Veterans Day with Gold City - Concert Review

Gold City - Dan Keeton, Jerry Pelfrey, Daniel Riley
and Tim Riley

Gold City came to Malvern, Ark. on Sunday afternoon. I saw the group not long after Jerry Pelfrey joined them in January. I had been looking forward to seeing them again since this lineup of Dan Keeton, Jerry Pelfrey, Daniel Riley and Tim Riley has now been together for about a year.

With a group like Gold City that has been around for so long and had so many hits, I'm sure it's difficult to put together a set list that everyone likes and includes every song people want to hear. Sunday afternoon was almost a dream set list for me for Gold City songs. Of course, there were more from their most recent project, but there were plenty of familiar favorites as well! Here's a breakdown of the concert:

• "Where Is God" - Love that they started with this classic. It's one of my personal favorites.
• "Peter, James and John"
• "I Cast my Bread Upon the Water" - Jerry was featured in the second verse, and he still reminds me a lot of Ivan Parker. While that comparison has been made a lot, he's becoming a standout lead singer on his own. When Dan hit the high part on a repeat of the chorus, he got right in Jerry's face, which made for a funny moment during the song. Tim Riley can still hit those low notes, and is still at the top in this business in my book.
• "By Your Grace, For Your Glory" - In a set with a lot of uptempo songs, I was glad to see them slow the pace for a little bit and sing this one. 
• "God's Building a Church" - I absolutely love this song, and this one the audience really got into to. Many people were on their feet clapping along. Dan Keeton really shows his stuff as a great tenor on this one. Daniel Riley commented after it that it's a song that really gets you going. He made a joke about being Baptist and that it's hard to move around like that. The crowd of mostly Assembly of God church members thought it was pretty funny.
• Daniel introduced Dan, Jerry and Bryan and had Bryan Elliot play "Keep on the Firing Line." Bryan impresses me more each time as a piano player. I don't think he gets the recognition he deserves for his talent.
• "We'll Soon Be Done With Troubles and Trials"
• Daniel then introduced his dad and talked about how singing gospel music was all he ever wanted to do. He talked about how thankful he was that God allowed him to do this with his dad. 
• "It Won't Be Long" - Before the song, Daniel mentioned that it was a Dixie Hummingbirds song and he would be the one to step out and "strut." He might not have strutted but he put the soul into this song. This is such a fun song for them to sing live.
• "I Have an Anchor"
• "Lord of Life" - Jerry did a great job on this song. There were also some great harmony moments for the group. This hasn't been a standout song for me, but the more I hear it, the more I like it.
• "When He Blessed My Soul" - One of my all-time favorites! Tim Riley out did himself on this one!
• "I Love This Land" - Since Sunday was Veterans Day, Tim recognized the veterans in the audience and talked about his service during Vietnam before the song. Tim even had Jerry and Dan bring the church's flag around to the front of the stage. Toward the end of the song, they started the Pledge of Allegiance. It was a very touching moment and a great tribute to our country and veterans.
• "When I Get Carried Away"
• "Midnight Cry" - The song that every Gold City lead singer is measured by, and Jerry really stepped up to the plate on this one.
• "Get Up, Get Ready"

Daniel Riley ended the concert by saying that it was his prayer that God had used them for His glory. Their goal every concert is to encourage believers and to reach people who don't know God. 

It was a great afternoon concert with Gold City. It was good to see this group again with the current lineup. Since the last time I saw them live, you could tell that they had more time to gel together. They seemed a lot more comfortable together on stage, sometimes picking on each other. Don't miss them if they are in your area!