Fun Clip Friday - Silver Dollar City

I promised you one more post wrapping up the Southern Gospel Picnic, so here it is -

In 11 days, I caught 53 different shows by 40 different artists. That's a lot of gospel music, folks! No wonder I was so tired, but really wasn't ready to come back to the real world and work on Tuesday!

In case you missed any day's recap, here they are -

Day 1 - Pfeifers, Reggie Saddler Family, Booth Brothers
Day 2 - 2nd Generation, Freemans, Inspirations, McKameys
Day 3 - Three Bridges, Nelons, Singing Cookes, Jeff & Sheri Easter
Day 4 - Taylors, Perrys, Tribute Quartet, Hoppers
Day 5 - Bledsoes, Tribute Qt., Browns, Kingsmen Qt., Karen Peck & New River
Day 6 - Bowling Family, Mark Trammell Qt.
Day 7 - Wilburn & Wilburn, Soul'd Out Quartet, Martins
Day 8 - Marksmen Qt., Lesters, Dixie Echoes, Brian Free & Assurance, Legacy Five
Day 9 - Guy Penrod, Triumphant Qt.
Day 10 - Whisnants, Beelers, Dennis Swanberg, Greater Vision
Day 11 - Old Paths, Diplomats, Brian Arnold, Isaacs

This year something that really stood out to me was the young up and coming talent in the industry. The Old Paths had a 15 year old piano player that was flat out amazing. The Dixie Echoes showcased their new bass singer and his twin brother who can sing tenor. The Bowling Family's girls sang in their shows and can harmonize together with the best of them!

I have to say the group that impressed me most that I had not seen live before was Wilburn & Wilburn. Jonathan Wilburn still brings that same energy to stage he did in his Gold City days. He and Jordan sound so great as a duo!

There were also so many great a cappella moments this year from the Isaacs to the Taylors to the Martins, but I think the Nelons had the best a cappella moment with their rendition of the "Hallelujah Chorus!"

However, one of the most standout moments of the festival for me this year wasn't hearing a group singing, but a choir of around 5,000 singing hymns as Gerald Wolfe played. I felt like it was just a small taste of Heaven!

It was great not only enjoying all the music but seeing friends from previous years and making new friends! A huge thank you to Mrs. Cathy and Mr. Russell who let me stay with them this year! Thanks for letting me be part of your family! :)

Normally the festival is something I share with my grandparents. However, due to my grandmother's surgery, they were not able to go this year. So I took a lot of photos and a lot of videos this year for them mainly, but I thought I would share a couple of those with you for today's Fun Clip Friday post. I have more I'm going to post, but here are two for now!

Playing Catch Up

Even though I was blogging last week, it was hard to keep up with everything that was going on news wise. So here is my attempt to catch up on all I missed!

• Jack Laws passed away on Aug. 27. He was with the Inspirations and Smoky Mountain Reunion. 
• Harold Reed joined the Diplomats. I got the chance to actually see him singing with them on Monday and was very impressed with what he brought to the group! Harold was with the Kingsmen and more recently LeFevre Quartet and many others. Check out the video below!
• Jodi Hosterman and Brian Alvey joined the Skyline Boys. It's good to see Brian back singing, but I can't say that I didn't wish it was back with the Talleys. Love Won with his addition vocally and writing was a standout project! Jodi is returning to the group after being with them before he joined the Inspirations.
• David Cable is the new bass singer for the Dove Brothers. 
• Congratulations to Amber Nelon Thompson of the Nelons who got engaged to her boyfriend of four years on Monday!
• Candice Jordan of 11th Hour also recently got engaged and announced yesterday that she will be leaving the group. Candice has been with the group since it formed.
• Congratulations to both Riley Harrison and Megan Clark and Aaron and Leslie Perkins! Both couples are expecting their first children!
• Freedom will become a quartet. John Rulapaugh will be joined by Preston Garner (baritone), Dale Shipley (lead) and Burman Porter (bass).
• As of Oct. 1, Palmetto State Quartet will officially be known as Glass Temple. Their debut record under the new name will be out later this year!

Any news items I'm missing?

