It was Saturday, the 22nd of December 2012 when I checked my mail box and pulled out the January 2013 issue of the Singing News Magazine. Wow…another year really has come to an end, hasn’t it? Well, it has! So, as we launch into another year, I want to pause for a moment and review some of 2012’s highlights, my favorite moments, favorite concerts, CD’s, etc! (So, what that basically means, is, I’m going to do some rambling!…hopefully some meaningful rambling though!) *wink*
Five Favorite Concerts . . .
1 Hands down my number one favorite concert to attend in 2012 was the live DVD taping of the Jubilee Gang’s “A Christmas Jubilee” on December 9th. Outside of NQC, this was the second time I have been to a Southern Gospel concert where all the music was Christmas! Throughout the taping an energy rippled off the stage and through the crowd…you never know what L5, GV or the BB’s are going to do next!
2 My second favorite concert was the “Man Behind The Music” Lari Goss tribute taping and live broadcast we went to at TBN last July. When there are cars parking in the grass – you know it’s going to be good! LOL That night was so special. When artists and musicians come on their own time to honor their producer and friend…well, it can’t be explained, but I’ll say this, the atmosphere in that building wasn’t just any ole’ concert!
3 Number three has to be a concert that our family attended in Ava, Ohio while on vacation. It was with the Mark Trammell Quartet, in a tiny church, out in the middle of nowhere! What made the concert so great was the joy in the people there – they packed that building so full you couldn’t walk down the isles, and we had church!
4 The only concert I didn’t blog about in 2012 ended up being one of the best! Brian Free and Assurance sang in Springfield, Missouri late in October and it was awesome. They sang some new songs from their Nothing But Love project and a soul came to know the Lord that night. I had a front row seat and we just had fun!
5 Last but not least, going to the Meramec Theater in November to see Greater Vision comes in fifth. Not because it was any less than any of the other concerts! Trust me, it was anything but that! Compared to some of the other concerts and events I attended during the year, this concert seemed to have one of the most serious tones to it…and that’s why I remember it. Out of all the concerts I was present at in 2012, this one moved me the most spiritually.
Five Fantastic CD’s . . .
1. Nothing But Love – Brian Free and Assurance
2. Jubilee 3 – Greater Vision, Legacy Five, the Booth Brothers
3. Middle of Nowhere – Red Roots
4. Lifetime – Mark Trammell Quartet
5. Count Your Blessings – Legacy Five
Five Favorite Moments . . .
1 Late February found us at the Truthseekers Homecoming in Illinois. On Saturday night the feature artists were Brian Free and Assurance and Ivan Parker. When it came time for both artists to do their CD pitches, Brian and Ivan “helped” each other – and it was hilarious! Brian slid on the JoyRide sunglasses, threw some of Ivan’s CD’s into the crowd and even danced a jig! That will forever be engraved in my memory. (There is a video of this on You Tube – just type in Brian Free and Assurance and Ivan Parker Comedy to find it!)
2 A couple weeks later in March, we attended the very first Praisefest Branson…this was the event in which 1,600 people were introduced to my sister. (Lucky for her! LOL) It was the morning session and we were in the lobby talking to some friends. Suddenly, we heard Greater Vision singing! So, we quickly said we’d catch up with ‘em later and flew into our seats. Well, GV finished their third song, and Gerald Wolfe looked down at my sister (who was sitting in the third row) and said, “Hey! You’re late! Well, you missed the first three songs, but they are all on our new CD, and I want you to go out to our table afterwards and get one…for $15. (pause – everyone laughs) Now, I see that I’ve embarrassed you…but thanks for showing up!” Let’s just say that she can’t walk into a SGM concert in southern Missouri without a fan going up to her and saying in good fun, “I see you’re on time tonight…” LOL
3 When May rolled around and we saw that Legacy Five was singing at the Creation Museum, we decided to go! It was during intermission when L5’s bass singer, Glenn Dustin, kidnapped my flip-flop. Yep, that’s what happened! I was sitting in a front row seat when the guys came back to start the second set, Glenn came up to me and said, “Hi!” Then looked at my foot and said, “Hey, what’s that?” – and in the blink of an eye, grabbed my flip-flop and tossed it across the front of the stage…leaving me to run after it! LOL
4 December 9th was the day the Jubilee Gang filmed two DVD’s at the Mansion Theater in Branson, Missouri. The second taping was in the evening for Jubilee 3. Before it began they had to get a headset out to the “truck” so they could communicate back and forth. When Gerald realized they had a few minutes, he sat down at his keyboard and said, “I’ll play ya’ll a funeral song.” Just then, Michael Booth walked out and laid down on the chairs with his arms crossed over his chest in an X. A few moments later, Chris Allman and Trey Ivey came out with handkerchiefs pretending to weep. We all laughed so hard!
