on this one.
• If That Isn’t Love – My memory is slipping on this one, but I seem to think Jeanne Johnson was again featured.
• Holy Hills – Kim Hopper turned in a solid rendition of this Dottie Rambo classic.
• What a Meeting – This featured a trio of Frank Seamans, Josh Garner, and Ben Speer. They sounded fantastic together.

One general observation. Where I was sitting was particularly close to the bass section. Dixie Echoes bass Pat Barker was a lot of fun to watch. Though from a quite traditional group himself, he was enthusiastically cheering on singers of every style. He was the first on his feet for the standing ovations, and the first to shout a word of encouragement after a particularly strong solo. Russ Taff, known for being the unofficial Gaither cheerleader, wasn’t there…but after watching Pat, I decided he wasn’t needed.

I caught part of the Inspirations’ and McKameys’ Family and Friends showcase. SouthernGospelBlog.com contributor Sony Elise attended the entire event and sent me a set list. I’ll make comments on the part I caught.

The showcase started with both groups singing “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be.” Then the McKameys sang:

• Walked on a Little Longer (featuring Peg)
• The Good News (featuring Sheryl)
• That’s How I Got Saved (featuring Reuben)
• You’re Still God (featuring Peg)
• What Would I Do Without Jesus (Eli, Roger, and Connie)
• Between 12 and 33 (featuring Peg) – this was when I came in the room; the audience seemed to be really enjoying it.
• I’ve Made Up My Mind (featuring Cheryl)
• Do You Know How It Feels?
• God on the Mountain (featuring Peg) – the song got a very strong response.

Inspirations

• When I Wake Up to Sleep No More – Mike Holcomb shocked the audience with some rather high lead notes as part of an encore.
• Dealing with Gold (featuring Dallas Rogers) – Unlike when I saw them a few weeks back, they only did one encore. But the song still got quite a strong response.
• Stepping on the Clouds
• How Great it Is (featuring Melton Campbell)
• It’s Still the Blood (featuring Dallas) – standing ovation and an encore. Very strong performance.
• I Have Not Forgotten (featuring lead singer David Ragan)
• The Son Came Down (featuring David and bass singer Mike Holcomb)
• If You Only Knew (featuring Mike)
• Thank God I’ve Made It (featuring Dallas)

The McKameys and the Inspirations closed the showcase singing “I’ve Got My Mind Made Up” together.

I made it over to Freedom Hall in time to catch the two Kims, Kim Collingsworth and Kim Hopper, do “Blessed Assurance” together. (Kim C. played piano and Kim H. sang.)

The Collingsworth Family, in their first main stage appearance ever, performed four songs. They started with “Not the Same,” featuring oldest daughter Brooklyn. Then a ladies trio of Kim and daughters Brooklyn and Courtney sang a song off their brand new project, The Answer, “Fear Not Tomorrow.” This song received a standing ovation. Then Brooklyn and Courtney did a violin duet, “No One Cared For Me Like Jesus,” before closing with “Jesus is Still the Answer.”

On the instrumental, the violins were not amplified as much as one might expect; in fact, Phil went over to the sound techs and tried to get them to increase the amplification. They did seem to increase it a little, but the sound was still a lot quieter than it was for the rest of the night.

Yet the song received a standing ovation. In fact, it was the most unanimous and prolonged ovation I heard all night (except for perhaps the final ovation at the finale).

But perhaps the right transitional word for the previous paragraph is not “yet.” Perhaps it should be “therefore.” In an event where it can seem like every group is trying to be louder than the previous group, the quiet simplicity of a violin duet stood out. It was so different that the audice paid attention, and they liked what they heard.

I have heard the duet several times live in regular concerts, and I have never seen it receive a standing ovation.

I only dwell on this poin for so long because I think its point that is worth heeding by groups in multi-artist events, particularly those that include instrumentals. Louder is not always better.

