Saturday Night - National Quartet Convention

Well, NQC 2017 has now come to an end. Since I first discovered gospel music as a teenager, I heard about the National Quartet Convention and how it was a "must" event for gospel music fans. It's been a "bucket list" item for a while for me, and this week I got to check it off. It's truly been an incredible week. I've gotten to attend more than 42 hours of concerts during this week (and I didn't even go to everything!).

This morning's chapel was a hymn sing hosted by Gerald Wolfe and Dr. Tim Hill speaking. It was one of the most precious times of worship I've ever been a part of. The message was one of the best I've ever heard. This afternoon, we got to see a Dixie Melody Boys reunion and a tribute to the television show The Gospel Singing Jubilee.

Here's a look at highlights and commentary from tonight -

• The reunions and tributes were my favorite sets of the night. The Gold City reunion featured Jay Parrack, Mark Trammell, Jonathan Wilburn and the one and only Tim Riley. The Perrys reunion went through the decades starting with the original Perry siblings - Libbi, Debra and Randy. They sang clips of all their hits through the decades. Then, the Nelons did a sweet tribute to Rex Nelon. They had Jason's dad, Dan Clark, singing bass for them. They all lived up to the hype!
• Tribute and the Isaacs had the longer sets tonight. Tribute got to sing a lot from Here For You. Sonya (who hosted along with Scotty Inman tonight) got to give part of her testimony before singing "I Love You More."
• The finale of the night featured #1 songs from eight different groups. Well, except for the Kingdom Heirs who were supposed to sing "Joys of Heaven" but there was a track issue. They ended up having Gerald Wolfe come up and play piano for them on "I Know He Heard My Prayer." This ended up being such a great moment!

Key Performances -

• "I'd Rather Have Jesus" - The Blackwood Brothers featuring Michael Helwig
• "Scars in the Hands of Jesus" - Diplomats
• "When He Calls I'll Fly Away" - Gold City Reunion
• "Every Cry Is Heard" - Jim Brady Trio
• "Jesus Saves" - Tribute Quartet
• "I Wish I Could Have Been There" - The Perrys Reunion
• "Just When You Thought" - Joseph Habedank
• "Damascus Road" - Kingdom Heirs
• "He Is Mine and I Am His" - The Hoppers
• "I Love You More" - The Isaacs
• "It's Almost Over" - The Mark Trammell Quartet
• "Oh, For a Thousand Tongues" - The Nelons
• "Then Came The Morning" - Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
• "Til the Storm Passes By" - Greater Vision

National Quartet Convention - Friday Night

Tonight was my favorite night overall. Every group pressed through it being Friday night of NQC and put together amazing sets. There are a lot of highlights and standout peroformances, so here we go -

• The past two nights have been more quartet centric. Tonight it was more about family groups with the majority of the groups being mixed groups. But even with the quartets you had some family connections.
• The Erwins had one of the strongest sets of the night close to the beginning of the night. They brought Joseph Habedank up to join them for a sing since they are doing some tour dates together now. They also paid a sweet tribute to Vestal Goodman with "What a Lovely Name."
• We got to hear several new songs again tonight with Gold City singing "If Church Pews Could Shout" and Jeff and Sheri Easter singing several from their new project including Sheri featured on "Wayfaring Stranger" and Morgan on "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus," loved both of these old/new songs. I'd also never heard Ricky Braddy of Karen Peck & New River sing "I Bowed on My Knees and Cry Holy," but he did an outstanding job on that song!
• The Browders told the story of a woman who had been given a grim diagnosis listening to the song "Put It Into God's Hands." The song became an anthem for her and she called the Matthew Browder after a followup appointment. The Browders played the voicemail they received saying that all the tests were now completely clear. It was a powerful moment! They then had some help on the chorus of the song from Riley Harrison Clark, Lauren Talley and John Darin Rowsey.
• The Whisnants singing "New Day Dawning" on main stage never fails to disappoint. They were joined by Suzanne Taylor Hise (one of the hosts for the evening) and several members of Second Half Quartet with Rodney Griffin showing off his dance moves around the stage.
• It's too hard to crown a best set of the night. 

