The second day of the Southern Gospel Picnic at Silver Dollar City began with thick, grey, thunderclouds and a heavy downpour of rain.  Much to our dismay, the only form of transportation from our car to the park’s entrance was an OPEN TRAM (shuttle)…well, we could have always walked.  LOL  (I think not!)  So, we climbed on the vehicle, tried to wipe off the water from the seats before sitting down, and hung on as the driver raced to where we would be unloaded.  Umbrellas up, we trudged through ankle deep streams of water until we reached the Red Gold Heritage Hall.  After all that, we were soaked through and through!
At least we found some good seats!  🙂  The artist that we ran through the rain to see on the 25th, was none other than the Mark Trammell Quartet.  They had the 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 slots at the Red Gold, and we intended to see them all.  Now, if only we would have been a little drier!

Ladies and gentlemen...the Mark Trammell Quartet!

Well, the 2:30 show went something like this: Duane opened in prayer and then led us in the congregational singing of When We All Get To Heaven, with Dustin Sweatman accompanying on the piano.  Duane teased him, “Hit it Eva Mae!  Can you do any better than that?”  When Duane announced that MTQ currently held the #1 song on the Singing News Charts and no one applauded, Duane turned to where Mark must have been standing behind the curtain and said, “Well, that didn’t mean beans to them.”  And to the crowd admonished, “You’ll have to lay it on them better than that, make welcome the Mark Trammell Quartet!”  Mark informed us that every set they’d do would contain different songs, so I’m going to share some highlights from the first show and jump into a full review of the second.  MTQ kicked off with Echoes From The Burning Bush and kept it going with Wedding Music, Wonderful Time Up There, I Sing The Mighty Power, (by request) – Boundless Love, and The King Is Coming.  With everyone on their feet, Duane popped out from behind the curtain and asked how we enjoyed MTQ.  But before we get into the rest of the day I have to write about this one moment, during the CD pitch, where Mark was talking about the great price of their special.  He said, “I’m from Arkansas and I have trouble counting.”  Nodding towards Pat, he continued, “He’s from Alabama, he can’t count at all…”  to which Pat raised his chin and chimed in, “I can count to 14, which is the number of our championships.”  Instantly, the crowd gasped with a “Oooh.”  Clearly displeased that his bass singer upset the crowd over sports, Mark said, “And I can count to 0 and that’s what is going to be on your check next week.”  LOL  (I love the fun those guys have with each other!)