Nothing But Good - Day 11 Recap of Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic

Monday night was the last night of the festival. Unfortunately I had to go back to the real world on Tuesday, so I'm a little late getting up the recap of Monday. No more vacation or days filled with Southern Gospel concerts. :(

I was able to catch Old Paths a couple of times on Monday afternoon. I saw this group for the first time last year at the festival and was extremely impressed. They sang both of their #1 songs, "Battle Stand" and "God's Great." Daniel Ashmore, their bass singer, really stood out to me! He was featured on a song called, "I Wanna Get Closer," I think.

They also let lead sing Tim Rackley and tenor singer Jeremy Peace really step into the spotlight and shine as well. Tim sang the classic, "I Bowed on my Knees and Cried Holy," and really made it his own! While he was bowing, the audience was on its feet applauding. Then, Jeremy did the tenor classic, "O What a Savior," and had the audience on its feet as well!

I also really enjoyed the addition they had of live music on a couple of songs. They had a piano player throughout, but added drums and bass guitar and even Daniel played sax a little. The piano player is very talented and only 15 years old! I was very impressed! They ended the show with "Glory Road."

Next, I got the chance to catch the Diplomats. I had not seen them in several years, and it was good to see Harold Reed singing with them. To be honest, it had been so long since I had seen them, I really didn't remember that many specifics about seeing them before. They featured Joseph, the bass singer, on a couple of songs including "Lonesome Road."

I really enjoyed hearing Harold sing "Scars in the Hands of Jesus." I also had forgotten what a talented singer and musician Corey is! Lately, I've just remembered how funny he can be by watching his SocialCam videos!

Rita was featured on "This is Just What Heaven Means to Me," which was a highlight. They ended with "I Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now," which the crowd always enjoys!

The Isaacs had the task as they have for the last several years of closing the festival! It was good to hear them do several familiar favorites as well as songs off their latest project The Living Years that was just released like the title song and "Grandpa Tell Me About the Good Ole Days."

One of the highlights had to be Becky singing "Waiting in the Water!" She gave her testimony before she sang about having struggled with Crohn's disease and how God healed her. Her son Levi came out during the second half and sang and played with them! It was my first time seeing and hearing him on stage, and I have a feeling it will be far from his last with his talent!

It's always a treat to hear the Isaacs sing a cappella, and they closed the first half with "I Will Praise Him," and wow! It was absolutely beautiful!

I also loved them singing "I'm Gonna Love You Through It." Love that song! Martina does it great, but their original version is definitely my favorite. They also sang "Why Can't We," with an amazing a cappella reprise of the chorus!

They ended the night with "He Ain't Never Done Me Nothing But Good" with the entire audience of more than 4,000 on their feet clapping and singing along! Perfect way to end an incredible 11-day run!

The entire festival was nothing but good! I'll have one more post to summarize the festival and include some videos from it, so check back later this week!

Holy Night in the Hollow - Day 10 of Silver Dollar City's Southern Gospel Picnic

Well, it wouldn't be Southern Gospel Picnic without a little rain. And day 10 made sure that we fulfilled our rain quota for the year. However the rain didn't slow the festival any, and didn't deter the night from being one of the most worshipful nights we've had!!

The day started with worship with Dennis Swanberg preaching. From there I caught part of a show by the Beelers. The group consists of two sisters and a brother. I had never hear them before. A song that really stood out to me was called "Because of You," and was written by the brother.

Then, I caught the Whisnants a couple of times this afternoon. It's always good seeing them at the City since it's really the only time I get to see them!

Susan sang a couple of my favorites, including "All Is Well" and "I'll Trust the Potter's Hand!" It was also good to hear a couple from their hymns project!

Austin and Ethan both seemed to have a bigger part than what I had seen before. I love the song "Sheltered" on their project. During the last show, they sang "Road to Emmaus" with Jeff, and it was definitely a highlight! 

They sang several other favorites including "King Jesus Is Coming," "He's Living Today" and "New Day Dawning" which closed the show! However another highlight was "I'm Trusting the Blood" with an a cappella repeat of the chorus that was absolutely amazing!!!

