If you were going to tack on a theme to the first two nights of the Memorial Day sing at Indian Creek, it could easily be this – live music.  Thursday night, we enjoyed the Primitive Quartet and Jeff & Sheri Easter who both have live bands.  Friday night, we heard more groups with great live bands like the McKameys and the Inspirations.

The evening began much like it did on Thursday night; all the Veterans were honored, specifically each branch of the military.  Robert, deacon at Indian Creek and Navy sailor in Vietnam, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and opened the evening in prayer.  Then, Danny Jones came on stage and introduced the first group.

Josh and Ashley Franks have been requested many times by the attendees of the Memorial Day sing, and as Danny said, when so many requests come in, you pay attention.  Josh and Ashley kicked off Friday night with two up-beat songs, “Still Gotta Kneel At The Cross” and “It’s The Blood.”  “What a joy it is for us to be here,” exclaimed Josh, greeting the crowd.  “Look to your neighbor and say, ‘I’m glad you’re sitting next to me because you’re in the good looking section!”  Then he sang “In The Midst Of It All.”  Afterwards, he took a moment and spoke of how good God is, which led into a slower song featuring Ashley called, “I Have Been Blessed.”  As the last note rang out, Josh exclaimed, “Don’t patty-cake that, put your hands together like you love Him!”  He went on to introduce his wife and told a story of how she came home from the salon one day with a different hairdo.  After ten years, he decided that whether blonde, brunette, straight or curly hair, he will always love Ashley!  The crowd clapped along to their closing tune, “I Know My God Can Do It.”  There was a good energy in the tent and so Josh added, “Let’s do some more of that!”  Even after that encore, Danny thought the crowd would enjoy another round and encouraged them to encore it again.

By way of introduction, Danny shared a few words about the next group, “They are some of the most consistent and godly people you will ever meet.  They won’t tell you this, but they have the most number one songs in Gospel Music – The McKameys!”  The McKameys began their program with the soothing tune of “There Is A Refuge.”  Following, came a repertoire of songs delivered back to back; “The Book Is In Me,” “Days Gone By” and “Unspoken Request.”  When Roger finished singing that last lyric about God hearing even the most broken heart, Ruben stepped up and said, “And I’m glad He can.  He’s not handicapped, He’s not limited.”  After those encouraging words, Ruben introduced his family.  As Connie stepped up next to her Dad, Ruben grinned and said, “I could tell a lot on the girls.”  Just then, Connie shook her head as if to say, “I won’t let that happen!”  Ruben teased a little by pointing out how kids would always save their meanest pranks for the last day of school because they won’t have to answer for it.  Then he added, “We may tell on the girls…at the end of the night!”  LOL!  Everyone chuckled.  After introductions Peg had Connie share an update on Eli, who is waiting to undergo a kidney transplant in June.  So far, all is going well!  Sheryl was featured on “That’s Why There’s A Cross” and then the music began for “God On The Mountain.”  The folks didn’t have to wait for Peg to begin singing – recognizing the tune, they applauded their favorite song.  As Peg sang, folks would randomly give a shout or “hallelujah” during the tune.  Afterwards, Peg shared how the Lord did something for her that she never got over – her salvation.  She went on to give the gospel through John 3:16 and Ruben finished the concept by singing his feature, “Something Worth Saving.”  Next, Sheryl sang their ballad written from Ephesians 3:20 called, “What If.”  Then, they sang a brand new song.  So new, that it hasn’t been released on CD yet!  It’s their new radio single and will be releasing on their new CD coming out in June – it features Roger and goes by the title, “The Record.”  Introducing their final song for the first half, Peg explained, “All our lives we’ve tried to lift up Christ and He’s supplied us with wonderful songs.  Jesus is in our midst tonight and we appreciate His presence here, but we also know that there are great needs present as well.  People come here and expect us to give them something to help them…so we give them Jesus.”  This set up their beautiful ballad, “There Is Jesus,” and as the final note was sung hands were raised high and many were on their feet in honor of the One the McKameys were singing about.

Before the next group came on, Josh Franks came on stage to take up the offering.  He encouraged everyone to, “Please put something in and don’t take anything out!”  LOL!  While the buckets were passed, The Inspirations band came out and played “Just Over In The Gloryland.”

