Joyful Noise

Recently I attended a music convention held for the last decade or so in Louisville, Kentucky. Previously, it took place in Music city USA—Nashville, Tennessee (from 1971-1993).  It began in various towns all throughout the southern United states including Memphis, Birmingham and my home town Atlanta, Georgia.

The National Quartet Convention is a week long event aimed at Southern Gospel music fans. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007 and shows no sign of slowing down. Music overload, jam-packed with everything SG. I’m wore out, but loved every minute.

One more item off the old bucket list. In 2012, the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards® return to Atlanta, this blogger intends to be there as well.

Keep it in the red.

All Together Now

What first sold me on the 2011 National Quartet Convention, although I’m not a huge SG fan per se, was the fact that the Gaither Vocal Band were hosting an Afternoon Showcase performance. Not only were the current lineup singing, but it was a reunion of all the past members (except for Guy Pinrod, conspicuously absent.)

Angie and I made it just in time for the show having traveled six hours from Atlanta. Thank God for GPS. Cracker Barrel, and rest stops. Boy was it worth it! The impromptu nature of the set was thrilling to hear; as though Bill Gaither was arranging as they went along. For us this Thursday Session was the highlight of the whole convention. Gaither Vocal band has always successfully blended southern and more progressive sounds. I have followed GVB since their early ‘80’s inception and continue to be a fan although they were a little more Contemporary Christian in the beginning. This is a group not easily pigeonholed. In the early 90’s Gaither shifted his emphasis in a more southerly direction. But, that is alright.

Most fans are familiar with the Reunion video series. Gaither has done an excellent job preserving the best of our southern heritage. On Friday, the NQC presented the entire Reunion cast in a heavenly choir. Despite the cramped seating in Freedom Hall at the Kentucky Expo Center the whole experience, at least musically, was a lifetime dream fulfilled. More on the other performances in future posts.

Stay tuned.

Four Part Harmony

for long time readers of Gospel Aircheck, welcome back! I felt this was the perfect time to return to one of my favorite topics, southern gospel.

As a youth I was knocked out by Contemporary Christian Music at a time when most of my peers had never heard of Petra, Amy Grant or the Imperials.

Up until then I had cut my teeth on the likes of the Oak Ridge Boys, The Happy Goodman Family, and especially Andrae Crouch. In those days it was all gospel music to me. The various styles had yet to splinter into the sub-genres we know today. These days it seems that the Dove Awards are the only place the divergent forms mix—never mingling on the radio anymore.

The older I get, the more the music of my formative years draws me back. Don’t get me wrong I still love to rock but the soothing nature of voices in harmony against a simple musical accompaniment comforts these aging bones.

Recently my wife Angie and I spent our second honeymoon at the 2011 National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. We had a great time. Both of us share a love and passion for gospel music. Like Donnie and Marie Osmond she’s a little bit Country and I’m a little bit Rock-n-Roll (rest easy, the two of us aren’t related.) The point is one balances the other. The NQC has been something I wanted to do since I first heard of it nearly 30 years ago. The next couple of posts will detail our adventure.

Stay tuned.