Happy New Year to everyone! Things are gradually returning to normal after the holidays - but it'll be a few days before I'll feel like I'm truly back in the swing of things.
After Christmas, I attended two concerts, the first being T&T Promotions' annual New Year's event in Gainesville, Georgia. Hayne Tatum and crew have been hosting Southern Gospel concerts in the Georgia Mountains Center for over 20 years and most of those events have had capacity crowds. This December 29 event was no different - Mr. Tatum missed a complete sell-out by just a few seats. The Singing Cookes, the Primitive Quartet, the Inspirations and the McKameys sang to an appreciative crowd.
Has anyone truly paid attention to the level of musicianship possessed by the members of the Primitive Quartet? If Bluegrass-Gospel music is not your thing, this won't interest you, but these guys have got it down pat. For example, Mike Riddle may very well be the best acoustic guitar player walking today and from what I've been told, he's mastered more than just the guitar. (For you trivia buffs out there, Mike is also the organist for his home church - and if you find some very early Primitive Quartet recordings, you'll learn that he also played piano on a few songs.) Jeff Tolbert can play just about anything that's handed to him - I guess that's why he once was also on the road with the Lewis Family, Jeff & Sheri Easter and the Isaacs.
Love it or hate it, there is a sizable market for the kind of music offered by the groups I listed above. I honestly don't know if that market's potential has been truly tapped in terms of exposure and product sales, but take note of this: During the past few years, some of the best crowds I've witnessed have been when the program features a couple of Bluegrass-style (or acoustic) groups.
Norman Wilson and I talked backstage for quite sometime and he brought up a point that many people have expressed concern about: the dwindling opportunities for young musicians in gospel music. Now that most groups have shelved the band, what chance does a young player have to get involved in Southern Gospel? We've probably lost several good musicians to other forms or music or worse - a player has given up his dream of being a professional player.
(I fully understand that many bands have disappeared because of economic reasons and it's not my intent to say that a group is right or wrong on their decision to have or not have a band. But the end result is the same if there is no band: a young player has no where to go.)
New Year's Eve found me in Villa Rica, GA, for a concert with the Kingsmen, the Dixie Echoes, the Mark Trammell Trio, the Diplomats and Hope's Journey. There was also a guest appearance by Les Beasley, but more about that in a minute. The crowd spilled out of the main auditorium and into a stand-by facility and the groups sang twice before intermission.
Former Palmetto State Quartet tenor Wesley Smith was singing tenor for the Dixie Echoes this weekend, filling the role vacated by Dallas Rogers - and understand that I'm stressing the "filling in" part. Wesley has plans for the future that he'll announce soon, but in the meantime he turned in a strong performance. The quartet is still looking for a replacement and auditions are on-going. There is one thing for sure, though: Whoever ultimately has that tenor job is going to join the group as it rides high on a wave of popularity. The DE's simple, straight-ahead approach (four vocals, two mics and one pianist) has connected with audiences in a big way lately - and it's more than the silver-haired audience members who are enjoying their presentation. There are plenty of young audiences who are drawn to what the Dixie Echoes are doing.
Randy Shelnut says he believes all of that lies in the strength of the songs they choose to sing and while I agree with him whole-heartedly, it would be wrong not to include the fact that the Dixie Echoes have a strong group right now. Bass singer Pat Barker is one of the finest young bass singers to come along in recent times and while he might not be hitting "Younce" notes right now, he is one of the best "song-sellers" on the stage today. I don't know that I've heard a better rendition of "How Big is God" than the one Pat is currently staging.
This Villa Rica concert was also the first time I've seen the Kingsmen sans the band. I'll openly admit that it will take me a long time to get used to seeing the Kingsmen without a band, but I will also say that what I saw in Villa Rica wasn't half bad. In fact, I think the group is serious about "tightening" their vocals and I saw some of the earliest signs of that Monday night. I'm anxious to measure their progress over the next few months.
With that said, if you've been a long-time Kingsmen fan and can't fathom the group without a band, give 'em a fair chance. After all, I'd rather have Southern Gospel with a bandless Kingsmen than Southern Gospel without a Kingsmen.
***With that said, let me point out that Ray and Brandon Reese have indicated that they are looking for a pianist and will eventually have a band again. However, they are taking their time about this and not rushing into any quick decisions.
Which brings me back to Les Beasley. Originally, the Florida Boys were scheduled for this concert, but when they retired, that was shot down. However, event organizer Jimmy Pearson talked Les into coming up from Pensacola, FL, to sing in the new year. Les put together a quartet of himself, Eric Phillips (Mark Trammell Trio), Mark Trammell, Joe Brown (bass singer of the Diplomats) and Stewart Varnado on the piano. It was pretty cool to see Les on stage again - he looked like he was truly enjoying it - and his pick-up quartet sang "One Day At A Time," "Gone" and "I'm Standing on the Solid Rock."
I asked him later if he was enjoying retired life and he said he really was - even more than he thought he would. He's still heavily involved in the National Quartet Convention, but he also mentioned that his wife had taught him a lot about shopping! Les' love for gospel music has not diminished at all and while he does miss seeing a lot of the friends he's made through the years, he's loving life in Florida.
Before I close, let me add that Jimmy Pearson is doing a fine job hosting Southern Gospel music in West Georgia. He has several concerts a year throughout the area and this year's New Year's Eve concert found concert-goers from seven states and Canada. Several concerts are scheduled throughout the year 2008, so look for that info in Singing News.
In a few hours, I'll be preparing to hit the road again. Thursday will find me in Vidalia, GA, while Friday's travels lead to sunny (hopefully) Florida. On Saturday, it's on to Spartanburg, SC. Check the "Concert Billboard" section of Singing News or visit the
Concert Billboard on singingnews.com to find out more about these concerts.