The final group on stage for the first part of the evening was The Inspirations.  This was my first time to see the Inspirations since the ownership changed, and I was excited to see the “new” group in action.  They came out with many of their signature songs performed back to back.  Songs like “Jesus Is Mine,” “I’m Bound For That City,” “I Have Not Forgotten,” “Just A Little Talk With Jesus” and “If You Only Knew.” Fans of the Inspirations will recognize that last ballad as a bass feature, but here, Archie takes the lead on the verses as his own.  They sang one more before introducing the group, and that song was none other than the lyric that says, “Where tears never stain the streets of gold…”  As the members were introduced, each man took the mic and gave a testimony of how they came to know Jesus.  Archie was last, who pointed out that though the singers were old, the band was young.  He went on to explain that this was done on purpose so when the old ones got tired they young ones would sing!  And that’s what they did next, each of the younger guys took turns singing.  The first sang on “What All The Shoutings About” and the next on “Dealing With Gold.”  I would make note who was singing, but I was in the other side of the tent eating a hot dog and sweet potato pie from the Snack Shack.  Their last song was their Memorial Day tribute where they all sang “God’s Word Will Stand.”

Once again, intermission lasted about fifteen minutes and then everyone gathered back in the tent to hear each group sing a few more songs.  Before the artists made it up to the stage, Josh Franks and Danny Jones stood up front with a big KFC carton.  What could they be up to?  Well, Danny said that if they could raise $100, he would put the “chicken bucket” on his head!  (All raised funds would be added to the offering for the church.)  For the next few minutes, folks pulled out some cash and donated to the cause…guess they really wanted a picture of Danny with a KFC bucket on his head!  They didn’t quite make it to $100, but being the good sport he is, Danny did it anyway.  After a dramatic “1…2…3” from Josh, the carton came down on Danny’s head and he humbly stood there as cameras snapped photos.

For the second part of the evening, each group came back on and sang three or so songs.  Josh and Ashley Franks were the first on stage with an up-beat tune called “Twill Be Heaven There,” which featured each of them on a different verse.  Josh introduced their second song, “While Our Tears Are Falling,” a ballad that Ashley wrote after the passing of Tony Greene and then they finished with “Sweet Songs About Heaven.”

The McKameys second set kicked off with “While I Wait” and “Give It Away.”  In between the verses of “Give It Away” Peg quoted D. L. Moody, who said, “If you hear that I’m dead, don’t believe it.  I’ll be more alive up there than I ever was down here.”  As they finished up that tune, folks had their hands raised and waved them back and forth.  Such a moment!  Peg went on to tell a story that led into their last song; the re-telling began like this… One time, a preacher saw a young man reading the book of Revelation.  The preacher stopped and asked the young man, “Are you reading Revelation?”  The young man answered, “Yeah!”  Then the preacher asked him, “Do you understand it?”  The young man answered again, “Yeah!”  Finally, the preacher asked, “What does it say?”  The young man replied, “It says we win!”  Then the McKameys closed their set with “He Fought The Battle, I Won.”

The Inspirations came on stage singing the classic “Roll On Jordan” a’cappella.  Though they sang a little more than three songs, it was nice to hear more of the beloved songs we’ve come to love from this quartet, such as, “I Found A Faithful Friend,” “Two Shoes,” “Some Wonderful Day” and “When I Wake Up To Sleep No More.”

Conclusion:  All the groups did an excellent job on Friday night!  It was great to see Josh and Ashley sing again; they’re one group that we don’t have the chance to see very often, so, when we do, it’s always a treat.  The McKameys are always a favorite!  When they step on the platform, the love of Christ just flows from the stage.  We missed seeing Eli play with them but are thrilled with the positive news he’s receiving from his doctors so far.  As mentioned above, it was my first time to see The Inspirations sing with this particular line-up and I was very intrigued by how they’ve handled their program since the change.  They have their own interpretation of how they deliver the legendary songs of the past and will definitely make their own mark in the group’s history.  We had a wonderful evening and enjoyed the music and fellowship at Indian Creek.

Did you miss the post for Thursday night at Indian Creek with the Primitive Quartet and Jeff & Sheri Easter?  You can read it here —> Memorial Day at Indian Creek – Thursday Night.