Fun Clip Friday - Karen Peck & New River

Happy Friday! I had the chance to see Karen Peck & New River in concert on Sunday night. They sang several songs from their Hope for all Nations release and talked about their trip to Honduras. Here's a concept video they shot while they were there. Enjoy for today's Fun Clip Friday!

Enjoying Testament with the Perrys - Concert Recap

I love seeing groups around the time of a new project release. As many times as you can listen to songs on a CD, there's just something about hearing them live. There's something about seeing the power of a lyric communicated during a live setting. The song can take on a new meaning and can speak to you differently. I was glad to see that the Perrys were in my area just a few weeks ago after their release of Testament on June 9. Of course, they sang many of their most requested songs, but it was so good to hear them stage and sing a lot of their brand new songs.

They started out with a few familiar ones like "His Love Lights the Way," "It Was the Blood" and "I Rest My Case at the Cross." Then, they started singing a lot of their newer songs like

• "The Harder the Battle, The Sweeter the Victory" - Of course, this isn't exactly a new song, but it is a newly recorded song by the Perrys. 
• "Sing in the Valley" - Troy does such an incredible job on this song. I feel like this could become one of my new favorite Perrys songs period.
• "It's Not Here to Stay"
• "Moses and Elijah" - This is a fun uptempo song to see live!
• "Lord, Send Me" - It was good to see Tracy featured on this one in person. 
•  "Who I Could Have Been" - It's great to hear more from Jared in concert with him stepping up to sing this one. 
• "It Carried Him" - I love this song and especially how Andrew communicates this song live!
• "Find Me Faithful" - The moment of the night for me was this song! Before the song, Libbi told the story of how the group got started and how God used a tragic situation to start a ministry that has affected so many people. 
• "My Hope Is in the Blood"

If you're counting, that's only two songs they didn't sing from Testament. I feel like one of the ways you can judge the stretch of the project is by how many songs group stage after a release. It's evident that Testament is full of incredible songs the Perrys can't wait to share with the audience. 

They did sing a couple more songs not from Testament like "Cry No More," "Until I Start Looking Ahead" and they had a request at the end for "Celebrate Me Home." I was not familiar at all with "Until I Start Looking Ahead," but this is such a powerful song that Libbi sings. They ended the night with "Whosoever Will" as an invitation. 

It was good to hear so many songs live from the new project! I love how powerful these songs are. If you get a chance to see the Perrys near you, don't miss them!

In Case You Missed It - News and Tidbits - June 24

Here are a few news items from this week in Southern Gospel music -

• Eli Fortner of the McKameys had a successful kidney transplant this week. He had to have a second surgery because of some blockage. He is still at the hospital recovering. Please be in prayer for him as well as his donor CJ Shetley as they both recover.
• Prayers for Landon Beene and his family. Landon's father, Kenneth Wayne Beene, passed away yesterday morning.
• The final round of voting for the Singing News Fan Awards is now open. Subscribers can go vote at singingnews.com. 
• The National Quartet Convention and Southern Gospel Music Association have announced a new partnership to present the inaugural SGMA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Benefit Concert to be held on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 during the afternoon at the LeConte Convention Center in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The program will honor the 2017 SGMA Hall of Fame class of inductees - Troy Burns, LaBreeska, Hemphill, Randy Shelnut and Tony Greene.
• Kody Erwin gave an update on his health this week that he is 100% back to normal and thanked everyone for the prayers.
• The BMI Christian Music Awards were held this week in Nashville. Joseph Habedank performed and the following Southern Gospel songs and writers were honored - 
• "Battle Cry" - Lee Black, Joel Lindsey and Sue Smith
• "I Am Blessed" - Karen Peck Gooch and Kenna West
• "Put Out the Fire" - Rodney Griffin
• "The Beauty of the Blood" - Joseph Habedank
• "Worry Ends Where Faith Begins" - Sandy Blythe

Anything I've missed?

Fun Clip Friday - Memphis Quartet Show

I shared some clips from the Memphis Quartet Show last week. I was able to be there on Saturday night and what a great night it was! Steve Ladd shared this video on Facebook of the second half with all the groups. Check it out below for today's Fun Clip Friday!

11th Hour - Concert Recap

June has been a busy concert-going month so far! The first group I got to see this month was the popular trio 11th Hour. Their last album What a Moment was one of my favorite projects of last year. It was good to hear them sing several from that project as well a few older favorites.

11th Hour - Grant Gibson, Jaquita Lindsey
and Amber Eppinnette

Here are a few highlights of the night -

• "How Will You Plead"
• "Room With a View" - I've always been a fan of this song, but I loved how Amber then led the congregation in "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be" after. It was a sweet moment of the night.
• "He Welcomes the Beggar" - This is my favorite song from What a Moment, so glad they staged it! Such a powerful song!
• "I Trust" - I don't remember getting to hear this song live before. The song features Jaquita, and it's one she wrote. She shared a little bit of her heart before the song talking about how it's hard to trust what God's doing in our lives sometimes. When we can't trace His hand, we can trust His heart - love that line! 
• "Bloodline"
• "Adam's Fall"
• Worship set - Grant was not feeling well that night. He had driven most of the night. In fact, he was losing his voice and told Amber and Jaquita to take over. It's interesting how God really used that because Amber went to the keyboard, and she and Jaquita just led in a few worship songs. It was the sweetest spirit in the room. I know the situation wasn't ideal for the group, but God used that and the trio followed God's leading of how to guide their set.

If you've somehow missed this group, be sure to check out the next time they are near you!