Karen Peck and New River, the Talley Trio, and the Booth Brothers sang “I’ll Fly Away” together. Then Karen Peck & New River did a set consisting of “Hold Me While I Cry,” “Hey,” “I Want to Thank You,” and (what for me was the highlight), “I’m Gonna Wear a Robe.”

The Talley Trio sang “He’s So Good to Me,” “The Promise,” “Broken Ones,” and “His Life for Mine.” The first two songs were from their current project, Songs You Know By Heart; the latter two were familiar favorites. All were well received.

Now there were quite a few sets I wanted to catch, but I had several things come up (one of which resulted in a video going up immediately after this post is up). So I wasn’t back to main stage until the finale, featuring Gold City. They started with “I’m Not Giving Up.” Then, they featured tenor Chris Cooper on “When I Get Carried Away” and bass singer Tim Riley on “Under Control.” They closed with “When He Blessed My Soul”; the ending, with Chris Cooper hitting through-the-rafters high notes and bass Tim Riley rattling the (concrete) floor, was pure, classic Gold City.

The Ball Brothers have the most interesting NQC video of the week (so far). They make the case that the new Brian Free & Assurance CD is a home run. Literally.

Here’s a challenge for the groups exhibiting at NQC who may read this blog: Top that, let me know, and I’ll feature you here.

A photo gallery is here.

I had a late night last night, so I didn’t have the chance to write a summary of the Tuesday night mainstage performances last night or this morning. Doors opened for the Gaither Homecing sing-along showcase an hour before the program commenced, so to get a good seat, I waited in line, and I’m actually typing this from the front row of the showcase. About 75 chairs, a piano, two guitars, and a five-piece brass section (the Down Home Brass from Michigan) are awaiting the program to commence in about fifty minutes. Several thousand people are already in the room.

Last night, the program kicked off with several family groups. I was setting up a video for the Crist Family’s community site (www.cristconnect.com)–more on that later–so I missed the first several groups.

The Chuck Wagon Gang turned in a pleasant set. They started with “Gloryland Way” before singing a new song, the title track from their current project, “Keep Travelin’ On.” Stan, their lead singer, led an a capella rendition of “Oh Come Angel Band.” Alto Penny Greene took the lead on “I’m Gonna See Heaven.”

The Crist Family sang two songs, “The Rock” and “Oh Happy Day.” As David Bruce Murray commented in his post, they showed a confidence and stage presence belying their relative newness on main stage and, for that matter, as a group. I took a video before their set that is too good not to share: http://cristconnect.com/2009/09/16/crist-family-sings-on-the-mainstage/

Greater Vision, Legacy Five, and the Booth Brothers sang “He’d Still Been God” together. Greater Vision then took the stage with a Gerald Wolfe feature, “I Know He Heard My Prayer.” Jacob Kitson was then featured on the next three songs–”So Much God,” “Little is Much” (which received an enthusiastic standing ovation), and “I’m Too Near Home.” Jacob Kitson did a Vestal Goodman invitation on the latter song.

The Mark Trammell started their set with a song from their new Vintage Gospel project, “Leave Your Sorrows.” Mark sang a solo keyed for the bass range on “While Ages Roll.” He then hit a home run with “Loving the Lamb,” getting one of the most widespread standing ovations of the night. New tenor Joel Wood was particularly solid on that song, singing the challenging tenor part above Mark’s high lead vocal with aplomb.

The Hoppers managed to fit five songs into their set. The set started with alto Connie Hopper singing the lead on “Just a Rose Will Do.” They did two other songs from their new CD, “In the Sweet Forever” and “On the Authority.” Between the two, they did a song (featuring lead singer Dean Hopper) from North America Live, They closed with “Jerusalem,” mentioning the many requests that had already been made that week for the song. It was a rather interesting selection, since the Thursday-Saturday attendees will be sure to request it again, and they’ll have a harder time doing a different closing big ballad, say their current single, “Grace Will Always Be Greater than Sin” (which, I hear, is finally getting sent to radio), or a new song like “Something’s Happening.”

