First, a disclaimer: I'm still recovering from a nasty bout of food poisoning, so let it be known that my entry today may make even less sense than normal.

Since returning to the concert trail following the Christmas break, I have been extremely encouraged at what I'm seeing in terms of attendance. I realize that weather issues have claimed a number of dates, but for those that still took place, there is good news to report.

I'll start by going back to December 31, in Villa Rica, Georgia. The concert featuring the first appearance of the "new" Gold City, Karen Peck & New River (Devin McGlamery's final appearance with that group), the host group the Diplomats and a few others was highlighted by standing room only attendance. As I often do when weather permits, I took a quick walk through the parking lot, looking at license plates and I was up to eight different states—and one from Canada—before I decided I was getting too cold and went back in.

Two days later in Gainesville, Ga., T&T Promotions hosted their annual New Year's event with the Inspirations, Primitive Quartet, McKameys and Singing Cookes. About 2000 people showed up for that event despite unusually cold Southern temperatures.

The following Thursday, Bill Bailey Concerts presented the Kingsmen, Gold City, Brian Free & Assurance and the McKameys in Vidalia, Georgia. The crowd started gathering a full two hours before the doors opened—and that's remarkable considering it was Thursday. The first auditorium filled up quickly, which necessitated the use of the second of the venue's facilities.

A new stop on the Bill Bailey "tour" was Trinity Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. Even though Bill has promoted in nearly every venue possible south of the Georgia border, this was his first time at Trinity and about 1000 people turned out to hear Gold City, the Triumphant Quartet and the Nelons.

Spartanburg, S.C., was next at the beautiful Memorial Auditorium with the Inspirations, McKameys, Primitive Quartet and the Diplomats. I never did hear a final attendance number, but I do know it was comparable to previous years. And I'll also throw in the information that several areas close to Spartanburg were dealing with downed power lines and trees due an ice/snow storm that had struck just days before.

The next week began with a stop in Leesburg, Fla., at Southpointe Baptist Church. Severe thunderstorms were in the area, and to be honest, several artists and the promoter (Bill Bailey again) were wondering if that would affect attendance. Well, if it did, it was in a good way. By the time Karen Peck & New River, the Perrys and Brian Free & Assurance were ready to sing, the sanctuary was filled, the choir was filled and chairs from throughout the large church's Sunday School rooms had been brought in and placed in the aisles.

Two nights later in Fitzgerald, Ga., the Grand Theatre was just about at capacity to hear the most unusual line-up I've seen thus far this year: Michael Combs, Karen Peck & New River and the Singing Cookes. This area has faced many extreme economic difficulties in recent years so to see the house approaching the full level was encouraging on many fronts.

The final Saturday in January found me back at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia. If you'll visualize a line that runs along Interstate 20 from the Alabama-Georgia border to Atlanta and then Northeast along Interstate 85, everything north of that line was covered in ice, sleet, snow, freezing rain, and temperatures that are only found in Georgia about every other 100 years or so. Still, over 1400 people braved the elements to hear Gold City, the Kingdom Heirs and the Kingsmen.

Last week was the annual Winter Gospel Music Convention in Palmetto, Florida. This six-night event had excellent crowds each night—including the largest crowd ever (Thursday) and the second-largest crowd (Friday) for that event in that particular venue. No wonder Bill Bailey was smiling at the end of the week, even though his talent bill was astronomical (nearly every major artist in Southern Gospel music was on the line-up).

As we all know, not every concert will be a "winner." But for those of us who are concerned about the welfare of Southern Gospel music and its artists, the past 40 days have been encouraging.

So, on behalf of every artist and promoter that I've mentioned above, thank you for supporting Southern Gospel music. Thank you for coming out to the events and thank you for bringing friends and family with you.