Expecting the Unexpected with the Rochester Family - Concert Review

Looking at my calendar of upcoming concerts, I found a lull in the number of concerts in my area. However, I discovered late last week that a family group would be in Benton Sunday night - The Rochesters. I was not really familiar with the family, but I found a few clips on YouTube of the family singing. I enjoyed their bluegrass style, so I decided to see them for myself.

I don't live far from Benton, Ark. where the concert was scheduled, but since I had never been to this church before, we left a little earlier than usual. I put the address in my phone, and we were on our way. Unfortunately Siri must have gotten her wires crossed because she led us to the Penecostal Church in Benton. While I'm sure that would have been a good service as well, it's not what we were expecting. We were supposed to be at Victory Baptist. Thankfully, I put in the address again, and Siri figured it out correctly this time. I'm sure there was no operator error involved. ;)

We arrived at the church just a few minutes before concert time. However, the parking lot was less than full to say the least. Once inside the church we discovered that instead of just a few minutes early, we were unexpectedly more than 30 minutes early. Apparently, it was not advertised at the correct time. We did have pretty much our pick of seats though. And the concert started soon enough.

Rochester Family

The Rochester Family took the stage after the pastor made a few remarks. The family looked slightly different than what I had seen on YouTube. Scott and Becky Matthews' daughter Madison was on stage with her parents, uncle Ben and grandfather Harold. Joyce was there that night but not feeling well, so Madison was in her place for the night.


Here's a lineup of what they sang -

• "My Name Is Written There"
• "Right Side of Calvary"
• "I'll Have a New Body"
• "I Just Want to Thank You Lord"
• "I've Made Up My Mind" - This featured all the grandchildren of Harold and Joyce. 
• "He Knows My Name" - This is the Annie McRae-penned song. A favorite of hers, and I really enjoyed their version of it. It featured all the granddaughters, each having a few solo lines.
• "Soldier Going Home" - This was the first and maybe only song of the night that they used a track on! Very impressive!
• "Hallelujah I'm Ready" - I've always been a fan of this song, and I really loved their version of it! Ben's son had a guitar solo of "I'll Fly Away" that was really good!
• "God's Been Good"
• "Three Men on a Mountain" - Not the same song as the Perrys just recorded.
• "The Price of a Book"
• "Thank You Lord for Your Blessings On Me" 
• "He'll Do What He Said He Will Do"
• "I'd Still Walk With Jesus"
• "My Father's Eyes"

After watching a few clips on YouTube, I thought I knew what to expect with the Rochester Family. The
family is incredibly talented, not only vocally but also as musicians. They are impressive on YouTube, but even more impressive live. I am almost positive there was a track used on only one song. I would have loved to hear the usual lineup with Joyce in the mix. However, Madison did a great job rounding out the family's sound. Her sister Macalah also came up and sang one with the family. 

Ben and Becky both have great voices that are really unique and fit well the style of their music. They seemed to feature the siblings more than Harold or Madison. I'm not sure if that's typical or not. I also meant to count the number of instruments Ben played, but I think it was at least three. And I love that they are bringing up their children to share the stage. They seem to all have musical inclination and enjoy being up there with their family.

If you are a fan of bluegrass gospel music, check out the Rochester Family's schedule to see when they will be near you!