Tonight was the only with two headliners. Dennis Swanberg did 30 minutes of comedy before Greater Vision took the stage. It was good to see Greater Vision back down in Echo Hollow! It was good to  hear several from their latest project like "Come Unto Me," "Preacher Tell Me Like It Is" and "I'm Looking for the Grace," a personal favorite! 

They also sang plenty of Greater Vision standards like "He'd Still Been God," "My Name is Lazarus" and "He's Still Waiting by the Well." Chris was also featured on "I Know a Man Who Can." I love hearing him this song, and it was definitely a highlight of the night! 

Gerald said that the entire second half would be requests. He even sang "Oh Holy Night," at a lady's request! 

Apparently a lot of people wanted to hear hymns and Gerald play the piano, so he combined the two at Rodney's suggestion! :) Gerald asked for different sections of the amphitheater to call out hymns and he would combine them together and play them. In one section, a girl called out "He Touched Me," and Gerald without missing a beat said, "Well, get up and move then!" Haha!

He ended up played that song along with "Amazing Grace," "The Old Rugged Cross," "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" and "How Great Thou Art." As he started, people started singing along, and while he played through the medley, we sat there and worshipped! It was such an incredible moment, one I won't soon forget! A choir of well over 3,000 people singing hymns down in the amphitheater with just a piano. 

Gerald talked about what a great night it had been, but what they would be talking about when they got back on the bus was hearing the audience sing. They closed the concert with "God Wants to Hear You Sing!" Perfect way to end a holy night in the hollow!!!

Winding Down and Wearing Out - Day 9 of Southern Gospel Picnic Recap

The festival is winding down with only two full days left. And we are wearing out! If you read my post from yesterday, you can tell I'm getting worn out when I say that I've seen a ghost! Haha! (Thanks to those who caught my mistake, I think it's been fixed now.)

I made it out to see Guy Penrod this afternoon and then Triumphant Quartet tonight.

I've never heard Guy Penrod sing live but I had seen him in person before. Last December, I was at Silver Dollar City with my family and noticed several television cameras and crew walk by. Several of us were wondering what was going on. Honestly, we had heard the Duggar Family was on park so I expected to count 19 kids around the Christmas tree. But then someone who came from the area they were filming said they thought the man was on the Gaithers. Well, I for sure had to check it out then! And yes, it was Guy Penrod. He was there filming a Christmas special with his family, so there were still plenty of kids to count! :)

We got at the park in time to see him at 2 p.m. but the show was full! So we waited for the 3 p.m. show. He sang mostly hymns from his latest recording which was good! He sang classics like "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," "He Hideth My Soul," "The Old Rugged Cross" and "Nothing But the Blood."

He sang a precious love song that I think is called "That Will Never Grow Old, Even If We Do." Then closed the show with "Don't Worry About Nothing, Pray About Everything."

And the surprise of the afternoon had to be Kevin Williams accompanying him on guitar!

Then, we saw Triumphant Quartet tonight. It's always good to see those guys, one of the most consistent groups in the industry. 

They sang a really good mix of their most well-known songs along with new ones. They sang "Take It From Me Meshach" and "Because He Loved Me," which are both favorites from their latest project.

Jeff Stice seemed to be featured more tonight. He played several songs solo on the piano, but the highlight had to be the "Hallelujah Chorus." A guy behind me made the comment that that was as good as it gets and I couldn't agree more!

They did a song that featured of medley of several classic songs, one of them being "Daddy Sang Bass." They went into the audience to get people to sing the Daddy and Momma parts. Well, when Eric held the microphone up to one guy for "Daddy Sang Bass," he started singing "Amazing Grace!" LOL!!

They also sang several of the requested songs like "Somebody Died for Me," "Love Came Calling" and "He Is," which they closed the first half with and was definitely a standout moment of the night! 

And it wouldn't be a Triumphant Quartet concert without "The Old White Flag." I love seeing a crowd of around 5,000 people all getting into and waving handkerchiefs, napkins and even a trash bag!! 

Even though things are winding down, I'm still ready to see the great groups scheduled for Sunday and Monday!