Key Performances

• "Heaven in the House" - The Littles
• "We'll Understand It Better By and By" - Dixie Echoes
• "I Can Through Christ" - Erwins with Joseph Habedank
• "I Will Stand" - Gold City
• "I've Won" - The McKameys
• "Cost of the Cross" - Kingsmen
• "I'm Trusting the Blood" - The Whisnants
• "Put It Into God's Hands" - The Browders
• "Going Home" - Second-Half Quartet
• "Wayfaring Stranger" - Jeff and Sheri Easter
• "Jesus Only Jesus" - The Rick Webb Family
• "Jesus Changed Everything" - Ernie Haase and Signature Sound
• "Four Days Late" - Karen Peck & New River
• "The Cross Is All the Proof I Need" - Triumphant Quartet
• "This Is My Father's World" (a cappella) - Collingsworth Family

National Quartet Convention - Thursday Night

Day four of the National Quartet Convention is in the books. I attended the afternoon showcase of Aaron Wilburn and the Gaither Homecoming sing-along. I have to say that the two-hour Homecoming sing has been my favorite part thus far of convention. I've never had an experience quite like that one. When I've been to Homecoming concerts in the past, there have never been that many artists on stage at one time.


So for the evening concert, here are highlights -

• Tonight was a sell out. Of course, the Gaither Vocal Band was the closer tonight. They had an extended set as well as the Hoppers.
• The reminder of Heaven was a major theme tonight. Jim Brady shared of his dad's passing and the song that came out of that. Mike LeFevre said goodbye to his mom only a few weeks ago and shared about her passing and then they sang a tribute to her.
• Patriotism was another theme of the night as it has been all week. The Nelons sang several from their recent Americana project. Selah actually joined the Nelons during their set. Of course, Legacy Five sang and played a couple as well. 
• Bill Gaither came up during the Hoppers' set talking about the new album he just worked on with them. Mark Trammell paid a touching tribute to Gaither before singing his song "The King Is Coming."
• The Gaither Vocal Band set was great tonight and gave us something different from what we had been hearing this week. Mark Trammell Quartet, the Hoppers and Tribute Quartet also had some of my favorite sets of the night.

Key Performances -

• "I'll Worship You Again" - The Taylors
• "To Say Goodbye" - LeFevre Quartet
• "When Grandpa Sang Amazing Grace" - The Nelons
• "Hallelujah, Praise the Lamb" - The Talleys
• "It Is Well" (a cappella) - The Isaacs
• "The King Is Coming" - Mark Trammell Quartet
• "Farewell, But Not Forever" - Jim Brady Trio
• "What a Meeting in the Air" - Tribute Quartet
• "Be An Overcoming" - The Hoppers
• "Facts Are Facts" - The Booth Brothers
• "'Til the Storm Passes By" - Gaither Vocal Band
• "It Is Finished" - Gaither Vocal Band

National Quartet Convention - Wednesday Night

We're more than half way over with the 2017 National Quartet Convention. Only three nights left! Wednesday was another night full of great music. And everything seemed to run a little bit ahead of schedule.

