Full House for the Hoppers - Concert Recap

The Hoppers sang to a full house on Thursday

Dean, Kim, Connie, Claude and Mike Hopper

night in Hot Springs, Ark. at the Oaklawn Church of God. I've been to the church several times for gospel concerts, and I've never seen it as full as it was last week. We got to the church a little before the concert and cars were parking on the street. We finally found a place to park in the grass behind the church. Luckily we found a few seats near the front of the church that weren't taken. However, as people kept coming in the church had to keep pulling out folding chairs. Arkansas really turns out for the Hoppers.

And Arkansans weren't the only ones. During the concert, the Hoppers asked were people were from to see who had come from the most distance. People were there from Virginia and Pennsylvania! I was surprised to say the least.

Here is the set list for the night:

• "Stepping in the Clouds"
• "I Will Serve Thee"
• "Yahweh"
• "God Bless the USA"
• "Winging My Way Back Home" - Josh Simpson on piano
• "I've Been to Heaven"
• "I'll Worship Only at the Feet of Jesus"
• "Something's Happening"
• "Feel Like Something Good is About to Happen"
• "Peace in the Midst of the Storm"
• "Holy Hills of Heaven"
• "Jerusalem"
• "I'm Just Waiting for My Ride"
• "If I Could Help Somebody"
• "I've Come Too Far"
• "Shouting Time" 

The stage of the church was full, so there was no room for the Hoppers to set their drum set up. So, Mike Hopper stayed out front singing with his family for the full concert. It was very interesting to see him out front the entire time. I'll confess I haven't been to enough Hoppers concerts to note whether or not he sings the entire time behind the drums, but it was nice to see him have a more visible role out front.

The crowd really did amaze me on Thursday night not only how many were present and from how far but also you could tell it was a room full of Hoppers fans.

After "Yahweh" most of the crowd was on its feet. We sat down only to stand back up for Dean's rendition of "God Bless the USA." He did an incredible job on the song. 

I love hearing "Something's Happening," it's one of my favorite Hoppers songs. I love Connie's recitations in the song and the strong family blend. This was another song that got most of the crowd on its feet at the end.

Kim sang "Peace in the Midst of the Storm" and showed what amazing vocal talent she has as always. She also shared some of her testimony about coping with her brother Tony's death. It was definitely the most touching part of the concert.

The first half featured Kim and Dean a lot, so I figured that Claude and Connie would be featured in the second half on their most well-known numbers, "If I Could Help Somebody" and "I've Come Too Far." These are two standards I never get tired of hearing. And I love when Connie has Kim start the chorus of "I've Come Too Far" again. They then sang another chorus of the song a capella, and it was amazing. It was the best I've ever heard them sing it! Definitely one of the highlights of the concert for me!

It was a night full of great music and of course several laughs courtesy of Claude. I was glad to see them have such a good turnout in Arkansas, so hopefully we will get to see them more frequently in this area!

**Thanks to my friend Jessica for helping me take pictures Thursday night! There were a lot of heads in my view!