The Perrys’ set was the last I managed to catch Tuesday night. They started with “I Love to Tell,” featuring bass Tracy Stuffle , and followed it with another uptempo song, “I Know it Was the Blood.” Alto Libbi Perry Stuffle sang a perennial favorite, “The Potter Knows the Clay.” They closed with their current single, “If You Know Him,” featuring Joseph Habedank and co-written by Habedank and Rodney Griffin. The song got the biggest response of the night, and it was the Perrys’ set that I heard the most buzz afterwards.

As I conclude this post, the Down Home Brass are in the middle of a set opening the Homecoming Sing-along. They are really quite a solid ensemble, worthy of the setting. More on the showcase later.

A photo gallery is here.

The night kicked off with three or four quartets singing “Living in Canaan Now.” After an audience sing-along on several songs, Gerald Wolfe introduced Larnelle Harris, who, as I mentioned yesterday, received a standing ovation.

I had some web work that needed doing, but I returned to main stage about halfway through Brian Free and Assurance’s set. They sang, among other songs, “Prayin’ Man” and “Long as I Got King Jesus.” BF&A bass singer Jeremy Lile’s father is dying of cancer and is not expected to last more than another day or two, so the group gave him the week off to spend with his father. Jeff Chapman of the Kingdom Heirs filled in and did a spectacular job. You simply haven’t heard “Prayin’ Man” till you’ve heard Chapman’s Tim Riley-esque bass hammering the low notes. More on Tim Riley later.

The Dixie Echoes were next up, and started with two uptempo songs, “I’ll Be Ready” (featuring tenor Wesley Smith and a solid rhythm bass from Pat Barker) and “Miracles Will Happen On That Day.” Then they featured Pat Barker on the George Younce / Cathedrals classic “Plan Of Salvation” (off their brand new project I’d Rather Have Jesus). His solo sent chills down my spine–it was certainly one of the highlights of day 1. Baritone Scoot Shelnut sang “Now I Have Everything,” a song his grandfather Dale used to sing with the group. The Dixie Echoes closed the set with a rousing rendition of “I’ll Have a New Life,” and were joined by the Dixie Melody Boys on the encore.

The sound engineers seem to mess up at least one Dixie Echoes set each year, without fail, and this year is no exception; they did not turn the Dixie Echoes’ microphones on until halfway through the first verse of the opening track. F0rtunately, that was the only major sound issue of the day (at least while I was in Freedom Hall).

The Dixie Melody Boys opened their set with “Far Beyond the Starry Sky.” Baritone Steve Cooper delivered a very solid rendition of “Ten Thousand Years.” Past member Donald Moore recently returned (after Joe Kitson left for the Toney Brothers); he sang “It Will Be Worth it All When We Get Home.” Tenor Jonathan Price (who has been with the group for at least a year, since this is his second convention) sang “What a Wonderful Day.” He has nice control over when he changes vocal registers, and the song made good use of this smile. After an acapella rendition of “Give the World a Smile,” the group closed with “Gonna Ride That Glory Cloud.”

After an absence of years, it was a thrill to see the Blackwood Brothers once more step on the stage of the event they started. Granted, it was an earlier lineup that started the convention, with James Blackwood and J.D. Sumner, but James’s son Jimmy carries on the legacy–and the sound. They started their all-too-brief set with “How About Your Heart” and “Old Country Church.” They closed with “It is Well With My Soul”; the song, particularly one part where the piano drops off and they sing part of a verse acapella, was enthusiastically applauded.

Triumphant Quartet had a strong set, as always; interestingly, I don’t think they did anything off of their current project. I’m forgetting the opening song presently (EDIT: …and that opening song, “Amazed at the Change,” was from the new CD, as several kind readers reminded me last night!), but the rest of the set list was: “Forgave Me Saved Me Raised Me,” “When Morning Sweeps the Eastern Sky,” “Goodbye World Goodbye,” and “I Know I’m Going There Home.” The latter song got a strong response (as always), and they did one or two encores. But, oddly enough, I noticed they walked off stage with 1 minute 42 seconds remaining on their clock.

