Crowded Sunday at Silver Dollar City

We had the best of intentions of going to the worship service at Silver Dollar City on Sunday morning, but apparently everyone else also decided to go to the City at the same time. We got stuck in traffic, so we missed the 11 a.m. service.

However, we did make it out to Silver Dollar City in time to see Barry Rowland and Deliverance at noon. I had never seen the group before and really didn't know much about them. Barry is the son of Kyla Rowland, who is a well-known songwriter in gospel music. One of my favorite songs that she wrote is "Did I Mention," which they sang. It was definitely the highlight of their set for me. Barry's wife, Tammy, did a great job singing it. I also really enjoyed their songs "The Rest of the Story" and "He Took My Case."

We went to see Tribute Quartet next. They sang several songs from their latest project, Our Anthem. I haven't had a chance to listen to the full project yet, but really enjoyed all the songs they sang from it. They sang:

• "God's Gonna Send a Revival" 
• "Thank the Lord"
• "Homesick Angel" 
• "Good News From Jerusalem." 

They closed the show with the last one and did several encores of the chorus. "Good News From Jerusalem" could definitely be a big hit for this group. Another one of my favorite new ones that they sang was "Homesick Angel."

This was my first time seeing the Crist Family. We were able to see two of their shows that afternoon. I really enjoyed seeing them live for the first time. They sang "Big Hallelujah," "I Believe He's Coming Back," "The Anchor Holds," "I Will Glory in the Cross" and "O Happy Day." I loved "I Will Glory in the Cross;" it was definitely the highlight of the set for me! They also sang a couple from their Christmas album. It seemed to become more of a theme to sing Christmas songs as the festival progressed. I love Christmas songs, but again it's a little out of place especially the secular Christmas songs.

They sang several of their older songs in their third show of the day. I loved hearing them sing the classics, "When I Get Carried Away" and "Canaanland Is Just in Sight." I also enjoyed one of their breakout songs, "It's Been a Journey." That's still one of my favorites that they sing!

The day ended in Echo Hollow with Jeff and Sheri Easter. Not only did they break the record attendance for the week, but they broke the all-time record for Echo Hollow with 5,286 people in attendance!

They started off with several songs from their new project Eyes Wide Open, which will be released on Sept. 18. They sang "Little Bit of Sunshine" to start the night off and then went into "I Won't Have to Worry Anymore."

Morgan was featured on the next two: "I Need You More Today" and "God Knows What He's Doing."

Jeff and Sheri have quietly added drummer Landan Smith to their group to replace Kyle Calloway. Landan is the 14-year-old brother of Logan Smith. He's got a great talent already at 14!

They sang "Sitting on Top of the World," which is also from their new project. I absolutely love this country-flavored song! It's a precious love story song. They brought Madison up next to sing "Workin' on a Road" with his parents.

Sheri talked about her battle with breast cancer, and how much she loved coming to Silver Dollar City because of what the people meant to her during her battle. When they performed at Echo Hollow in 2008, it was shortly after her first chemo treatment. Silver Dollar City presented her with roses that night and talked about how they were all praying for her. I remember the sweet presentation well. No one was sitting down, but everyone was standing and clapping to show support for Sheri and their family, and I'm pretty sure everyone was a little teary-eyed. Sheri recalled the moment too and said that she would never forget how the people loved on her that night. She read an excerpt from Hear My Heart and then sang the song. You could hear sniffling through the audience because this song touches so many people in different ways. The audience was on its feet clapping after the song.

Before intermission, they sang "I Get To" and "Good Ole Gospel Song," also from their new album.

They sang several of their more well-known songs during the second half and took some requests. The Browders were in attendance because they sang at Silver Dollar City on Monday afternoon. Jeff and Sheri invited them up to sing a couple of songs. I thought this was a very nice gesture to share the stage with them.

Another touching moment of the night was Morgan singing "He's Going Places." At intermission, a couple had come up to Jeff telling him about their son. Their son had brain cancer and passed away earlier in the year. He was a big Jeff and Sheri Easter fan and loved the song "Born to Climb." Jeff asked Morgan to sing "He's Going Places" for the parents. The song is from her solo album and tells the story of a young boy who passed away at a young age. Morgan, just like her mother, feels every word she sings, and it was evident as she sang that song.

A couple of songs later, Jeff said they had a request to sing "You're My Best Friend." He decided to find out who in the crowd had been married the longest. A couple near the top had been married for 66 years. Jeff asked the man what was the secret to being married for 66 years. The man yelled back to him, "Don't die!" Everyone in the audience and on stage lost it, laughing so hard. I don't think that's quite the answer he was looking for, but it's not one he's going to forget!

They wrapped up with "Keep on the Sunny Side," as what they thought would be their last song. But the audience wanted one more, so they sang "Life is Great and Gettin' Better." Great end to the night! Jeff and Sheri put on such a great concert and had the audience both laughing and crying! They went over on time to sing at the audience's request, and it was really appreciated!