Smiling With the Ball Brothers - Concert Recap

Sunday afternoon the Ball Brothers were just outside of Sherwood, Arkansas. The church was having a homecoming service complete with potluck and a gospel concert. The concert was scheduled to start after the potluck at 2 p.m. We got to the church a little before 2, and it took us a while to figure out that the concert would actually be the separate building where the potluck had been.

Once we got out to the building and found seats, they said that the Ball Brothers had called and were actually running late. Unfortunately their morning service had run over causing them to be late. They got to the church about 20 minutes later and had to set up in record time and sound check with a full audience. I felt bad for the guys being late and then having to take care of everything with people watching. Kudos to them for being so swift to get the concert started once they got to the venue!

I've only seen the Ball Brothers a handful of times, but I certainly hope to hear more of them after the concert on Sunday! The group now consists of the two original brothers Daniel and Andrew Ball together with brother-in-law Chad McCloskey and Jon Epley.

Ball Brothers - Andrew Ball, Chad McCloskey, Daniel Ball
and Jon Epley

They started the concert with "It's Gonna Be a Good Day." It was a good way to start the concert. Despite all the circumstances of the day, we were in a for a good time! Daniel does a great job on this song! They then sang "I Wouldn't Miss Heaven (For the World) and "Who's Gonna Stand in the Gap."

The Ball Brothers really have a unique style and sound to them. Their incredibly smooth harmonies were really showcased on "Some Day." I can see how their style can attract new fans to Southern Gospel.

After brief introductions, Jon was featured on "Happy Rhythm," great song for him to be featured on! He also sang on "Forgive Me" that really allowed him to show his range. Chad showed off his crooner style on "Beautiful One." I wasn't familiar with their rendition of this song until Sunday! Love how Chad really makes it his own. They mentioned how much Chad sounds like Michael Buble and how he's actually getting the chance to work on some demos for his next album.

One of the funnier parts of the concert was the guys singing "I Smile." Andrew said they should sing the song because it was his kids' favorite song. Daniel interrupted him saying that they really didn't have much to smile about since they were running late and apparently had a small accident with the bus when they did make it to the church. They did restart the song and Daniel tried to sing the song without smiling. You can tell they have a lot of fun with that!

Right before intermission, they sang "Just As I Am." Love this song, definitely a highlight of the concert!

Daniel talked about how God was opening some doors for their ministry to travel some overseas. They had plans to go both to Ireland and Brazil this year. They were all excited about what God was doing and how He was blessing them with new opportunities. They had been praying for a new direction, but did not realize what He would do. He started to work in their hearts about being available for new opportunities, and He opened doors.

During the second half they sang "Glimpse of Your Glory," which was probably the Ball Brothers song I first remember hearing! Loved hearing it live. Andrew was also featured on "Nothing to Bring Him." Andrew has an incredible upper range that he was able to showcase on this song. The orchestration on this song was awesome. They mentioned that they recorded the song in the studio with all the musicians there at one time to give it the sound you used to hear on older records.

It was such a great afternoon! I was glad to hear them in a concert by themselves. This group definitely brings something different to Southern Gospel and is able to reach a different audience than your typical group. I strongly recommend seeing them next time they are in your area. I know I will!