The 3:30 show with Mark Trammell Quartet began when Duane Garren, our MC in the Red Gold, announced, “Here’s a bunch that currently has the #1 song on the Singing News charts – the Mark Trammell Quartet!”  Meet Me Over On The Other Side set their second show into motion.  Afterwards, Mark said, “I like that.  How many of you got wet a while ago, wave at me.  If you do that for five minutes you’ll dry out, I promise.”  LOL  Then he introduced Tis So Sweet as his favorite song.  This ballad gave their tenor, Eric, a line to sing on the second verse, and Dustin was caught up in the moment singing to himself as he played the piano.  As the next track began, Dustin hopped up from the piano bench and accepted the mic that Nick offered to him.  He was featured on the lead of a song he wrote, called One Drop.  Mark introduced each member of the group, then told about the following tune like this: “I want to do something,” (and explained that a gentlemen came to their table and requested a song that featured their tenor,) “and I like to do that because it’s a real interesting anda strange thing to listen to a man, who looks like a man, but sounds like a woman.”  And after explaining to the audience that he has done this song more times than is good for him, concluded, “Here it is…a song I don’t like.”  If you know Mark Trammell, you’ll recognize that song as Glory Road – and Eric knocked it out of the park!  The crowd loved the high parts and let ‘emknow with a loud applause.  Because of that, Mark paused the song and said, “That’s cute…do it again.”  By the end of the quartet song the fans were on their feet and MTQ encored it.  Some stood through the encore before sitting down and hearing Mark say, “Listen to one of my favorite songs.”  – Too Much To Gain To Lose.  Smiling, Mark shared how much he enjoyed looking out on the faces and seeing them sing along with him.  The product pitch came next, and after encouraging the people to go buy their special, he interjected, “And the reason why I need you to do that, is so I can buy a new cage for our bass singer.”  LOL  Pat pretended to shake an invisible cage and bare his teeth.  Introducing their final song, he mentioned that it was #1 across the nation, but the reason why it’s special to him is because the song is 70 years old.  That lets him know that old things still have value.  If you guessed the number to be I Want To Know – you’re right!  The tune went over so well, that when Duane came out on stage to “end” the program, he encouraged an encore instead.  When it was all said and done, Duane concluded, “I don’t care who you are, you’re not going to find better quality singing than that right there.”
The final show with the Mark Trammell Quartet began with Bloodwashed Band.  Right after that opening song, Mark asked, “How many have been here for the two previous shows,” and once the hands were raised, he added, “Wow, ya’ll are gluttons for punishment.”  Before they went any further, he introduced the group, “This is our tenor Eric Philips, our lead singer Nick Trammell, I’m what’s left of Mark and I sing baritone, and that’s our resident idiot, Pat Barker, and that is our piano player, Dustin Sweatman.”  After taking his guitar in hand, they fulfilled a request, How Big Is God.  They performed a variety of older songs, some from the “red book” like The Sweetest Song I Know, Hold Me, Guide Me Oh Thou Great Jehovah, How Longs Has It Been, Old Convention Song and one that featured Dustin, Testimony.  There was also a little boy (maybe 3 or 4 years old) in the crowd whom Mark gave one of their specials (product) to.  The crowd instantly went “Ahhh…”  He also acknowledged a good friend of his who was in the crowd, Russell Adams, and wished him a happy birthday!  For their final number, Mark turned to Pat and asked him if they’ve done “that” song already, then, he confessed to the audience that he doesn’t remember it so he hoped we did!  LOL They closed their time at the park with Standing On The Solid Rock.
We did venture into Echo Hollow that night to see the Booth Brothers, but the light drizzling kept my computer in its waterproof case.  Not sure if the weather would turn for or against us, we stayed near the top of the amphitheatre– if it was gonna pour, we weren’t crazy about staying outdoors!  From where I stood, three, bright yellow persons walked on stage wearing Silver Dollar City’s yellow rain poncho’s as the music for I See Grace began.  Ronny, Michael and Jim were certainly dressed for the weather!  LOL  They sang a few songs with ‘em on, then Michael declared that they were too hot and laid his aside.  The other guys followed in slipping the yellow plastic over their heads.  Welcome To The Family was sung, as were three ballads woven together from a project they just completed with Bill Gaither.  I also found out that trying to commit a full concert to memory was not possible!  But from what I do recall, the BB’s sang a number of slower songs, and some of the newer material I wasn’t familiar with.  I believe Jim sang a song called Hello Mama, and of course they told all of the jokes you’d expect to hear at one of their concerts!

The Booth Brothers - ready for they rain!

Conclusion:  It is of my opinion that Gospel Sings should not be held in the rain…especially if they are outdoors!  I was very glad to spend a greater part of the day inside the Red Gold, but without being too dramatic – it was pure misery getting there!  LOL  Yet, it was so worth it!  I don’t believe that MTQ repeated a single song.  (That’s very commendable in my book!)  Each show was unique and I can honestly say I wasn’t disappointed in a single thing they did.  Everything was perfect!  Even though the day was pretty gloomy outside, inside the theater an abundance of joyful song dispelled all the dark clouds – in the skies and in the soul.  The Booth Brothers made a memorable time in Echo Hollow, and by the end of the night, the rain drops disappeared completely.  Anytime I see the BB’s, I am blessed by their hearts for ministry.  They have such a passion for the message and concern for ppl – which was very evident from the songs they sang.

...and the crowd at Echo Hollow was ready for the rain too! lol