5 Another thing that happened at the Truthseekers Homecoming that was quite memorable was the night that Legacy Five and Greater Vision sang together. In attendance that night was the man who holds the Guinness World Record for the lowest note! So during the second half of the program Scott Fowler brought Roger out to sing Just A Little Talk With Jesus with L5 – the note he hit was so low that it overloaded the system and threw the circuit breaker! I don’t know who laughed more – the audience or L5 and GV!
Five First Events . . .
1. The Meramec Caverns Fall Festival Sing
2. Praisefest Branson
3. The Great Smokies Praisefest
4. The Truthseekers Homecoming
5. Creation Museum with Legacy Five
One Fantastic Feat . . .
I’ve learned over the years that SGM artists have a general way of doing things in their concerts, you can attend a concert with a group you have never seen before and already have an idea of what they’ll do – and then there are some that will step outside the box and blow you away. The Mark Trammell Quartet is one of those groups. This year they released their “Lifetime” CD, I had the opportunity of getting this project the very first weekend MTQ had it on the bus at the Brumley Sing. With this recording came a “fantastic feat” that is almost unheard of today in Gospel Music – within three short months, I personally watched this quartet sing EVERY song on that project live in concert except one! (Footprints of Jesus.) Now that deserves a standing ovation!
Ten Favorite Songs . . .
1. You Can Be A Bridge – Brian Free and Assurance
2. He Didn’t When He Could’ve Passed By – Greater Vision
3. This Is What Mercy Does – Karen Peck and New River
4. Up Above – The Talleys
5. Homesick Angel – Tribute Quartet
6. Joy Ride – Ivan Parker
7. Someday Soon – Legacy Five
8. Treasures In Heaven – Jubilee Gang
9. Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah – Mark Trammell Quartet
10. He’s The Only Way – Greater Vision
Five Fantastic Quotes . . .
“It doesn’t make a difference how close you are to the Lord, every once in a while, you need to be reminded that when you go through something difficult, you’re not walking alone.” – Gerald Wolfe
“The world outside theses church walls is a lost, hurting and dying world. What an impact we can have on that world if we’d just look around and see who we can touch.” – Lauren Talley Alvey.
“He’ll take you right through the storm – and if He doesn’t clam the storm, He’ll calm you.” – Harold Reed
“You don’t know what happiness is unless you know Jesus.” – Brian Free
“And this God that we serve is still the most positive message that there is in the world that we live in today.” – Ivan Parker
Six Fun Facts . . .
#1 – We attended 12 Southern Gospel Music events in 2012! Including Legacy Five’s NYE Celebration (2011-2012), the Truthseekers Homecoming, Praisefest Branson, Creation Museum (with Legacy Five), Steve Hurst School of Music, James D. Vaughn Festival, Brumely Sing, Mark Trammell Quartet Homecoming, Silver Dollar City’s Southern Gospel Picnic, National Quartet Convention, Lester’s Homecoming at the Meramec Caverns, and the Great Smokies Praisefest.
#2 – We spent 42 days attending those events alone! (Events listed above.)
#3 – We attended another 23 individual concerts. (Not including the events listed above.)
#4 – All together we spent 65 days at SGM concerts and events!
#5 – We saw 40 different artists sing over a 365 day period!
#6 – We were present at 3 live DVD tapings! Including the Lari Goss “Man Behind the Music,” Jubilee 3, and A Christmas Jubilee!
The Forty…artists that we saw in 2012!(Listed alphabetically)
Blackwood Brothers, Booth Brothers, Brian Free and Assurance, Browns, Collingsworth Family, Crist Family, Declaration, Dixie Echoes, Doug Anderson, Dumplin Valley Trio, Geraldine and Ricky, Gold City, Greater Vision, Hoppers, Isaacs, Ivan Parker, Karen Peck and New River, Kellys, Kingdom Heirs, Kingsmen, LeFevre Quartet, Legacy Five, Lesters, Mark Bishop, Mark Trammell Quartet, Masters Voice, McClellan Singing Sisters, Mitchel Jon, Nelons, Perrys, Red Roots, Specks, Soul’d Out, Stan Whitmire, Talleys, Tim Lovelace, Tribute, Triumphant Quartet, Wes Hampton, Whisnants.
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