SouthernGospelBlog.com

The National Quartet convention just posted their 2008 schedule. While I’ll wait for DBM to give the schedule his usual detailed and insightful analysis, a few preliminary observations:

• The big news, of course, is that the Gaither Vocal Band and Signature Sound are back, in the Friday night lineup.
• It seems like there are fewer groups on Monday night. If every group got an equal amount of time, they would have 24 minutes. Since there will be a few that likely won’t get that, it makes me wonder if they’re going to permit some of the biggest draws to have a half hour or more.
• Also speaking of Monday, it looks like they’ve re-instituted quartet night. Granted, three other groups also appear–the Booth Brothers, the Perrys, and the Mark Trammell Trio–but they are three of the four top non-quartet draws in the business (Greater Vision retaining their usual Tuesday night slot).
• Names missing: No Palmetto State, no Mercy’s Mark, no Anchormen and no Driven, and no trace yet of the Browns or Jimmy Blackwood’s Blackwood Brothers Quartet. No Ball Brothers, though they did have and staff a booth this past year. And, almost unbelievably, still no Collingsworth Family.
• I guess being a part-owner of NQC (not sure if Stewart Varnado’s a full-fledged board member or not) doesn’t come with an absolute guarantee of three slots, since the Dixie Echoes only have two slots, Monday and Thursday.

All in all, while a few groups I’d enjoy seeing aren’t there this year, it looks like it will be a great year for NQC and for Southern Gospel.

The last year has been pretty tough on quartets. The news that all the members of Palmetto State Quartet left (except manager/lead singer Kerry Beatty) came yesterday. This is the fourth group within the last year to have this happen:

• All the four traveling members of the Anchormen left to start Driven. The manager and former drums player, Tim Bullins, was not a traveling member of the group. Bullens hired a regional group, Chapter IV, to become the new Anchormen.
• All the members of Monument Quartet except tenor / bus owner Marshall Pugh left to form Tribute Quartet. At that point, Pugh led Monument into Country music, which has led some to believe that the earlier Monument lineup heard of the plans and wanted to stick to Gospel music.
• All the members of Mercy’s Mark except pianist / manager Garry Jones left a few months ago. Their plans are not yet announced, but their fans are definitely hoping they’ll stay in Southern Gospel music.

Add to that that the Florida Boys and the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet have disbanded within the past year, and it’s simply been tough for quartets this year.