Here's a look at highlights and commentary from the night -

• It was a night for quartets. Kingdom Heirs, Second Half Quartet and Triumphant were all featured artists having a longer (30ish minutes) set. It's a toss up with Second Half and Triumphant for the best set of the night. With Second Half, they took the time to tell a little bit about how the group came to be. It's good to hear just the voices the the piano and bass guitar. Triumphant sang a few songs from Thankful including the title song and their two-time #1, "Chain Breaker." Eric got to share a little bit about how much the song "Chain Breaker" is changing lives.
• Specials guests were a plenty tonight. Karen Peck & New River's set featured the Wilmington Celebration Choir. Jeff Easter in true Jeff Easter fashion was kind enough to share the stage with Michael Combs and Eli Fortner both of whom have undergone transplant surgery this year.
• For those who left before the power half-hour, they missed some incredible young talent. The Chitans was the showcase winner. The group is five young siblings. 
• Layke Jones and Morgan Easter were the hosts for the night. It's been so good to see the younger generation of Southern Gospel artists showcased in this way this week. 
• There were a number of debuts tonight with new songs and new featured singers. Gold City debuted its new single "I Will Stand." Jason Crabb also sang another new one his dad wrote, "God Works in Mysterious Ways." Kingdom Heirs also sang a few new ones with "Heaven Will Be Sweeter" being a highlight of the night. I think this was the Wilmington Choir's first trip to the mainstage of NQC. Also, the Perrys featured Jared Stuffle for the first time on main stage. 

Key Performances

• "I Will Stand" - Gold City
• "What a Day That Will Be" - The Guardians
• "Heaven Just Got Sweeter" - Kingdom Heirs
• "Like My Mother Does" - Jeff and Sheri Easter
• "Let the Church Arise" - LeFevre Quartet
• "Hope for All Nations" - Karen Peck & New River
• "God Works in Mysterious Ways" - Jason Crabb
• "I Love You This Much" - The Whisnants
• "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" - Second Half Quartet
• "Then I Met the Master" - Booth Brothers
• "It Carried Him" - The Perrys
• "Hallelujah" - Triumphant Quartet

National Quartet Convention - Tuesday Night

Night two of the 2017 is now complete. The last few hours of the night were packed with highlights. For those who left before the power half-hour missed a lot of great up and coming groups. Here are my thoughts on the night.


Highlights and Commentary -

• I am really enjoying the longer sets for featured groups. Last night it was the Whisnants. Tonight it was the Jim Brady Trio and Greater Vision.
• The entire Daywind set was incredible. It featured Legacy Five, the Hoppers, Greater Vision, Joseph Habedank and Tribute Quartet. 
• If for some reason you didn't love Katie Erwin before, you would after tonight. She and Joseph Habedank hosted together. She looked just as comfortable and at home up there as he did. They did a great job!
• I was impressed by the unity and support of groups tonight. From artists in the artists circle supporting each other to actual on-stage support. Jason Crabb had several younger artists back him up on a new song. He returned the favor for Highroad's song. Jaquita Lindsey of 11th Hour filled in for Lisa Williamson, whose grandmother just passed away. Riley Harrison Clark joined the Talleys set for "What Grace Is Mine," a duet with Lauren.
• Josh Townsend of Legacy Five gave a stirring testimony before playing and singing "God's Been Good." Today was his 20th birthday and he told everything that he'd been through in his 20 years. He's a walking miracle. He gave such a touching performance singing and playing "God's Been Good." It's one of those moments people will be talking about for years to come. 
• The power half-hour tonight featured a lot of great playing and picking from the live music of Highroad and the Lindsey family to the incredible piano playing of Jacob Klutz with the Troy Burns Family.
• It was another night for a lot of new songs. The Perrys had all songs from Testament, their latest project. Jason Crabb sang a song he wrote after the recent hurricanes that had never been sung before.

Favorite Performances -

• "The Greatest of All Miracles" - Jim Brady Trio
• "It's About the Cross" - Ball Brothers
• "Give Me Jesus" - The Talleys
• "What Grace Is Mine" - Lauren Talley and Riley Harrison Clark
• "Find Me Faithful" - The Perrys
• "Love in Your Heart" - Jason Crabb
• "God's Been Good" - Legacy Five
• "Something's Happening" - The Hoppers
• "Still" - Greater Vision
• "Here He Comes" - Joseph Habedank
• "Beauty of the Blood" - Joseph Habedank
• "When the Prodigal Comes Home" - Tribute Quartet