Bill Bailey promoted a series of concerts with the Perrys, the Kingsmen, Brian Free & Assurance and Mike & Kelly Bowling. The first stop (Thursday) was in Vidalia, Ga., and then it was on to Jacksonville, Florida. Everyone except BF&A (and me) also went to Fort Myers, Fla., for Saturday. Bill enjoyed respectable crowds at all three, with the auditorium being nearly full in Vidalia and Jacksonville's crowd being one of the larger ones there in recent years.

Two things from these concerts that merit noting: Brian Free & Assurance seems to have hit full stride. Vocally, they're tight and Brian is much better than he once was at the art of calling the right set for a particular audience. They've got a slate of strong songs they're staging now - and it's showing at the product table during the intermission.

The Perrys, too, have hit a good stride. Though some people may have thought about writing them off after their last round of personnel changes, many of them are rethinking that as the Joseph Habedank/Nick Trammell combination is coming around to what it truly can be. Tracy Stuffle is still a top-notch bass singer and he's a fine emcee, too. And, Libbi? She's probably one of the most consistent singers on the road today.

In other news from those concerts, Mike & Kelly Bowling are developing quite a rapport with audiences, and as they establish their own identity (in other words, post Crabb Family, post Hinsons), this is going to be a valuable commodity. There's some real potential in this group - it's up to them to make the most of it.

I wrote about the Kingsmen in the last edition of Danny's Diary, so I'll give them a rest this week. But they did a good job at both places I saw them - and they stepped things up over last week.

On Saturday, I was in Spartanburg, S.C., for an event hosted by T&T Promotions. The Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg is certainly one of the best I see each year, in terms of seating, sound and personnel. It's a great place to enjoy a concert - and the performers love working with the building's staff.

This year's line-up was made up of the Inspirations, McKameys, Primitive Quartet and Gold City. Whoa...Gold City? Yep, Gold City was there and while some people might think that Gold City was slightly out of place in that line-up, there were over 2,000 people there who would probably disagree. I cannot tell you the number of times I heard "This was the best concert I've ever been to" from fans.

In many regards, it was one of those nights that groups dream of: the sound was great, the audience was excited, everything that anyone said or sang hit squarely on the mark. No one really wanted this one to end and if the same line-up returns in 2009, I suspect the crowd will be even larger.

Based on my talks with several artists, promoter Frank Arnold had a couple of good concerts out west, too. He hosted events in Abilene, Tex., and Yukon, Oklahoma. Aaron Wilburn told me that he's positive the attendance was up over last year - and I guess he should know. He sold out of every single piece of product he took. The Booth Brothers, the Dove Brothers, the Talley Trio, Jeff & Sheri Easter and the Arnolds were also on the dates.

I'm hoping the concert reports continue like this throughout the year. Southern Gospel music could use a good 2008 and while 2007 had bright moments, there is always room for growth and improvement.