Praisefest Branson 2017 - Recap - Part 2

Friday morning at Praisefest Branson they teased that there would be a surprise that night. You could hear a few guesses and suspicions of what that might be. The groups scheduled to be there that night were Legacy Five, Cana's Voice, Ernie Haase and Signature Sound and the Mark Trammell Quartet.

Here are a few highlights of the first half of the night -

• "One Holy Lamb" (Legacy Five) - Tenor Josh Feemster was featured on this song. 
• "Hands of a Carpenter" (Legacy Five) - Scott Fowler told a little bit about the background of this song. It was a last minute edition to their latest album. Trey Ivey arranges all their music and Scott sent him the song the night before to arrange. Scott later told him the final piece of including this song on the project would be for Trey to sing it. So Trey stepped out from behind the piano for this one. 

• "Oh for a Thousand Tongues" (Cana's Voice) - They said this was the first song they ever sang together at Wayne Haun's house when they were talking about forming the group. Loved hearing them sing this with just the piano.
• "Jesus Never Fails" (Cana's Voice) - This is one of my favorite songs released in the last year. Love hearing it live!
• "Blessed Assurance" (Ernie Haase and Signature Sound) - I love the group's unique take on this classic hymn. 
• "Get Away Jordan" (Ernie Haase and Signature Sound) - This is always such a fun, uptempo song, and it definitely got the entire audience on its feet clapping along. However, Ernie took it down a notch and took a break between the song to talk about the lyrics of the last verse and what it meant to him especially after George Younce passed. I think it's easy for us to get caught up in the fast songs and sometimes lose the meaning, so I loved that he did this!
• "The King Is Coming" (Mark Trammell Quartet) - Love hearing Mark sing this song! It was their last song of the night.

The Mark Trammell Quartet sang a few songs actually to start the second half. Then, Landon Beene,president of IMC Concerts, came out and said when you had Gerald Wolfe, Ernie Haase, Scott Fowler and Mark Trammell all together, there needed to be a little bit of a Cathedral Reunion segment. Pat Barker was brought on stage to join them for the bass part. Here are some of my favorites that they sang -

• "Echoes From the Burning Bush"
• "Master Builder"
• "Boundless Love"
• "There Is a Fountain" (a cappella)
• "We Shall See Jesus" - This was the last song of the night and was probably the moment of the night!

The tease to a surprise was better than expected! So glad we got this mini Cathedral Family Reunion!

Saturday morning was the last session of the weekend. It was a little sad for it all to come to an end. In addition to great music, we also got to hear great preaching from Phil Hoskins. This was my first time to hear him speak in person. I'm thankful that IMC Concerts included Biblical teaching and preaching during the weekend. 

Saturday morning had music from the Erwins, Cana's Voice and Legacy Five. This was my first time to hear the Erwins in person. Jody McBrayer led the congregation in worship to start the final session of the day with "Oh How I Love Jesus" and "In the Garden." 

Here are a few highlights from the morning - 

• "Greater" (Erwins) - I'm really glad they included this one in their set. It's one of my favorites they sing. 
• "Clouds" (Erwins) - They talked about how the song came from a verse in Nahum. It's such a great song about how great God is if the clouds are the dust at His feet. Keith does a great job on this song. 
• "Big Enough" (Cana's Voice) - Loved hearing this one live. TaRanda also took time to explain where the name of Cana's Voice came from. Jesus used the broken and dirty ceremonial pots to perform his first miracle. She talked about the repurposing of those pots for a new purpose. God had a special plan and way to use them, they felt the same way with their ministry and where they were in their lives. 
• "Great Medley" (Legacy Five) - Love hearing all these old songs together. Their arrangement of these songs is one of my favorite songs from that project. 
• "Christ Is Still the King" (Legacy Five) - Such a great song to end the weekend on!

If you ever get a chance to attend a Praisefest event, I highly recommend it! Check out IMC Concerts for information on next year's event or one near you!