Gold City walked on stage and electrified the audience before they sang their first note. Even if temporarily, Tim Riley is back, and before they were far into their first song (”Cast My Bread”), I was hearing comments all around me to the effect of “He’s still got it!” Wisely, they featured Tim on the next song, “After Awhile.” New tenor Chris Cooper sang “In Time On Time Every Time”; his voice, though a little more straight-ahead (less flashy) then one or two earlier tenors’, seems comfortable in that range. They did close with one song from their current CD, “What Children Believe.”

The Dove Brothers played in particular to the part of the audience that knew and loved country music. Except for their final song (”Didn’t it Rain”), their other three tracks were from their current CD: “Little David,” “He’s Gonna Smile on Me,” and “A Little Good News.” At one point, one of the singers (I’m thinking it was Eric Dove, but I couldn’t quite see) said: “Ain’t that just like George Jones?”

The Kingsmen lineup has been together long enough now for their vocal blend to tighten. They started with two uptempo songs, “Travelin’ Home” and “When It’s All Said and Done.” Tenor Harold Reed was featured on a new Rodney Griffin song, “God Saw a Cross.” Expect to see that song as one of next year’s Songs of the Year. Pianist Cody McVey received a standing ovation for his rendition of “Old Time Religion / William Tell Overture.” They closed with “Stand Up,” and were joined by the Kingdom Heirs on the encore. Kingdom Heirs tenor–the best Kingsmen tenor that’s never sung with them–sang some lines of “Stand Up,” and it sounded just like the old days. Well, honestly, better.

The Kingdom Heirs kicked off their own set with “Gloryland Way,” and then featured Arthur Rice on “The Rock’s Between the Hard Place and You,” “Since I Met Him,” and their new barn-burner (also penned by Rodney Griffin,) “He Locked the Gates.” They were joined by the Kingsmen for the encore there and knocked it out of the park.

The Inspirations turned in a set so good that Musicscribe’s David Bruce Murray–no fan of the group in the past–said in his coverage that he can finally “absolutely enjoy the group from top to bottom now.” They started with “Jesus is Mine,” following that with two songs from their new CD (The Son Came Down), “How Great It Is” and “The Son Came Down.” The group did several acapella encores of the latter song. They closed with Mike Holcomb singing “If You Only Knew.” Tenor Dallas Rogers has clearly started the process of (and made some progress toward) winning over Inspirations / Archie Watkins loyalists.

I caught snippets of Tribute Quartet and Legacy Five’s sets, and both were strong.

There’s no question–and I note my fellow bloggers are unanimous–that the set that generated the most buzz was Gold City’s. Whether intentional or not, I think they left the entire audiece wishing that they would do whatever it takes to bring Tim Riley back permanently. Yes, even if it means cutting back dates. He still has that undefinable quality that makes a legend.

I caught up with the Chuck Wagon Gang’s Dave Emery last night and asked him to comment on their Tuesday set on the mainstage. (That’s tonight, even though the video was taped yesterday.)

The National Quartet Convention kicked off about an hour ago with a surprise guest, Louisville’s own Larenelle Harris. He’s a former tenor for the Gaither Vocal Band and has had a successful career in Inspirational music. He sang the “Amen Chorus” and received an enthusiastic standing ovation. He also sang a medley of several songs, including “Were You There,” “Jesus Paid it All,” and “My Tribute.”

I had a couple of videos that needed to be uploaded for several different websites, so I had to slip out of Freedom Hall for a bit. But I plan to be back in about ten minutes to catch the Dixie Echoes and the Dixie Melody Boys.

I plan to post more late tonight or tomorrow morning, but thought an early sneak peek wouldn’t hurt anything!

Rodney Griffin has the scoop on Greater Vision’s plans for the week.

The SouthernGospelForums.com quilt that has been in development for months is finally revealed, and Diana Brantley (Dinana / DinanaSN) has the scoop: