Top Moment of 2012 - #6

It's one thing for gospel singers to talk about the mercy and grace of Christ, but it's another for them to tell how it's affected their lives. One of the things I love about going to see a group live is getting to hear from them between the songs whether it's a joke or serious moment. You feel like you really get to know more about the people when you see bits of their personality come out. Occasionally group members don't just open up and tell a joke or two, but share their hearts and their lives from the platform. The #6 top moment of the year comes from hearing the testimonies of the Mark Trammell Quartet.

Each group member shared their personal salvation experience. Some members told of how they had served in a church or even sang gospel music thinking they were saved, but God actually got a hold of their hearts later on. It was a touching night, and I appreciated so much how open and honest each of the guys were. They willing to share parts of their private lives so that He would be glorified through their stories. It was a night that I won't soon forget and definitely a top moment of 2012!

You can read the full post and each testimony here.

The countdown continues later this week!

An Evening in December with the Nelons and LeFevre Quartet

An Evening in December Christmas tour with the Nelons and LeFevre Quartet made a stop in Malvern Thursday night. It had been several years since seeing the Nelons live in concert, so I was looking forward to seeing them again. I just saw the LeFevre Quartet in August, but I was excited to see them especially with Tim Duncan filling in at bass.

First of all, I need to mention that it was quite an adventure getting to the concert between road construction on the Interstate and a Christmas parade. Once we got into Malvern all we could see were blue and red flashing lights. At first, we thought it was a massive wreck in front of us only to realize it was the town's Christmas parade with every emergency vehicle possible participating. It's a good thing there were no fires in Malvern right then because some kids would have been booted off a fire truck. Of course the main route to the church was blocked, so my friends and I had quite the adventure finding an alternate route. If you don't believe me about the craziness of the parade, check out Kelly Nelon Clark's SocialCam of it. We thought we were running extremely late, but thankfully the concert started 30 minutes later than we thought! Right as we were walking in, the parade was passing in front of the church. 

LeFevre Quartet - Harold Reed, Jordan LeFevre,
Mike LeFevre andTim Duncan

An evening in December started with the LeFevre Quartet. They sang "When I Get Carried Away." They sang a song from their newest project next, "Come and See," which featured Jordan. I remember first seeing him as a drummer with his dad's group, and he's become a solid lead singer.

Mike introduced the group next, and said that they had Tim Duncan on loan from Hagee Ministries for this tour. Tim then sang a song from his solo project, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand." Tim is just incredible, and I love that he's first a singer and then a bass.

They then sang "Jesus Saves, " and the Nelons came up to join them and finish the song with them.

The Nelons - Jason Clark, Kelly Nelon Clark and
Amber Nelon Thompson

The Nelons began their portion with "Come to the River." Then, they sang the Nelons' classic "O For a Thousand Tongues." Kelly did a beautiful job on this song as always. Jason then took the lead on "Excuse Me Are You Jesus?" where they had the concept video for the song playing along in the background. Jason does a great job of conveying the message of this story song.

They ended the first half with "I'm Going Home with Jesus." It was a great upbeat way to end the first half and had the entire audience clapping along!

Most concerts I have been to recently have a heavy first half with only a few songs after intermission. This concert was much more heavy on the second end which was all Christmas. Even though the groups didn't sing together much, I really liked how they were both on stage the entire time.

The second half started with both groups on stage minus Kelly but plus Autumn, the youngest member of the Nelons. Kelly started singing "An Evening in December" from the back of the sanctuary and made her way to the stage and the empty stool. Next, the LeFevre Quartet sang "Sleigh Ride."

After the song, Kelly started talking but was interjected by Sam (their Dachshund) of the famous SamCam. You probably have guessed from previous blog posts that I am a big fan of SamCam. If you don't follow Kelly on SocialCam to see SamCam videos, you should start immediately!! Sam gave a great rendition of Ave Maria. :) The Nelons then sang "They Rejoiced With Exceeding Great Joy."

The LeFevres sang the first Noel. Tim sang the first verse, Jordan the second and Harold the third. Then the group took the time to show a short video on Compassion and encourage people to sponsor a child.

Amber of the Nelons then sang "Light a Candle." If anyone doubts the talent of young gospel singers, they haven't heard Amber. This for me is one of the standout songs from their Christmas project. I loved the way they did this song with the lighting too. They had a mostly dark stage and other group members had candles that they started "lighting" as the song went on. The LeFevre Quartet then sang "Away in a Manger" which featured Tim.

Amber started "Silent Night" a cappella with the rest of the group then joining her. Autumn stepped out front and did a recitation from Mary's perspective. Kelly then was featured on "Rest on Me." I had never heard this song before, but it's beautiful and also from Mary's point of view. Autumn then sang "Happy Birthday Jesus." I had not heard Autumn sing before solo and was really impressed by her vocals on this song.

Mike LeFevre was then featured on "O Holy Night." This is my favorite Christmas song, and it's not a Christmas concert without this song, in my opinion. And Mike definitely did the song justice. Jason Clark then led the congregation in a song.

Mike spoke briefly and read from Isaiah where the birth of Christ was prophesied. The Nelons then came forward and sang "More Than Wonderful." This is another stand out song from their Christmas project. It's a powerful song and great choice to wrap up the night, and had the audience on its feet afterward. All group members then stepped forward to close the night with "Come On Ring Those Bells." The audience stood through the song, clapping along.

It was a great night of gospel and Christmas music. I'd love to see these two groups team up again next year for more concerts like this one. If you have missed seeing "An Evening in December," it's probably too late for this year unless you are near Columbus, Miss and available tonight! Then you should definitely go see them!

Fun Clip Friday - Mark Trammell Quartet Christmas

Last night with the Nelons and LeFevre Quartet in Malvern was great! Look for a full recap coming next week.

For today, here's another Christmas-themed Fun Clip Friday. This is from last year when Jim Cox was filling in for them at tenor. "Carol of the Bells" is never an easy song to sing! :) Enjoy!

Top Five Songs of 2012

The Singing News releases the top 80 chart every month. Twelve songs are lucky enough to be deemed #1 songs in a year. Looking just from these 12 songs, here are my top five favorites:

#5 - "Almost Home" (Triumphant Quartet) - This song written by Triumphant's own Scotty Inman is a great upbeat number that landed at #1 in June. It's been a great concert closer for the group. The song was on their Songs From the Heart album.

#4 - "He's Everything I Need (Kingsmen) - Joseph Habedank of the Perrys wrote this song that hit #1 in January. This was a song that really made me stop and listen to the current Kingsmen. It's a fun song with a great message. The song is on their most recent project, Grace Says.

#3 - "I'll Trust the Potter's Hand" (The Whisnants) - Susan Whisnant does an amazing job conveying the message of this song. I love the truth of how God has everything in control that He has a perfect plan. The song reached the top of the charts in September, and it's from their More Than Enough Project.

#2 - "I Want to Know" (Mark Trammell Quartet) - Pat Barker outdoes himself on this song every time. I love listening to the recorded song, but it's incredible to see it live. It's just not any group that can take a song that's decades old and make it a #1. This song not only earned the #1 spot for August, but it also was named #1 for 2012 by Singing News. The song is on their Testimony project which was actually released last year.

#1 - "I Know a Man Who Can" (Greater Vision) - This song reached #1 in October.  The third sentence from #2 also applies here. I think that's why both of these ranked so high on my list. These groups have both made the songs their own and put their stamp on them. Chris Allman makes his case for the best tenor in SG music with his deliverance of this song. It's become a trademark song for him. After it became such a popular song in the live setting for them they recorded it on their The Only Way project which was released last year. I also love the story of how the song came about as just a request one night during a concert. The person who made the request probably didn't realize what he was doing, but I'm glad he made the request!

Top Moment of 2012 - #7

Do you have a bucket list of groups you've always wanted to see live, but haven't had the chance to? Maybe they are no longer together or the schedule just never works out. Well my #7 on the list of top moments of 2012 was getting to see most of one of my "bucket list" groups.

I never got to see all the Crabb Family sing together, I'm still hopeful that it will happen one day. But this year at Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic this year, I got to see three of them sing together. The Bowling Family and Jason Crabb were scheduled on the same day. I was definitely hopeful that I would get to see the three of them perform. So much so that I might have asked Kelly and Terah about it at their product table that afternoon.

That night at Echo Hollow, Jason was halfway through the first half, when the door from behind the stage opened and Kelly and Terah walked out. The audience had an immediate reaction getting excited about the idea of a mini Crabb Reunion taking place. Jason was singing "Please Forgive Me," and when he saw his sisters walk in he called them on stage to join him.

Kelly and Terah started to put their microphones back after the song, but Jason didn't let them off the stage that easily. They sang "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now," which was a song they had done at Echo Hollow years ago during one of the Crabb Family's first live videos. Jason was trying to come up with a Crabb Family song for them to sing together, and someone from the audience suggested "Don't You Wanna Go." They sang that next, and then ended with the classic "Through the Fire."

One of the things I love about this family is how supportive they are of each other. Jason didn't hesitate to bring his sisters up to share the stage. And Kelly and Terah stayed through the entire concert just to watch their brother. They could have easily already been loaded on the bus and headed out of town, but they stayed.

While I would still love to see the entire family sing together one day, this almost Crabb Family reunion was good enough to make #7 of the list!